OJAI : Land Owner, Lessee Fight Over Oil Spill

The owner of a 50-acre parcel west of Ojai and the company leasing the land are in a dispute over who should pay for the cleanup of hundreds of gallons of diesel oil that leaked from a tank onto the property.

The mid-July spill at the orange grove went unreported to state and county environmental officials for two months, a violation of state and federal laws, Farmont Corp. attorney Marc Charney said.

Farmont and the company leasing the land, Mason-White, discussed the spill July 20 during a meeting at the site, but neither party has taken responsibility for the leak.

Representatives of both Mason-White and Farmont said vandals have plagued the area in the past and may have caused the spill. Farmont wants to build a world-class golf course on 200 acres nearby, a project that many Ojai Valley residents oppose.

Cattle rancher Shawn Campbell, who leases 2,000 adjacent acres from Farmont and said he has warned the corporation about the environmental dangers of the oil tanks, estimated the spill at 1,500 to 2,000 gallons.

Charney said an environmental consultant has not been able to pinpoint the amount, but said it was more than 100 gallons.

Stan Roberts, vice president for the company that manages the Mason-White orange grove, said he finally reported the spill to county environmental health officials on Sept. 17 after he learned that Farmont had not notified authorities.

Reem Dajani, the Ventura County environmental health investigator for the case, was unavailable for comment.

Charney said Mason-White was responsible for reporting the incident and for paying to clean up the oil, but Farmont has agreed to hire a consultant to excavate the contaminated soil as soon as possible. Charney estimated the cleanup cost at $20,000.