Holding Greka accountable for spills

 

In January 2008. I wrote a column detailing the series of oil spills that occurred between November 2007 and January 2008, totaling 59,000 gallons of crude oil and toxic water spilled into the creek beds just south of Santa Maria by Greka oil facilities.

 

Much of what I wrote is still relevant. Here are a few excerpts:

 

“These spills are only the most recent of hundreds of violations that Greka has committed over the past eight years, incurring more than $2.5 million in fines and penalties.

 

“Environmental authorities, including representatives from the Department of Fish and Game, Regional Water Quality Agency, county Air Pollution Control District, and county Fire Department, all agree that the number of Greka’s violations far exceeds that of any other oil operator in the area.

 

“The frequency of the violations, averaging one every 10 days, has been particularly challenging to the agencies’ limited staff and resources. Most of these violations, spills, and accidents were caused by the dilapidated condition of Greka’s equipment and infrastructure.

 

“One inspector reported finding that a leaky holding tank had been ‘repaired’ by plugging the corroded hole with a tree branch.

 

“This lengthy string of accidents, violations, fines and lawsuits provides a strong indication of neglect, incompetence and irresponsible business practice. Such practices jeopardize not only the environment and the health of the community, but also the safety and livelihood of Greka’s employees.

 

“Supervisors Wolf and Carbajal, and Assemblyman Nava are to be commended for drawing attention to a problem that should have been addressed years ago.

 

“Had measures been taken then to force compliance with county and federal policies, and to demand the repair and replacement of deteriorating infrastructure, our community could have been spared repeated toxic gas leaks and oil spills, and the county saved from countless hours of needless clean-ups.

 

“Taxpayers could have been saved millions of dollars in wasted spending, and Greka employees and their families spared the potential loss of incomes.

 

“Greka must be held accountable for its history of neglect and irresponsibility, its failure to adequately repair or replace deteriorating infrastructure, and its disdain for county policies and regulations created to protect workers, the environment and human health. It is not enough to pay a monetary fine for this kind of irresponsibility.

 

“Habitual violators run the risk of being shut down permanently. Only businesses that take seriously their social responsibility, respect the rule of law and promote the welfare of the community should be allowed to operate in Santa Barbara County.”

 

So what’s changed between January 2008 and now? Not much apparently, or certainly not enough to prevent continued spills. County staff created a list of five recommendations to address the problem, which were approved in January 2008.

 

The recommendations included additional operational efficiency standards, increased inspections and fines, a central database to track offenses, a multiple-response ordinance and a high-risk offender ordinance.

 

What’s been missing is direct action to revoke the permits of those operators who, after all these efforts, and all this time, fail to comply with basic safety and environmental protection laws.

 

The supervisors discussed this problem Tuesday at their hearing on onshore oil facilities. Hopefully, with a new board majority, they will soon take action to stop the repeated offenses once and for all.

 

Deborah Brasket is executive director for the Santa Barbara County Action Network (SB CAN). She can be reached at 722-5094, or Deborah@sbcan.org. Looking Forward runs every Friday, providing a progressive viewpoint on local issues.