Re “Starting a Complicated Project: Measuring, Gauging Air in the Oil Field”
To the surprise of no one who has stood guard over drilling disputes at the Inglewood Oil Field during the past decade, activist Gary Gless says of the County-organized plan to monitor the air over the field the next 12 months:
“We believe there are lots of flaws in the way the whole air-monitoring) process is taking place.”
As a leader of Citizens Coalition for a Safe Community, Mr. Gless’s main complaint is that the company in charge, Sonoma Technology, Inc., Petaluma, will center on the wrong targets.
“They are looking for metals rather than putting up fence-line monitoring around the whole perimeter of the oil field for a year period rather than the short term two-month study that Sonoma is planning on,” he said.
“We want to learn more about the gasses coming out of there so we can get the information to the community.
“Right now, the way it is set up, (the oil drilling company) PXP can move around at will. They can skirt any type of operations Sonoma is doing that would show the community any contamination.”
The Cheaper Route
It irritates Mr. Gless that just as County officials chose a less expensive method to conduct the recent disputed health survey of surrounding communities, the air monitoring study is being paid for the same way.
“The County fell short once again in trying to find extra funding for the study,” he said. “This was requested in last year’s Settlement Agreement (with numerous plaintiffs, including Mr. Gless).
“The County was supposed to solicit outside sources. Instead, they just went to the AQMD (Air Quality Management District), which said no, and the County stopped there.”
Avoiding the Truth?
Mr. Gless asserts that “the County has dropped the ball in trying to do an adequate survey. The whole Settlement Agreement was about getting a good study for the community. This is what the community has wanted. The burden was on the County to find funding, because they are the ones who chose Sonoma. Sonoma has been saying they could do a better study with more money.”
Mr. Gless says, as others before him have, that the County is hardly a neutral or disinterested party since it profits from PXP’s drilling activities.
“The County does not want to find out what is happening into the community (regarding the oil field’s allegedly detrimental effects),” he said. “There is evidence of health issues, and I don’t think the County wants to find out how bad it truly is.”
Mr. Gless “hates” to think the present settlement disagreement could result in still another lawsuit, but he left the option open.
“First,” he said, “I am tempted to see how the County is going to get out of this one because they have shafted the community again. We have irons in the fire, and we will see where the County ends up with this.”
