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Texaco
Sacate Canyon pipeline removal
San Augustine pipe stanchion removal
What's New
- Pipeline removal at the Hollister Ranch site has been completed and restoration and revegetation monitoring continues to ensure compliance with the project conditions of approval.
Description
A seven mile long onshore pipeline corrodor that once supported three pipelines. Sections of the pipelines were either removed or abandoned in place depending upon location or resource constraints, such as sensitive creek habitats.
Location
The Texaco's Hollister Ranch Pipeline corridor is located between
the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The approximately
seven-mile-long corridor is located between San Augustine Canyon
and Gaviota State Beach. This corridor crosses two major land holdings;
Hollister Ranch and Gaviota State Park.
Texaco Location |
Overhead View of the Texaco-Hollister Ranch Pipeline Corridor
Location |
Onshore Facilities
- There are a total of three pipelines in the Texaco-Hollister
Ranch pipeline corridor. These include one 8-inch, one 6-inch
and one 2.5-inch pipeline.
- The 2.5-inch pipeline runs along only a portion of the corridor,
approximately two miles to a pig receiver at Alegria Creek. The
8-inch and 6-inch pipelines runs seven miles.
- Texaco proposes to remove approximately one-half mile of pipelines
at 38 different locations as well as above-ground lines, supports
and footings at a number of creeks and abandon the remaining 6.5
miles of pipelines in place.
Past Activities
- Pipelines were installed during 1960 and used to support development
of the Conception and Cuarta offshore oil and gas fields (State
lease 2725 and 2206), transporting oil and gas from two offshore
platforms (Helen & Herman) to the Texaco Gaviota Oil and Gas
Processing Plant.
- The pipelines extended 8.6 miles from the oil and gas facility,
west through Gaviota State Park and the Hollister Ranch, to San
Augustine Point where they extended offshore to the platforms.
- The pipelines, platforms and oil and gas processing facility
were used for oil and gas production from 1962 until 1973.
- During 1973 the offshore wells were shut-in, the pipelines
were flushed and the facility was idled.
- In 1988 the platforms and offshore pipelines were removed.
- In 1998, the Texaco Gaviota Oil and Gas Processing Plant was
removed.
- A portion of the onshore pipelines (1.6 miles) was abandoned
as part of the removal of Texaco's Gaviota Oil and Gas Processing
Plant. The remaining portion of the pipelines (7 miles) was left
in place to be abandoned at a later date.
- The County received an application in 1998 to abandon the seven
mile section of pipelines running through the Gaviota State Park
and the Hollister Ranch.
- Texaco proposed to remove approximately one-half mile of pipelines
at 38 different locations as well as above-ground lines, supports
and footings at a number of creeks and abandon the remaining 6.5
miles of pipelines in place.
- The County prepared an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to
evaluate the potential impacts of the abandonment project.
- Removing the pipelines below the creeks and the pipeline support
footings was proposed by the County and evaluated in the EIR as
a project alternative to mitigate potential significant biological
and geological impacts should the pipelines become exposed in
the future.
- The EIR identified an Environmentally Superior Alternative
(ESA) that is a hybrid of the proposed and alternative projects.
The ESA recommends that all pipelines exposed above creeks and
ravines be removed, as well as all pipeline supports and all but
a few footings.
- Only the pipelines that run beneath Agua Creek were recommended
for removal.
- The project was approved by the Planning Commission on January
23, 2002, and appealed by the Hollister Ranch Owners Association
(HROA) on February 4, 2002. On May 8, 2002, the HROA dropped its
appeal, and the issues were resolved.
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