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Oil trains become grave Carpinteria concern BY DALE MYERS
“We think it is urgent for the city council to send a letter to San Luis Obispo County. If they don’t build it, they won’t come.”
The Carpinteria City Council in its March 23 meeting voted unanimously in favor (without absent Councilman Brad Stein) of authorizing the mayor to sign a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation advocating for safety improvements regarding railroad transportation of crude oil and other hazardous materials. “At a local level, this has become an important issue,” said City Manager Dave Durflinger. “We have a rail line that goes ––Jim Taylor, through Carpinteria in close proximity to resivice president, dential and commercial Carpinteria Valley properties.” Association Durflinger added that any accident involving crude-oil transportation by rail could be disastrous for the community. The city manager referenced the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster that occurred in Quebec, Canada, in 2013 when an unattended 74-car freight train carrying Bakken Shale formation crude oil derailed resulting in an explosion and fire that caused the deaths of 47 people and the destruction of 30 buildings. Mike Mingee, Carpinteria-Summerland Fire District Chief, said, “Bakken crude is highly flammable. All the firefighters in the world couldn’t do anything to help that fire.” Emergency Services Coordinator Julie Jeakle also highlighted the findings of a State of California Interagency Rail Safety Working Group oil by rail safety in California report, which states that in 2012 only 1 million barrels of oil were transported in the state, but that number dramatically increased to 6.3 million barrels in 2013, or 506 percent. This uptick parallels a sharp increase in oil-by-rail shipments nationally, due in large part to increases in production of oil from the Bakken Shale formation in North Dakota, one of the largest oil developments in the U.S. in the past 40 years. The findings also indicate a simultaneous surge in accidents associated with oil-by-rail transport. In fact, more crude oil by volume was spilled in rail incidents in 2013 than was spilled in the nearly four decades prior. Of particular concern to the many Carpinteria residents in attendance was the proposed Phillips 66 rail
OIL TRAINS continued on page 4
No child left behind
ANTONY MARCHIANDO
Little legs whose surplus energy make up for any shortage in length rocketed into the 1-mile fun run for Orchard to Ocean on March 21. The annual event, put on by Carpinteria Education Foundation and benefiting local public schools, also included 5K and 10K races starting from Carpinteria Children’s Project at Main and winding along the picturesque Carpinteria Bluffs. The day of leg stretching concluded with the fun run for kids. See page 14 for more photos.
Drought gets expensive Water rates likely to rise 15 to 20 percent BY LEA BOYD
Facing $1.3 million in drought-related expenses for 2015-2016, the Carpinteria Valley Water District is considering a rate hike that would raise customer bills by 15 to 20 percent. The chance of any drought-denting rainfall is nearly nil at this point in the season; thus the water district’s $7.4 million draft budget includes water purchases and conservation efforts that could be necessary if Lake Cachuma continues its shift from Carpinteria’s main water source to no water source at all. All indications point to Oct. 1 arriving, when annual allocations of Cachuma water become available, without an ounce of water allotted for the upcoming year to agencies that rely on the lake, said CVWD General Manager Charles Hamilton. The recent rainy season brought the lake level up just a few feet higher than where the last dry season had left it at just 25 percent of its capacity. Once CVWD, Santa Barbara, Goleta and Montecito Water District pull out what remains of the 45 percent allocation agreed upon for this year, the lake will be more mud than water. Legally required releases of water to support endan-
Those who have not made changes to their water use habits, however, can reduce the impact of a rate hike by getting serious about water conservation. gered steelhead trout, which amount to 3,551 acre feet, formerly seemed like a drop in the bucket but have become highly sought after by thirsty water districts. Hamilton said that without naturally flowing water to support trout populations in creeks, the water releases from Cachuma serve no purpose. He has requested that the Bureau of Reclamation free up the fish release
WATER RATES continued on page 6