Sec. 31-3. - Voter Approval for On-shore Facilities.
Sec. 31-4. - Cooperation with Other Jurisdictions.
Sec. 31-5. - Recodification or Amendment.
"This chapter shall be known as the On-Shore Oil and Gas Facilities ordinance of Sonoma County."
(Ord. No. 3592R, 1986.)
It is hereby found and determined as follows:
(a)
The Federal Government has proposed to open up virtually the entire California coastline to off-shore oil and gas exploration and development, including the coastline off Sonoma County.
(b)
Coastal areas off Sonoma County have been determined to be high priority areas for off-shore oil and gas exploration and development by various multi-national oil companies.
(c)
Off-shore oil and gas development off the coast of Sonoma County would have the following significant effects upon the County:
1.
If off-shore oil and gas development occurs off the Sonoma County coast, significant new air pollution is inevitable. One drill ship produces approximately the same amount of air pollution as 23,000 cars driving 50 miles per day. Despite this fact, the Federal Government does not presently require that off-shore oil and gas developments comply with state and local air pollution rules.
2.
Off-shore oil and gas development would expose the coast to the danger of massive oil spills from an oil well blowout or a tanker accident. Even if a major accident never occurs, routine small oil releases are inevitable if off-shore oil and gas development is permitted. Such releases of oil would degrade the sensitive marine environment, put oil on the beaches and expose both marine mammals and sea birds to great danger.
3.
Off-shore oil and gas development off the Sonoma County coast would inevitably result in the discharge of large volumes of highly toxic drilling muds into the ocean floor. These toxic materials would degrade the sensitive marine environment, put all forms of marine life at greater risk, and pose a threat to human beings who may later eat fish contaminated with accumulated toxic material.
4.
Off-shore oil and gas development off the Sonoma County coast would put the existing local economy in jeopardy, because: (i) Such development would significantly and substantially interfere with the operation of the local fishing industry. (ii) Such development would detract from the experience of visitors to the Sonoma County coast and, particularly if a massive oil spill occurs, place the Sonoma County tourism industry in danger. The Sonoma County tourism industry is a major component of the Sonoma County economy which has, in recent years, become even more important. A large number of businesses directly and indirectly catering to visitors to the County are dependent upon tourist dollars for their economic well being. (iii) The recreational use of local port facilities could be usurped by oil industry boats.
5.
Noisy helicopter traffic could become a significant irritant to County residents.
6.
The massive fresh water supply needed for off-shore oil and gas development might require that water be diverted from existing agricultural, residential and business users, or that costly and environmentally damaging dam and water projects be constructed. The majority of the coastal area of Sonoma County is characterized as a Class IV water scarce area by County water availability maps. The water problem is most acute in the County's largest harbor, Bodega Bay, where a building moratorium is currently in place because of the lack of water.
7.
Coastal agriculture and other lands would be needed for oil processing, treatment and transportation facilities, or for supply bases for off-shore oil and gas development, potentially transforming open agricultural and timber lands along the coast into the industrial staging area for oil and gas developments off-shore.
8.
The coastal zone is subject to earthquake hazards. The San Andreas Fault runs parallel to the coast coming inland at Bodega Harbor and Fort Ross. Geologic and historic records indicate that earthquakes have and will occur on this portion of the fault. An earthquake could be accompanied by surface rupture, ground shaking and ground failure. The location of oil and gas support facilities in this geologically unstable area could well result in an environmental disaster.
9.
The coastal area is served by State Highway One from Valley Ford to Gualala. Highway One is a two-lane twisting and curving road which is totally unsuitable for the intensity and type of vehicular and truck traffic that would be generated by heavy oil and gas industrial uses. Moreover, the Coastal Plan indicates that traffic congestion is already a problem occurring in Bodega Bay where minor road improvements will not be adequate to relieve the critical capacity deficiencies.
10.
The vast majority of the 55 mile coastline is made up of bluffs, coves and promontories which are not suitable for siting oil and gas support facilities. The County's major port, Bodega Bay, has site problems which are set forth in more detail elsewhere herein.
(d)
The County of Sonoma produces its fair share of regional energy needs. The Sonoma County Geothermal Resources Management Plan indicates that the development in Sonoma County at the Geysers is the largest producing geothermal field in the world producing approximately 1500 megawatts of electricity annually. This amount of electricity is enough to serve 1.5 million people, far in excess of the current County population of approximately 350,000.
