Judge says Santa Barbara County just in denying ExxonMobil request

October 5, 2023

•

A request by ExxonMobil to haul crude oil along the Cuyama River on State Highway 166 poses a significant enough safety risk that a California district judge is upholding Santa Barbara County’s vote to deny it.

Initially filed in May 2022, Exxon’s lawsuit came after the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors cited the risk detailed in an environmental report. The board voted to deny the request to haul oil from the company’s Santa Ynez location to a refinery in Kern County in March 2022.

Court documents say Exxon’s safety mitigation measures were insufficient because they “cannot address the external factors such as reckless driving, road conditions or unexpected hazards.”

This particular highway’s sharp inclines and tight turns also were considered in Judge Dolly Gee’s ruling, which references a 2020 tanker spill that resulted in 4,200 gallons of crude oil being spilled into the Cuyama River.

Despite the fact that supervisors who voted against Exxon’s request expressed a desire to end oil production in the county, the court ruled those comments did not mean the supervisors acted contrary to the law.

Evidence of bowing to political pressure was unproven, as well, as a writ of mandate cannot be used to force a public entity to exercise discretionary powers in any particular manner, Gee ruled.

“Each supervisor voting to deny the application provided rational reasons for their vote, supported by the evidence in the record,” the ruling says. “The board did not abuse its discretion or act contrary to law when it denied Exxon’s application.”

The ruling also notes a city’s land use decisions must be consistent with the policies expressed in its general plan.

The Santa Barbara County coastal plan states the county “need not provide unlimited flexibility to all (oil) producers.” The plan also contemplates non-pipeline transport for only a fraction of oil in the county, according to the court ruling.

A joint status report is to be submitted by the parties by Oct. 27. LL