When Dave and Jacki Seibert spent their life savings to buy property in Huasna Valley eight years ago, they never dreamed an oil field could one day become their neighbor.

But that’s exactly the prospect that the Seiberts and many of their neighbors along Huasna Townsite Road in the rural valley east of Arroyo Grande are now facing.

Excelaron LLC, a subsidiary of Australian Oil Co., is requesting a conditional-use permit from San Luis Obispo County to allow for oil exploration and production on the Mankins Ranch in Huasna. The company’s request to drill up to four new test wells on the property will be heard Oct. 9 by the county Planning Commission.

The 5,000-acre ranch is directly across from the Sieberts’ property, and the couple isn’t happy that Excelaron could find oil in the hills and build an oil production plant within earshot of their house.

“I’m not against oil; I’m against this project,” Dave Seibert said. “It’s going to affect our lifestyle. We moved out here for the quiet and the solitude. We wanted this lifestyle.”

During a town hall meeting last week that focused on the proposed project, Excelaron President Grant Jagelman told the audience of about 300 Huasna residents that the company was willing to work with them to address their concerns.

“We’ve already made some changes (to the project),” Jagelman said. “We will make whatever changes we can to accommodate the community. I’m here to listen.”

Advertisement

The Sieberts and their neighbors, however, are concerned that if the county approves the project, property values in the valley will drop drastically and people won’t be able to sell their homes even if they’re willing to move out. The Seiberts, who both work for the county, bought their property as a retirement investment and plan to eventually sell it for retirement income.

“It’s akin to living next to the railroad tracks, in the flight path or next to the bus stop,” Dave Seibert said.

“Who is going to buy the house next to the bus stop? This is going to limit our ability to sell.”

Much like their neighbors Trevor and Monique Floth, who live adjacent to the Mankins Ranch, the Seiberts are also concerned the oil project could harm the pristine environment in the valley.

If Excelaron begins producing oil at the site, large trucks carrying crude oil will have to cross two creeks to get the oil off the ranch and onto the Nipomo Mesa. Excelaron hopes to truck any oil found at the site to the Conoco Philips refinery on the Mesa.

“It’s in an ecologically sensitive area and too remote of a spot,” Seibert said. “The whole thing is a disaster.”

The Floths, whose home is 15 feet away from the road that the oil trucks would use to reach the production site, don’t believe the county is looking at all of the environmental impacts or requiring enough mitigation measures.

“It’s not just my property; it’s everyone’s property,” Trevor Floth said. “It’s definitely going to have nothing but impacts. The livelihood (out here) is at risk.”

Floth used to operate an organic nursery from his property but has suspended the operation over fears about pollution from the proposed oil project next door. He doesn’t plan to reopen his nursery unless the project is denied.

County planning staff members are using an environmental impact report developed for a proposed exploration and production project on the Mankins property in the late 1980s for Excelaron’s proposal, along with a “mitigated negative declaration,” which is an official decision that a new EIR isn’t necessary.

“Things haven’t changed that much in Huasna Valley” since the original EIR was done, county planner John McKenzie said.

“The negative declaration, while it’s not an EIR, has substantially more conditions that are much tighter than what the EIR used,” he added.

If oil is found and production begins, the oil company’s plan calls for a maximum of eight rounds trips a day for the trucks, which is also raising concerns with residents.

The proposed route for the trucks would be along Huasna Townsite Road to Huasna Road, which along some stretches is very winding and steep with some blind spots.

“It’s beyond dangerous,” Trevor Floth said.

“We’ve had to swerve (when a big truck) is coming because there’s not enough room for it to turn,” Monique added. “There’s a lot of times we’ve almost gone off the edge.”

To mitigate safety issues along the truck route, the county plans to require pilot cars fpr trucks that are 30 feet or longer along the winding, narrow section of the road. Trucks also won’t be allowed on the road during school bus times, McKenzie said.

Excelaron’s permit request will be heard Oct. 9 by the county Planning Commission, which will be the final authority on the project unless the decision is appealed. An appeal would be heard by the county Board of Supervisors.

August 10, 2008