Santa Barbarans Blast Oil By Rail

Several dozen Santa Barbarans came together 7/11 near the Amtrak station to speak against the proposed Phillips 66 rail spur that would allow a Nipomo refinery to receive oil by train. The demonstrators, organized by Food & Water Watch, the Sierra Club, and SBCAN, said the project would put 125,000 county residents at risk; they live near train tracks in the “blast zone,” which is the one-mile evacuation zone recommended by safety officials in the case of an oil train derailment and fire. In a prepared statement, Supervisor Salud Carbajal said he has “strong concerns” over the inherent risks of transporting oil. He pointed to the Refugio Oil Spill and the 2013 Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, derailment that killed 42 people and leveled almost half the town.