Holding Greka Accountable

By Deborah Brasket, SB CAN Executive Director

Last Friday there was yet another Greka Oil spill. This time an estimated 84,000 gallons of crude oil were spilled into a creek bed near Los Olivos, next to the Firestone Winery.

In December nearly 59,000 gallons were spilled into creek beds just south of Santa Maria. And that came on the heels of the 7,000-gallon spills that occurred in three separate incidents in November.

Taken as a whole, these numbers far exceed the 57,000 gallons spilled into the San Francisco Bay when a marine freighter collided with the Bay Bridge last month, drawing national headlines and community outrage.

These spills are only the most recent of hundreds of violations that Greka has committed over the past 8 years, incurring more than $2.5 million in fines and penalties.

Environmental authorities, including representatives from the Department of Fish and Game, Regional Water Quality Agency, County Air Pollution Control District, and County Fire Department, all agree that the number of Greka’s violations far exceeds that of any other oil operator in the area.

The frequency of the violations, averaging one every ten days, has been particularly challenging to the agencies’ limited staff and resources. Most of these violations, spills, and accidents were caused by the dilapidated condition of Greka’s equipment and infrastructure. One inspector reported finding that a leaky holding tank had been “repaired” by plugging the corroded hole with a tree branch!

While most of these accidents and violations have taken place in northern Santa Barbara County, the threat of additional accidents is felt County-wide. At a recent hearing on the Greka spills called by Assemblyman Pedro Nava, property owners at Mussel Shoals voiced concerns about the numerous violations at Greka’s off-shore oil facility and the recent shut down of the pier leading to the facility by state officials due to “significant disrepair.”

Bad as they are, these accidents and violations aren’t the extent of Greka’s problems. Two of its companies, Santa Maria Refining Company and Greka Integrated Inc, are involved in a civil suit, now on appeal, for failing to plug up and shut down 47 tapped out oil wells.

Several of these unplugged wells, which present “ongoing potential for contamination to the environment,” are located in northern Santa Barbara County near Casmalia and Cat Canyon.

This lengthy string of accidents, violations, fines, and lawsuits provides a strong indication of neglect, incompetence, and irresponsible business practice. Such practices jeopardize not only the environment and the health of the community, but also the safety and livelihood of Greka’s employees.

Supervisors Wolf and Carbajal, and Assemblyman Nava are to be commended for drawing attention to a problem that should have been addressed years ago.

Had measures been taken then to force compliance with county and federal policies, and to demand the repair and replacement of deteriorating infrastructure, our community could have been spared repeated toxic gas leaks and oil spills, and the County saved from countless hours of needless clean-ups.

Taxpayers could have been saved millions of dollars in wasted spending, and Greka employees and their families spared the potential loss of incomes.

Greka must be held accountable for its history of neglect and irresponsibility, its failure to adequately repair or replace deteriorating infrastructure, and its disdain for county policies and regulations created to protect workers, the environment and human health.

It is not enough to pay a monetary fine for this kind of irresponsibility. Habitual violators run the risk of being shut down permanently.

Only businesses that take seriously their social responsibility, respect the rule of law and promote the welfare of the community should be allowed to operate in Santa Barbara County.

Join us at the January 15 hearing on the Greka oil spills where we will be urging our Supervisors to take strong action to stop the spills and repeated violations.

[First printed in the Santa Maria Times under the Looking Forward Column, January 11, 2008. Reprinted on Noozhawk.com and in the Lompoc Record in slightly different version]