SB CAN endorses Santa Barbara County Water Guardians’ Initiative
On March 26, 2014, the SB CAN Board of Directors endorsed the Healthy Air and Water Initiative, which was recently filed with the County of Santa Barbara by the Santa Barbara County Water Guardians. The filing is a notice to circulate a petition to put the measure before the county board of supervisors. The board could then choose to implement the measure outright or to put it before countywide voters in November.
In essence, the measure would ban enhanced oil-recovery techniques, such as fracking, cyclic steaming, and acidization, while allowing traditional oil-extraction projects to continue.
Here's information about the initiative from SBC Water Guardians:
About the “Healthy Air and Water Initiative to Ban Fracking”
Oil companies have identified thousands upon thousands of potential drill locations across our region -- from Santa Maria to Carpinteria.
This is not the conventional oil that we've been drilling for a hundred years. The only way to extract this oil is through the use of extreme techniques like fracking, acidization and steam injection. Join the fight to ban these dangerous techniques and protect our water, air, health and climate.
Why Now? We cannot afford to wait even 2 more years. Thousands of new wells are on the horizon and hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign investments are pouring into our county. Imagine how much more difficult it would be to stop them once the boom really gets going!
Why an initiative? In order to head this development off any other way, we would need a 4/5 vote by our county supervisors and we don’t have the votes, nor do we have the time to wait.
Why Ban High-Intensity Petroleum Operations in SB County? Please reference the “findings” section of the initiative for more information on the following points.
1) To protect human health and safety
2) The emissions will degrade our air quality and contribute to climate change
3) Our limited water should go toward agriculture and municipal uses
4) We cannot afford the risks of groundwater and surface water contamination
5) High-Intensity Petroleum Operations are inconsistent with our agricultural heritage
6) Earthquake risks in SB County are already too high
7) High-Intensity Petroleum Operations aren’t compatible with tourist trades
8) Potential harm to Biological Resources
9) We don’t want the boom and bust economy associated with modern oil development
Another one of our major concerns, is that our residential areas have hundreds or even thousands of abandoned wells underlying them. If we allow a massive amount of steam injection in the nearby areas, we will likely see these old, poorly capped wells start to leak and affect our health and property values.
What is our timeline? Very short, and very sweet. Approximately 30 days to gather 18,000 signatures. We have over 100 people ready to get started, but can use all the help we can get! Join us! Donations are also extremely helpful.
How can I volunteer to help?
- Sign up to help gather signatures at waterguardians.org. “take action”
- Join a weekly conference call training to learn more about our initiative and for coaching on how to gather signatures correctly.
Wednesdays at 8PM.
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Dial-in Number: (712) 432-1212 |
Questions? email: [email protected] or call Becca at 805-865-2231
Read more at WaterGuardians.org
Here's information about petition training from SBC Water Guardians:
Hello Fracktivists!! SB County Water Guardians are gaining momentum as we quickly approach our signature gathering phase starting in early April.
For those of you who have already signed up to help, we are so glad and grateful for your help! Thank you! I promise, we will have a lot of fun together! Invite your friends to join you!
To learn more about our initiative (see attached) and to learn how to gather valid signatures, please attend our petition training, this coming Monday, 3/31 at 5 PM at Rabobank in Orcutt. 1110 East Clark Ave. We will meet in the Community Room from about 5-6:30PM. Refreshments are welcome, so we will bring some snacks and beverages to share.
Bonus! For Santa Maria residents, there will be a perfect opportunity to practice your signature gathering skills by joining the wonderful Hazel Davalos with the "voice for every neighborhood" campaign.
Please call me anytime with questions! I look forward to seeing you on Monday!!
Here is a link to our website where you can read more, and sign up to help, or donate to the campaign. http://www.sbcountywaterguardians.org/
Onward!
Rebecca
(805) 865-2231
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Ken Hough
Executive Director
SB CAN
[email protected]
(805) 563-0463