Front Page  »  

Oil drilling threat stirs Santa Maria angst

July 26, 2013

amrichAn 890-acre parcel in Santa Maria is being eyed by an oil company for possible drilling, but an official of Amrich Energy says no plans are on the immediate horizon. (Santa Maria Times)

The so-called Area 9 is part of the once highly-productive Santa Maria Oil Field.

Any drilling that might occur would incorporate a large buffer zone, said Curtis Fernandes, director of business development for the company.

The property once held 74  wells, all of which are now plugged or idle.

Homeowners in the area are raising concerns of noise, odors, toxic emissions and negative impact on home values. Santa Maria’s specific plan allows for such development.

Walter Taylor, who lives near the area, told a reporter the oil designation was a bad idea to begin with. He and other residents sans city officials to strike oil drilling as a use for the area.


Loading...
Subjects:     
Related:


19 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Right now the Gulf is so bad that scientists are not allowed closer than 5 miles away from the latest blowout. Meanwhile, the white sands of Bangkok are being destroyed as I write:


http://news.yahoo.com/thailand-resort-beach-blackened-oil-spill-082210834.html


The oil companies want to drill everywhere and explore with seismic testing, killing our marine life with malevolence. California is the one place on Earth where we can stand up and fight this madness. We don’t need more or cheaper oil. Oil is ravaging the climate, clouding the skies, causing asthma, decreasing lung capacity in our children, and coating our seashores with black death.


What we do need is for the oil-leader, USA, to make the switch to all electric cars powered by photo voltaic solar arrays on the homes of our rooftops. Many are already doing it. drivingthefuturedotcom


Joey Racano


0

It just where do you think the batteries for 254 million cars will come from? Have you ever seen a lithium operation? Have you ever seen a nickel mining operation? I suggest you check out Silver Peak Nev. for a glimpse on Google earth. You see my learned friend it’s not the production of electricity that’s the task, it’s storing it that’s the challenge.


0

If storing is a problem, let’s talk about Diablo Canyon’s storage of nuclear waste. Now that’s a huge problem.


0

I want cheap energy but don’t drill in my backyard. This seems to be the prevailing thought in the United States. Instead, let’s ship all our money over to the Arab countries.


0

Why do you connect drilling for more oil, with lower prices? That has never happened. Unlike coal, oil, nukes of gas, electric cars and home rooftop solar power get cheaper, the more we make and sell. The others rise in price, up up up.


oceanoutfallgroupdotcom


0

BOOOOOO!!! No oil drilling on the CA coast!


0

Right I rather we continue to pay terrorists for their oil.


0

Oil is a world market. The terrorists will get close to market rate for their oil as will US oil companies even if the US produces many times more oil than it uses. Oil derived fuel is cheap in some oil producing countries because the governments subsidize it for their citizens (insurance against revolution) or limit oil producer profits on oil used domestically. The Tea Party wet dream of production reducing gas prices is just that. The oil companies are not giving up a single cent in profits on oil regardless of where it comes from. Domestic production and reserves serve national security purposes only. We could save our oil, use other people’s, and destroy their environments as was US policy in developing Middle Eastern sources when the US had plenty of oil, the reason we won WWII as our opponents literally ran out of gas.


0

In WWII the reason our opponents ran out of gas because we bombed their facilities, had Germany been able to attack our soil and damaged our facilities the outcome might have been different.


Any oil produced in the US should be restricted in both price and for our use, but we know our government will never do that because they have gotten use to the money the oil industry gives them, unless the voters get smart and makes changes.


Environmental issues are mostly from the refining process which regardless of where the oil comes from is done in the US.


It makes no sense for the US not to establish our own oil supply, just as it would make more sense for the US to build more refineries but due to environmental extremists that hasn’t happen either.


0

“Any oil produced in the US in both price or for our use”? Try getting that through a Republican congress, in their view that is flat out communism.


0

Dude, Germany and Japan lost because they lost their oil producing conquests. Germany and Japan have no oil. Why do you make crap up to support your lame, uneducated arguments? Tea Party training a la Scientology?


0

I would rather cut back on my oil consumption & enjoy the beautiful coastline, minus oil spills & ugly equipment.


0

We are paying terrorists for our oil- chevron, exxon, arco, BP, etc etc…


0

Yeaaaaaaa! Higher gas prices and no oil revenue for the state!


0

California has no extraction tax. Texas does. The entire Texas state budget success story touted by that complete idiot Rick Perry is due to this.


0

It is a terrible way to raise ‘revenue for the state’- do we fund Calif by destroying its 68 billion dollar ocean economy?


0

Typical NIMBY. I assume that you live in a cave and eat weeds that grow around the entrance since you are so opposed to oil.


0

Ummm…no..it’s you that’s supposed to live in a cave with a whole lot of nothing. They dont count cause they dont drive cars,eat food,crap, live in a wood,plastic or cement house, buy imported junk from across the planet loaded by slave labor delivered in a ship that burns hundreds of gallons of fuel oil each hour. So quit yer bitchen ;)


0

You forgot the other alternative- solar panels and electric cars. Even huts on the African plains have solar panels now. We are being held hostage by oil. Oops- another spill/war/trillion/cloud/blowout/seepage/tarball/right wing wackjob


0