Calif. May Allow Expanded Production as Oil Spill Cleanup Continues

"Just over a month after California experienced its worst oil spill in decades, the state is considering allowing a company to triple its oil production off the coast of Santa Barbara and run the oil through the same pipeline that leaked on 19 May.

Both oil producers Venoco and ExxonMobil had to halt operations in the region this week as crews continued repairing the ruptured pipeline and cleaning the beaches surrounding it. But that didn’t stop regulators at the State Lands Commission from holding a hearing for Venoco in Goleta, California.

Local regulators heard a proposal from Venoco to expand their offshore oil operations near Santa Barbara. Activists say that expansion would create three times the volume of oil, which would have to be transported through the same Plains All American Pipeline that spilled over 100,000 gallons of oil onto Refugio Beach and its surrounding waters last month."

Peter Moskowitz reports for the Guardian June 28, 2015.