How do you kill well paying jobs, cause inflation, kill off needed government revenues and force people to people $10 for a gallon of gas? You do as Santa Barbara is doing—get rid of the oil industry. This kills the economy, so only the very rich and the very poor and illegal aliens are left in town.
“If the Board of Supervisors approves a ban, Santa Barbara County would stop issuing new drilling permits throughout the region and begin phasing out active oil operations.
The proposed ban is currently being written by county staff and will return to the board in October for the supervisors to officially vote on for approval. The proposal can be passed with a simple majority vote, which means three of the five members.
If the phaseout is approved by the board, the ban would only affect oil and gas production on land, also called onshore facilities. Oil facilities located off the coast generally fall under state and federal control.”
Note this is being pushed by “research” done at UCSB—of course when these socialists graduate, they will have to move to another State to get a job. Or learn how to fill taco shells.
What Onshore Oil & Gas Production Ban Could Mean for Santa Barbara County
A potential end to oil and gas productions in Santa Barbara County could have far-reaching effects for residents, climate and the economy
by Daniel Green, Noozhawk, 5/18/25 https://www.noozhawk.com/what-onshore-oil-gas-production-ban-could-mean-for-santa-barbara-county/
After over a century of oil and gas production in Santa Barbara County, a proposed ban on drilling could end the county’s long history with the industry that helped build the region into what it is today.
The Board of Supervisors voted to approve developing a ban on new oil and gas production and a phaseout of existing operations in a 3-1 vote during its Tuesday meeting in Santa Maria.
Supervisor Laura Capps, who represents District 2, called the vote historic, and says the public supports leaders who are moving to a cleaner economy.
“A strong majority of people are energized to transition away from oil and towards a clean and renewable energy. It’s palpable. It’s not like anything I’ve ever seen,” Capps said.
If the Board of Supervisors approves a ban, Santa Barbara County would stop issuing new drilling permits throughout the region and begin phasing out active oil operations.
The proposed ban is currently being written by county staff and will return to the board in October for the supervisors to officially vote on for approval. The proposal can be passed with a simple majority vote, which means three of the five members.
If the phaseout is approved by the board, the ban would only affect oil and gas production on land, also called onshore facilities. Oil facilities located off the coast generally fall under state and federal control.
The push for the proposed ban was driven by research from the UC Santa Barbara Political Science Department, which claims phasing out oil and gas operations could save the county between $54 to $81 million in mortality costs by 2045.
Additional savings could come from avoiding oil spills, oil-related incidents, and reduced impacts from climate change, the report stated.
The report also says that phasing out oil and gas operations could prevent 344,072 metric tons of CO2 by 2045, which could prevent climate-related damages estimated to cost $21.8 million.
One of the reasons the county can even consider a phaseout of oil and gas production is due to new legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The law, AB 3233, went into effect at the beginning of the year and gives local governments more authority to limit oil and gas operations.
Other counties and cities in California have acted to limit oil and gas in their jurisdictions, but were prevented from doing so due to lawsuits.
“The legislature has acted and stated in their laws that … local jurisdictions, cities and counties do have the authority. So that opens the door that we never had before,” said Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann, who voted to move toward a ban.
Hartmann stated that if the county does approve the phaseout, the effect will not be immediate. Staff would have to research how to phase out existing or idle wells in the county, which could take up to 18 months to determine.
Additionally, the county must determine a fair amount of time for operators to recoup the value of the wells, called the amortization period. The timeline for an amortization could take years, according to staff.
Hartmann continued by saying that she believes that Santa Barbara County and California can lead by example by moving forward with the phaseout.
“This is our future, and we have to act and somebody has to step forward and say, ‘We are acting or creating a way for others to follow,’” Hartmann said.
Environmental groups spoke in support of the potential ban during Tuesday’s meeting and said the plan would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Santa Barbara County Without Oil
Even though the vote for the framework passed the board, not all the supervisors are supportive of the potential ban.
Three supervisors—Capps, Hartmann and Roy Lee—voted to move forward with a ban. Supervisor Bob Nelson opposed it, and Steve Lavagnino was absent for Tuesday’s vote.
Nelson, who represents District 4 in the North County, said he views Tuesday’s decision with “absolute disappointment.”
Nelson said that the ban on oil and gas production in his district will lead to a loss of jobs and increased poverty.
“These are head-of-household jobs. These are jobs that … are not transferable to other industries. These are a specialty. And when we put people out of business, we are going to be taking those jobs away from families, and those are jobs that are often occupied by people that are in typically socioeconomically disadvantaged statuses,” Nelson said.
Nelson also believes that banning oil and gas production from the county will have the opposite effect on greenhouse gases. He stated banning production will force the state to ship in oil from other countries, which will still contribute to emissions.
Additionally, he stated that oil companies work to reduce their emissions through California’s Cap-and-Trade Program.
According to the UC Santa Barbara report, the number of jobs related to extracting and drilling for crude oil amounts to fewer than100 employees. Most workers in the industry are in support roles and make up anywhere from 465 to 1,031 jobs.
“With a total local workforce of 209,500 jobs across all sectors county-wide, oil-related jobs make up just 0.0023% to 0.0054% of all employment in the region,” the report stated.
However, some argue that banning the oil industry would have a larger impact on the local economy.
Peter Rupert, the director of the UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project, said that losing the oil and gas production will impact other industries. That could include law firms that provide legal services, computer specialists, and other industries that service oil and gas companies.
Despite the UCSB report saying banning oil and gas would only affect about 100 workers, Rupert said the larger impact could affect 1,800 workers across different fields.
Rupert said that despite signs that the oil production is trending downward, the industry still produces an output of three-quarters of a billion dollars.
Capps said she understands that losing jobs is difficult, but the act of decommissioning oil wells will take decades.
“Decommissioning takes, sometimes, decades and the same skillsets that go into oil and gas types of employments…are necessary for decommissioning. Also, there’s some overlap with clean economy jobs,” Capps said.
Some members of the oil industry have expressed frustration with the county and believe they were not considered when supervisors decided to pursue the ban.
Ben Oakley, manager for the Western State Petroleum Association, sent the county a comment letter opposing the proposed ban on new oil and gas well drilling.
“Halting new drilling will exacerbate crude shortages, forcing reliance on costly foreign imports and risking fuel price spikes and supply shortages that burden residents and businesses, as seen in recent years,” he wrote. “Local crude production helps keep local refineries open as well. The oil and gas sector supports thousands of jobs and millions in taxes that fund schools, roads and public safety—resources at risk without a transition plan.”
Edward Hazard, the president of the California branch of the National Association of Royalty Owners, says the ordinance would impact people who own royalty rights and lease them to oil companies.
Hazard’s family first entered the oil industry in 1900, when his great-grandfather and his friends staked a claim near Orcutt. Hazard entered the oil industry in 2008 and began leasing his mineral rights to oil companies.
Royalty owners like Hazard lease their mineral rights to oil companies for a portion of the profit. Even though a disbursement may only be a few hundred dollars a month, Hazard said seniors rely on it.
Moving forward, Hazard said his group plans to challenge the county’s decision, which he believes is unconstitutional.
“You’ve got innocent victims here,” Hazard. “We’re not considered, and we need to get a little more vocal and active.”