Pacific Gas and Electric estimates that by 1988 the electricity generated at the Geysers will constitute about ten percent (10%) of PG&E's total generating capacity. Both PG&E and Union Oil estimate that by 1990 the Geysers will be producing enough electricity to serve a city of more than 2 million people; by the year 2000, industry officials estimate that the current electrical output can be doubled.
Sonoma County is already an exporter of energy and thus has met and will continue to meet its burden to contribute to the production of area-wide, state and national energy needs. Because of the existing level of this contribution and the fact that the field life of geothermal plants is from 30 to SO years, the development of the Sonoma County coast for oil and gas production should not be accomplished in the name of regional, state or national energy needs.
(e)
Rather than consuming off-shore oil and gas resources now, our nation should conserve these resources, since they are non-renewable. Moreover, the accelerated production and expenditure of hydrocarbon fuels aggravates the global warming trend, a trend which may have long-term adverse impacts on the County as a whole and, in particular, on coastal communities which could be subject to inundation if global oceans continue to rise as a result of polar icecap melting. Our nation should develop a national energy strategy based on energy conservation emphasizing the increasing use of renewable energy sources such as geothermal production and reinjection. Instead, the federal government has presently reduced or eliminated efforts to increase energy conservation and to develop renewable energy sources, at the same time that it is attempting to increase the development of nonrenewable energy sources like off-shore oil and gas. The citizens of Sonoma County are willing and able to do their part in conserving energy and in developing a society less dependent on non-renewable fossil fuel resources.
(f)
The citizens of Sonoma County have no way to control off-shore oil and gas exploration or development, since such development occurs off shore under the jurisdiction of the federal government. The citizens of Sonoma County do, however, have the ability to make decisions about the propriety of amending the County's Certified Local Coastal Program for the purpose of developing on-shore facilities which support off-shore oil and gas exploration. Due to the dramatic impacts on such on-shore developments on the character, economy and environment of Sonoma County it is crucial that the people of Sonoma County reserve to themselves, to the maximum degree possible, the authority to approve the nature, extent and location of such development. When balanced against the dramatic impacts of such development, the referendum process is reasonably calculated to address local concerns while not unduly interfering with federal and state energy objectives. This is especially true in light of the local override procedure set forth in section 30515 of the Coastal Act.
Sec. 31-3. - Voter Approval for On-shore Facilities.
(a)
When any person proposes to undertake the development within Sonoma County of any on-shore energy facility relating to the exploration or development of off-shore oil or gas resources and requests an amendment of the County's Certified Local Coastal Program to facilitate such development, a determination by the Board of Supervisors pursuant to Public Resources Code section 30515 that the proposed amendment is in conformity with the policies of the Coastal Act and that the Certified Local Coastal Program should be amended to incorporate such development shall not be effective unless a majority of the electors of Sonoma County in a general or special election, approve the proposed amendment. The decision on whether to call a special election or a general election shall be in the discretion of the Board of Supervisors.
(b)
The Board of Supervisors of Sonoma County is hereby authorized and directed to enact any further ordinances or regulations necessary to give effect to this section and specifically may require that the person seeking any such amendment to the County's Certified Local Coastal Program pay, to the extent permitted by law, all costs associated with the special or general election required herein.
(c)
The referendum provided for by this section is intended to extend only to those legislative acts which may be validly exercised by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors in connection with the amendment of the County's Certified Local Coastal Program to provide for the development of on-shore facilities to support off-shore oil and gas exploration and development. Neither this chapter nor this section is intended, and shall not be construed, to apply to any activity or program which is regulated by federal or state law, to the extent that such application of this section or chapter would conflict with such law or would unduly interfere with the achievement of federal or state regulatory activities. It is the intention of the Board of Supervisors and the people of the County of Sonoma that this ordinance shall be interpreted to be compatible with federal and state enactments, and in furtherance of the public purposes which those enactments express.
Sec. 31-4. - Cooperation with Other Jurisdictions.
The Board of Supervisors is authorized to cooperate with other California coastal cities and counties for the purpose of discouraging. to the extent permitted by law, oil and gas drilling off the coast of Northern California.
Sec. 31-5. - Recodification or Amendment.
(a)
Nothing shall prevent the Board of Supervisors of Sonoma County from recodifying the substantive provisions of this ordinance from time to time to incorporate the provisions of this ordinance into the County Code in the most appropriate location.
(b)
No substantive provision of this ordinance shall be amended or repealed without a vote of the People.