A new 124-mile oil pipeline is planned on the Central Coast. Here’s what you need to know
In 2018, Plains was found guilty of several crimes including a felony in connection to the Refugio Oil Spill, for failing to properly maintain the line, failing to inform emergency response agencies about the spill in a timely fashion and for killing animals.
The proposal to build a new pipeline has raised the hackles of environmentalists critical of the company's failure to maintain the existing pipe. They're also poised to fight oil infrastructure because of climate change and the Trump administration's plans to expand offshore drilling with federal leases on the Outer Continental Shelf.
Oil industry representatives say the project would bring increased stability to local refineries and contribute to domestic oil production and create construction jobs.
Here's what you need to know:
What is the Plains pipeline?
The new Plains pipeline was designed to transport crude oil produced in the Outer Continental Shelf in Santa Barbara Channel to onshore refineries in
If the pipeline is not permitted and approved, Plains officials said the
Plains says the project will create 400 temporary construction jobs for 12 to 18 months and 10 permanent jobs to operate the pipeline. In addition, Phillips 66
Construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2021 to bring the pipeline into operation in the summer of 2022.
Public hearings to prepare environmental review documents are scheduled to begin in February, with the draft environmental impact statement released in the summer of 2019. The
The existing pipeline was shut after the Refugio Oil Spill
The existing 30-year-old Plains pipeline was shut down after it corroded and spilled more than 100,000 gallons of crude off Refugio State Beach near
The pipeline and three of
"We regret what happened back in 2015. It was a devastating thing for the community,"
The new steel pipe would vary in diameter from 12 to 16 inches, replacing a larger 24-inch to 30-inch diameter pipe, a reduction in capacity. The new pipe would have 49 valves, nearly double the number in the original pipe and twice as many pump stations to reduce the pressure.
Critics point to the company's track record as a reason to reject the proposal.
"I'm sorry that people don't trust our company," Greig said. He said the company is going through a very stringent permitting process and will be reviewed by dozens of agencies. "I would hope that the people would trust those agencies."
The company has not said what went wrong with the existing pipeline to cause the spill, nor whether it met state and local safety requirements when the pipe corroded, citing pending litigation.
It's designed for offshore oil
Plains calls it the "Lines 901 and 903
Some of the oil would be diverted through an existing pipeline to the
Opponents of the project want to block it to prevent more offshore oil drilling.
About 30 protesters gathered outside a
"People are opposed to this pipeline for a number of reasons," Christie said. "One of them is the fact that it will resurrect several of
"But the larger danger is those offshore platforms coming back into operation at the same time the
Greig said that the new pipeline proposal is independent of Trump's plans to expand offshore leases.
Where the pipeline would go
The 124-mile pipeline would run 73 miles through
Around 100 miles of that pipeline would run through private property. Plains will likely have to renegotiate contracts with more than 100 landowners or use eminent domain to secure the right-of-way.
The remainder of the pipeline would travel through
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