Coastal Agency OKs Removal of Oil Piers

A state agency Thursday approved removing two oil piers on the Rincon north of Ventura, a move some surfers say threatens a favorite break.

The California Coastal Commission unanimously approved the removal of the 1930s-era piers, now that the oil and gas fields that justified the structures’ existence have played out.

Mobil Oil, which owns the piers and will pay for their removal, will be required to monitor the beach for five years to make sure the piers’ removal doesn’t lead to beach erosion, but the commission rejected any measures to ensure that the favorable surf isn’t harmed.

Some surfers contend the piers help create the excellent waves, although state studies have failed to substantiate the argument. Gary Ross, a founder of the local group Coastal Preservation Research Foundation, attended the meeting to lobby for construction of an artificial reef to protect the surfing spot.

“If indeed the piers do improve surfing conditions, it was an incidental public benefit,” commission spokeswoman Alison Dettmer said after the decision. “Therefore, Mobil should not be required to provide any mitigation.”

Preliminary work on removing the two piers begins next week and will get underway in earnest in January.

“The bottom line is it’s an eyesore,” said Glen Kent, president of the Ventura County chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, some of whose members have supported keeping the piers. “I do believe there is the potential for possibly improving the wave at that location--nobody knows.”

But local surfer John Florez was dismayed to hear of the action--and Surfrider’s lack of support.

“I’m real disappointed in Surfrider for supporting their removal,” he said. “I became a member because I wanted to protect my surf spots and that’s what they told me they’d do and they didn’t.”