Countywide : Transit Official Denounces Pipeline

Ventura County Transportation Commissioner Jim Dantona announced his opposition Friday to the proposed 170-mile oil pipeline that would run through Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Citing environmental and safety concerns, Dantona said he is against the $200-million project sponsored by Southern Pacific Railroad and several oil companies. The pipeline would run along railroad tracks through heavily populated communities.

“The proposed pipeline is a potential time bomb that will be running right through people’s back yards,” Dantona said. “The project is not worth the risk to human life.”

Dantona said he decided to oppose the pipeline after exhaustive research and study.

“I wanted to make sure myself that everything I heard about the project from the experts, the oil companies and the media was accurate,” he said.

Dantona said Southern Pacific officials told him that the pipeline was earthquake-safe and had automatic shut-offs that would prevent major oil spills.

Officials of Southern Pacific Railroad were unavailable for comment.

Citing a recent train derailment in San Bernardino County that ruptured a natural gas line and caused an explosion and fire that killed a number of people, Dantona said he will oppose any kind of pipeline.

“You just can’t pipe these substances through communities any more,” he said.

Dantona said he will express his opposition before the state Public Utilities Commission next month.