Our organization recently joined
Santa Barbara for Safe & Local Transport
, a coalition focused on restoring funding for county services and bringing back local jobs through the restart of ExxonMobil’s Santa Ynez Unit (SYU).
SYU has been
a part of our community
since 1970, but was forced to shut down operations in 2015 after a third-party pipeline rupture. Many local workers were displaced and the county lost millions in tax revenue that went to local schools, public safety, and other important county services.
Since it will take several years to construct a new pipeline, restarting SYU requires the temporary trucking of oil to local refineries.
A temporary trucking permit must be obtained by the County of Santa Barbara in order to begin trucking and restart SYU. Obtaining the permit will require an extensive education effort so our County Supervisors understand the importance of the permit, what is at stake if SYU is not restarted and the corresponding impacts to people and county services.
SYU’s restart will restore critical funding for fire protection, public safety, law enforcement and k-14 schools, and allow displaced local workers and their families to return to Santa Barbara county.
