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Mineral Resources Management Division - Rigs to Reefs Workshop

Luis Perez

Mr. Perez is an Energy Specialist with the Planning and Development Department of the Santa Barbara County Energy Division. He has been with the County for over 9 years.

~Submitted by Mr. Perez ~

Santa Barbara County has long been involved in the permitting and compliance of onshore oil and gas projects related to offshore oil and gas development. Those permits have been issued with the understanding that all facilities will be removed once the projects reach the end of their economic life. 

Similarly, based on existing regulations and permits, the county has assumed that all offshore facilities will also be removed in their entirety at the end of their economic life. The County expects that any change from those original permits requiring full removal would require substantial scientific evidence of public and environmental benefit and the absence of any potential future environmental impacts. 

The County is a Responsible party under CEQA / NEPA for offshore decommissioning projects since those projects usually have onshore components and their decommissioning impacts must be analyzed as part of the overall environmental review. Offshore decommissioning projects also have onshore impacts such as air quality, visual, tourism, biology and solid waste to name a few, and the County is tasked with ensuring that those impacts are adequately evaluated and mitigated. As can be expected, local citizens and various businesses, such as tourism and commercial fishing consider the County responsible for preventing impacts to their businesses from offshore oil and gas activities, including facility decommissioning.