Edhat Staff
Plains All American is planning on rebuilding oil pipeline Line 901, the aging pipeline that caused the massive 2015 oil spill on Refugio Beach and into the Pacific Ocean.
The company also plans on rebuilding the even longer Line 903, which extends to installations in Kern County. These operations will allow ExxonMobil and Freeport-McMoRan to resume oil shipments and reauthorize offshore oil platforms that have been decommissioned since 2015.
More than 70 miles of Line 903 run through Santa Barbara County. The two lines were shut down since May 19, 2015, after 123,228 gallons of crude oil spilled onto the Santa Barbara coastline.
The paperwork filings for Santa Barbara have already been completed, and filings in San Luis Obispo County and Kern County, as well as those required for several federal agencies, are expected to follow soon.
Community activist groups oppose the rebuilding plan arguing another spill could happen again.
“Letting this spill-prone company rebuild its oil pipelines would be a recipe for another disaster,” said Miyoko Sakashita, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s oceans program. “California should lead the charge toward a clean energy future, not let companies rebuild dirty fossil fuel infrastructure. We urge Santa Barbara County to reject this incredibly dangerous proposal.”
“Oil spills are an ugly and inevitable part of this dirty industry. But Santa Barbara County can help prevent these ecological tragedies with strong action, including rejecting this dangerous proposal,” said Sakashita.
The 18-month project states it will create hundreds of construction jobs, and may even help Plains All American get back on its feet after facing recent financial deficits.
