Santa Barbara County is spending $3.7 million to stop oil spills near creek
Santa Barbara County plans to pay $3.72 million to replace a troubled oil-water-separator system in Toro Canyon, and the county Board of Supervisors approved a large construction contract for the project last week.
This issue goes back to the 1880s, when Occidental Mining and Petroleum Co. built a natural seepage well and an oil-water-separator system in the Carpinteria-Summerland area.
Public agencies “retrofitted” the system after a 3,000-gallon oil spill in the 1990s, according to the county.
Recent fires and heavy rains reportedly damaged the system, and a 2021 study concluded it needs to be replaced, Public Works leaders said.
Multiple leaks were reported in the last three years.
Fire agencies and hazardous materials teams responded to an oil spill in the creek in August 2021 that oiled and killed some wildlife in the area.
This January, investigators sourced oil found along Toro Canyon Road to the natural seepage well.
On Oct. 17, the Board of Supervisors approved a $2.2 million construction contract with Innovative Construction Solutions, and a $496,000 construction management contract with Geosyntec Consultants.
Santa Barbara County faces lawsuit over oil leak
Former District Attorney Joyce Dudley sued the county over its response to a nearly year-long leak that started in 2020, alleging there was “very little effort from the county to contain it or to stop oil from flowing into Toro Canyon Creek.”
She also alleged the county didn’t provide all the documents investigators requested, and violated the California Public Records Act.
Dudley filed the case in December, and District Attorney John Savrnoch took over when he assumed office in January.
The County Counsel’s Office filed a response in June and denied the allegations. Attorneys argued that the information requested by the DA’s Office was not a public record, or was withheld as exempt from disclosure.
The Santa Barbara County Superior Court scheduled a case management conference for Nov. 13.