COUNTY OKAYS BUREAUCRATIC BLUES FOR OIL DECOMMISSIONING!

It seems Santa Barbara County supervisors, in their infinite wisdom, have decided the most pressing issue facing our region is approving a hefty contract for an Environmental Impact Report. Yes, an EIR – for the *decommissioning* of oil facilities. Because, apparently, removing infrastructure built by the energy sector requires more regulatory hoops than building new homes for struggling families or, say, filling the potholes on our crumbling roads. Noozhawk dutifully reported the news, no doubt with a straight face, as if this isn't just another layer of costly bureaucracy.

Freeport-McMoRan, a company that actually produced something beneficial for decades, now gets to pay for the privilege of unwinding its operations, all while the county extracts its pound of flesh via consultants and endless reports. This isn't about protecting the environment; it’s about protecting the jobs of environmental consultants and the illusion of 'oversight' from our perpetually-baffled local government. One wonders if the same meticulous scrutiny is applied to the county's own spending habits or the rampant homelessness problem that conveniently gets less airtime than an EIR for a ghost facility.

What Noozhawk, bless its heart, failed to mention is the exquisite irony: the county that spent decades making it harder to *produce* oil is now spending taxpayer dollars to make it harder to *unproduce* oil. It's a goldmine for consultants and a testament to the fact that when in doubt, the left-leaning politburo here in Santa Barbara County will always choose process over progress, and always at your expense. Perhaps if there were a 'Consultant Impact Report' for these contracts, we'd find the real cost to taxpayers is far higher than anyone dares to admit.