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Hearing For Controversial Oil Project Proposed For Central Coast Could Be Postponed

A hearing over a controversial proposal to add some new oil wells and related facilities at an onshore oil field on the Central Coast could be postponed for more than four months. ERG Resources scaled down project calls for 187 wells in the Cat Canyon area, southeast of Santa Maria. The company is asking the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission to push the hearing from Wednesday to August 14th.

ERG officials want more time to prepare responses to questions from the Commission about the project. County planners are supporting the request for a continuance.

Supporters say the new wells would be in an existing oil field, and that the technology is safe. But, a number of environmental groups say there’s the potential for a myriad of new pollution issues.

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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