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State Senator From Santa Barbara Authors Bill To Monitor, Seal Abandoned Oil Wells

Summerland was once dotted with active oil well production along its coastline. While the wells are no longer active, the capped wells still exist and sometimes leak

A state senator representing much of the Central and South Coasts is once again trying to get legislation passed to monitor and cap abandoned offshore oil wells.

Democratic State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson of Santa Barbara introduced SB 44, which would provide a means of dealing with “orphaned” oil wells once operated by companies which are now out of business.

A survey by the State Lands Commission has identified about 200 of the wells, many of which are along the Santa Barbara County coastline. Some of them are seeping oil.

Governor Jerry Brown vetoed similar legislation by Jackson last year.

The new bill calls for establishing a two million dollar fund to allow a study of which wells pose the great risk, and start work on securely sealing some of the most potentially dangerous ones.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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