Ventura County Watchdog Halts Controversial Drilling Project

Environmental activists in Ventura County received an early Christmas present this week when Dos Cuadras Offshore Resources (DCOR) withdrew its application to reopen a former oilfield near Piru that had been dormant for nearly 25 years.

Citizens For Responsible Oil & Gas (CFROG), Los Padres ForestWatch (LPFW), The Center For Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Piru Neighborhood Council (PNC) began their campaign for a full environmental impact report earlier this year when it found that planning staff had minimized or even failed to consider potential impacts to condors, water pollution, earthquake risk, and truck traffic and health impacts to residents of the small rural community of Piru.

CFROG President John Brooks said, “When the planning department turns its back on the health and safety complaints of the people they are charged to protect, we had no choice but to appeal in the name of environmental justice. This is a great victory for the people but our efforts to mandate responsible oil and gas development must continue.”

Julianne Lugo, a member of the Board of the Piru Neighborhood Council that voted unanimously to oppose the project without a complete EIR, noted that “there are still many active wells that surround us and 5 new wells from the same oil company that the county approved administratively.” And LPFW Executive Director Jeff Kuyper cautioned, “If this proposal is brought back, Ventura County must evaluate the serious impacts that oil wells, pipelines, roads, and tanks will have on people and the endangered California Condors that frequent this critical wildlife corridor.”

Local attorney and CFROG advisory board member Leif Dautch added, “CFROG was established to provide a meaningful check on oil drilling in the county, and victories like this show it is fulfilling its mission.”