Nava blasts energy company's track record

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

At a public hearing to discuss a recent string of oil spills and violations at Greka Energy facilities in Santa Barbara County, Assemblymember Pedro Nava wasted no time painting an image of a rogue company operating with brazen disregard for public and environmental health.
“It appears to me they consider fines and lawsuits part of their regular operating costs,” he said, explaining that in the past eight years, the company has paid an estimated $2.5 million in penalties and fines for a staggering number of violations.

He called yesterday’s meeting of top local, state and federal officials in response to a series of spills that dumped roughly 74,000 gallons of crude oil onto local soil in the past two months, including a 67,000-gallon spill into a dry creek bed on Dec. 7.
With a stated goal of bringing together public agencies to examine the latest incidents, review Greka’s environmental track record and develop legislation to prevent future spills from taking place, Assemblymember Nava made it clear he didn’t plan to dance around the issue.
“At what point do we collectively come to the opinion that enough is enough?” he asked the panel of leaders. “…At what point do we say you just can’t do business here anymore?”
Although nobody had an answer prepared for that query, they all seemed in agreement that of all the oil companies in the region, Greka Energy has by far the most egregious track record of violations.
“There are a lot of oil operations in the county and it’s Greka that takes up our time,” County Deputy Fire Chief Tom Franklin said, holding up a manila folder with records of violations during the past year and a half, the majority at Greka facilities.
“Greka is the most challenging company we regulate,” said Terry Dressler, director of the County Air Pollution Control District, which has uncovered 287 air quality violations at Greka facilities since the company began operations in 1999, roughly one violation every 10 days.
Dressler said during one inspection of a Greka building, an inspector came across a tree branch being used to plug a corroded hole in a holding tank.
“We have one of the most profitable oil and gas exploration companies in the world … plugging holes in their tanks with tree branches,” Assemblymember Nava said.
Steve Edinger, chief of the Department of Fish and Game’s enforcement branch, said his workers have visited Greka operations to inspect one incident and found another one occurring upon arrival. He said the department has responded to 203 incidents at Greka facilities since 1999.
“That is well outside the norm for us,” Edinger said.
In contrast, Robert Sanger, an attorney representing Greka chairman, president and CEO Randeep Grewal, painted an entirely different portrait of the energy company, one of an organization that inherited aging infrastructure and has done its best to work with government agencies to follow the law.
“All the wells are old,” Sanger said. “Greka has not drilled a single well. … They are making an effort to deal with old facilities.”
He said when Greka came into the region in 1999, large oil companies had taken as much oil as they found profitable before letting smaller companies such as Greka take over.
“This is, at least in large part, an acquired asset or liability,” he said. “…They are making an effort, a very sincere effort, to comply.”
Characterizing the company as making “tremendous progress” by investing tens of millions of dollars in capital improvements, Sanger said he believes Greka is on the “upcurve” of the problem.
“I think the smartest thing Mr. Grewal has done is hire you,” Assemblymember Nava said in response to Sanger’s public comment.
Along with Sanger, a large group of Greka employees, many wearing green Greka jackets, filled the David Gebhard Public Meeting Room in Santa Barbara, evidently a show of support for the company that eventually spurred a city fire marshal to clear the exits and force those standing to leave the room.
One of those employees sporting a green jacket, production foreman Scott Proskow, came forward to voice his support for Greka.
“I have seen a lot of improvements … a big stab forward in correcting these problems,” he said.
Describing Greka as one of the largest employers in the Santa Maria area, Proskow characterized the energy company as an asset to the community.
“It would be a big blow to me and my coworkers if too heavy sanctions are placed on our company,” he said.
However, others who came forward during the public comment period blasted Greka’s environmental record, including Nathan Alley, an attorney with the Environmental Defense Center.
“There is a damning record and I believe enough is enough,” he said.
Victor Rosenfeld and Ron Austin, both property owners at Mussel Shoals, voiced their concern about Greka’s nearby artificial island that houses an oil facility.
Rosenfeld said the island, about 3,000 feet offshore, has been cited for numerous violations and shut down on Thursday by state officials due to “significant disrepair” to the pier leading out to the island.
As the meeting wore on, Assemblymember Nava, appearing well versed on violations by Greka, started focusing his questions on current legislative issues and potential solutions. Several officials lamented their inability to levy effective penalties.
Lisa Curtis, an administrator with the Department of Fish and Game, said the department can only issue a $2,000 penalty per incident with no rising scale for repeat offenders. John Robertson, a geologist with the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, said fines from that organization are limited to $10 per gallon of spilled material.
Others, however, said they feel their penalty scales are not the issue. Dressler said the APCD can levy fines ranging from $1,000 per day for minor violations up to $100,000 per day for those that cause public harm.
“We don’t believe we have a lack of tools in that area,” he said.
Ron Cortez, deputy county CEO, offered up a suggestion met with support by many on the panel — coordinating efforts and creating a central database of violations.
Throughout the discussion, Assemblymember Nava scribbled away on a notepad, taking down suggestions and complaints. Ultimately, he said everyone in the room wanted the same end goal: for Greka to follow the law and operate in a safe manner.
“What we’re all interested in is a safe environment. … There isn’t anybody here that wants to see anyone lose their job.”