Oil piers removed

As the surf gently landed on Haskell's Beach on a cloudy Monday morning, Sen. Monique Limón was thrilled about what no longer stood behind her.

She didn't have to see them. Or smell them.

The two Goleta oil piers — California's last two oil production shorezone piers — were gone.

The piers were removed during the Piers 421 Pier and Caisson Decommissioning Project.

"Being on Chumash land today, stepping foot here and looking to this side and seeing no ugly, dirty, smelling piers is incredible because it took so long and so many people" to remove the piers, Sen. Limón, D-Santa Barbara, told a gathering of elected officials, media and visitors.

The senator's audience included Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who chairs the California State Lands Commission and spoke during the ceremony marking the removal of piers. The commission collaborated with the city of Goleta to remove the piers, a decommissioning project that marks the end of oil production, which took place from the late 1920s to the 1990s in the Ellwood Oil Field.

The removal work started in August and was completed in February. It involved the removal of 4,258 tons of soil; 1,110 tons of concrete;320 tons of steel and 131 tons of wood, according to figures from the California State Lands Commission.

At Monday's gathering, Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte echoed Sen. Limón's sentiments and used several adjectives to describe her joy about the piers’ removal.

"Today, I’m beyond thrilled, and I’m sure my colleagues would agree with that about what we’re celebrating," Mayor Perotte told the audience. "In fact, I’m exhilarated. I’m ecstatic. I’m enraptured. I’m elated. And on and on and on. I have a lot of words to say how I’m feeling today."

"Today's celebration marks a significant accomplishment for the safety of our community and ocean environment," she said. "Haskell's Beach today looks more like Haskell's Beach in 1923 than 2023.

"The antiquated wells and piers are forever gone and no longer pose an oil spill threat to our ocean, beaches, flora and fauna," Mayor Perotte said.

"The state lands commission's partnership with the city of Goleta has been key to this restoration effort, and we appreciate the commitment, cooperation and the collaboration of all the folks," she said.

But Mayor Perotte noted the work in removing legacy oil infrastructure from Goleta isn't finished.

"We look forward to continuing our collaboration on the full decommissioning of Platform Holly and Ellwood Onshore Facility," she said.

Mayor Perotte noted the city of Goleta and California State Lands Commission will hold a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Goleta City Council chambers, 130 Cremona Drive, Goleta, to present more information on those plans.

Supervisor Joan Hartmann, whose district extends from Vandenberg Space Force Base to just south of Goleta, also addressed the crowd. She noted she recently received an image of the last wind turbine being installed at the Strauss Wind Project, a few miles southwest of Lompoc.

"We’re really seeing the change, the transition that is so desperately needed," the 3rd District supervisor said, referring to moving to cleaner energy sources because of climate change.

"Never before has decommissioning (oil platforms and piers) been more important," Supervisor Hartmann said.

Supervisor Laura Capps also talked to the audience.

"If you want to think of one word when it comes to Santa Barbara County, it's environmentalism," the 2nd District supervisor said. "It's in our DNA."

Supervisor Capps said the decommissioning ceremony is symbolic of a future that is cleaner and more sustainable.

"But it's also an acknowledgement of the decades of work that went into this," she said.

Referring to the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, Supervisor Capps noted the community took a crisis and turned it into an opportunity to improve the world. She was referring specifically to Earth Day, which started in 1970.

That was also the year that the Community Environmental Council was formed in Santa Barbara, followed by the creation of the Environmental Defense Center seven years later in the same city.

On the federal level, the Environmental Protection Agency was established in 1970, and the Clean Water Act was expanded in 1972.

Monday's gathering also included talks by State Controller and Commissioner Malia Cohen; former state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara; Carla Frisk, a representative of Get Oil Out!; and Assemblymember Gregg Hart, D-Santa Barbara. Other officials included Goleta City Council members and Das Williams, the chair of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.

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