GOLETA — California State Lands Commission contractor Cushman Contracting Corporation will begin work Monday to remove remnant oil and gas operation pipelines that currently protrude outward from the coastal bluffs at Haskell’s Beach.
The work is part of ongoing efforts by CSLC and the city of Goleta to remove all remnant oil and gas operation hazards from the Ellwood coastline. These remnant hazards are a result of early oil and gas exploration at Ellwood that began in the 1920s, according to a news release.
When these operations ceased mid-century, the infrastructure created to support the operations were not properly abandoned. As a result, the Ellwood coastline is littered with remnant oil and gas operations hazards. The hazards include protruding wellheads and well casings, wood and steel piles, pipelines, and wood beams and structures. The hazards often become visible after large storm events that cause coastal erosion. Since 2011, CSLC has conducted hazards removal work on seven occasions at Ellwood.
As part of the removal work that starts Monday, staging of equipment will occur at the emergency access point just east of the beach house at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara. There will be monitors onsite to document the progress of beach hazards removal for the duration of the work. The work is expected to take approximately two days.
— Mitchell White
