(Santa Barbara News-Press) Santa Barbara County chambers of commerce are warning of potential economic ramifications after the Board of Supervisors denied an ExxonMobil trucking plan in March.
In a 3-2 vote earlier this year, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors nixed Exxon’s request to truck oil along area roads because of potential unmitigable safety impacts.
Exxon had requested a development plan revision to install and operate a new oil tanker truck loading rack at the Santa Ynez Unit processing facility and transportation of crude oil from multiple platforms to two receiving terminals in Santa Barbara and Kern counties.
Some supervisors, including Chair Joan Hartmann, expressed concerns about the environmental impact of Exxon’s project. But in a recent joint letter, the Santa Barbara County chambers of commerce — which includes the Buellton Chamber, Lompoc Valley Chamber, Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber, Santa Maria Valley Chamber and Solvang Chamber — urged local leadership to work with oil companies to ensure the community has a reliable local energy resource, can develop good-paying jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through producing oil in a clean environment.
“The economic vitality of our county lost out to a vague worldview policy last month,” the chambers said in the letter. “The vote to deny ExxonMobil a temporary trucking permit has broader implications for businesses throughout our county. Any business looking to add a trucking or transportation plan for their company could be impacted. Santa Barbara is known as a tough place to do business.”
“Is this really the direction to go when we are facing a climate crisis? For my way of thinking, that is just not the case,” said Supervisor Hartmann at the time.
“I will support denial of the project simply because I cannot see how the safety impacts are mitigate-able,” Supervisor Das Williams said during the March meeting. “While I validate all of our political opinions and where we’re coming from in life, what I don’t validate is our driving habits as a society.”
Supervisors Steve Lavagnino and Bob Nelson voted in support of the project, arguing the proposal would have helped constituents in their districts in northern Santa Barbara County.
Representatives for various chambers spoke during the March hearing in support of Exxon’s project.
In their joint letter, the chambers of commerce questioned why the board would “deny the opportunity to bring back good-paying jobs and millions of dollars in economic activity, especially in the northern part of the county where both are desperately needed.”
