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Ventura County Faces Lawsuit after Approved Oil Drilling Project
By KEYT - KCOY - KKFX Newsroom Staff
Plan Calls for Nineteen New Oil Wells along Santa Paula Canyon Trail
VENTURA, Calif. - Three environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against Ventura County for a proposed oil drilling project along the Santa Paula Canyon Trail.
The plan, approved by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on a 3-2 vote, would drill 19 new oil wells along the popular hiking trail despite objections from; hikers, local residents, and scientists.
The groups claim the County relied on outdated environmental impact reports from the 1970's.
The three groups who filed the lawsuit; The Center for Biological Diversity, Citizens for Responsible Oil & Gas, and Los Padres ForestWatch all claim that Ventura County should have conducted a new and updated study of the risks that come along with drilling these oil wells along this part of the county.
“Santa Paula Canyon is one of the crown jewels of Ventura County, with thousands of residents and visitors enjoying this wilderness destination each year,” said Jeff Kuyper, executive director of Los Padres ForestWatch. “More drilling here will ruin the outdoor recreation experience while reducing local tourism dollars and harming local businesses.”
The lawsuit claims that the county failed to evaluate how the drilling would impact noise and public safety impacts as well as how it would impact hikers on the trail itself.
The lawsuit also urges for the court to put the drilling project on hold until a more thorough review is made and all the risks are fully disclosed to the public.
A copy of the lawsuit is available at SaveSantaPaulaCanyon.org and CFROG.org.
This article originally appeared here.
