The stop work order issued to Greka Oil and Gas Co. by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department is still in effect as of Jan. 6, following three consecutive oil spills in late December at the Bell lease facility on Palmer Road in Santa Maria.

According to fire department spokesman Captain Eli Iskow, “unsafe acts and conditions noted at the Greka-Bell Lease facility on Palmer Road” led fire department investigators to mandate the stop-work order at the facility, revoking Greka’s permit to operate there.

 

The spills released about 1,600 gallons of crude oil into the area, including a nearby dry creek. The cause of the first spill on Dec. 26 was the result of a broken pipeline, and the following two were caused by personnel failing to close the correct valve.

“This was a mistake, and the operator has been terminated and the foreman in charge of the lease has been reassigned,” said Greka President Andrew DeVegvar.

DeVegvar took full responsibility for the recent spills at a Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting Jan. 6, apologizing to the people of Santa Barbara County.

“I’m very regretful, and I take full responsibility as president of the company for this,” DeVegvar said. “I don’t think there are any acceptable excuses.”

Prior to his comments, representatives of two local environmental groups, the Environmental Defense Center and Get Oil Out, told the board that they feel Greka should be shut down.

 

“I suggest that the time for you to continue to just take reports and listen and be disappointed is over,” said David Landecker, executive director of the Environmental Defense Center. “It is time for this board to act on behalf of the citizens, to get beyond our disappointment and do something. If a restaurant continued to poison people, you can bet that after a year it would be shut down.”

Hannah Eckberg, vice president of Get Oil Out, echoed Landecker’s sentiment.

“They are unable to operate in a responsible manner, and it is time to do something about it,” she said. “These are aging oil facilities that have outlived their productivity.”

Carol Singleton, a spokesperson with the California Department of Fish and Game, said at least three people in a field response team investigated the spills and concluded on Jan. 2 that there were no impacts on wildlife.

 

Greka will pay for the cleanup and administrative costs of fish and game’s investigation, she said. Fish and game will review the information to determine if it recommends pressing charges, she added.

“Last December, they had several spills, but we haven’t responded recently,” Singleton said. “They seem to have cleaned up their act a little bit.”

The frequent response to spills at Greka facilities, which prompted the board of supervisors to ask for continual updates and assessments of all of the onshore oil leases operating in the county and stricter fines and penalties, has been ongoing for a year.

 

Some want the company shut down altogether, and 1st District Supervisor Salud Carbajal instructed county staff to find a way to explain to people what situation might prompt that.

“What is the threshold for us to be able to shut down a company?” he asked. “I think the public wants to know that, and I think we owe it to the public to go over those scenarios.”  

Threatened litigation by Greka may make the question a difficult one to answer, he cautioned. The supervisors will have onshore oil issues on their agenda again on Jan. 13.

DeVegvar said Greka plans to continue operating in the county and wants to become a proud member of the community and be accepted by the public.

Greka officials requested the county lift the stop work order in stages over the first week or two in January and only apply it to the areas affected, though, he added, the furlough might affect the timing.

 

“I think that obviously it would be better not to have any oil spills, but all oil companies have oil spills, and typically the response across the country to companies that have oil spills is to deal with the oil spill and try to improve whatever can be improved,” DeVegvar said. “The company is not usually just shut down.”

DeVegvar went on to say that he thought shutting down the entire facility was inappropriate and could force the company into bankruptcy.

 Greka has improved its facility over the last 10 months, and wants to move on and work in an environmentally conscious way, he added, but that can only work if the county works with the company.

 

“I think that the situation with Greka has been political to a point that it’s being used as a political football because in Santa Barbara County it’s easy to point the finger at an oil company and get everybody on the band wagon, and I don’t think it’s really that fair,” DeVegvar said.

Greka is the only oil company that has undergone shut-down of facilities in Santa Barbara County as a result of spills. DeVegvar said the whole company faces bankruptcy and the loss of 200 jobs if it is not allowed to work again soon.

Since 2003, Greka has spilled more than 300,000 gallons of oil.

 

  

Reach Lauren Crecelius at lcrecelius@syvjournal.com. Reach Leah Etling at letling@syvjournal.com.