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to be published Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative DeclarationExxonMobil Santa Ynez Unit Cable C1 Repair Project (APCD Permit to Operate Modification No. 9102-04)Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD), as the lead agency, has released for review and comment a Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for the ExxonMobil Santa Ynez Unit C1 Cable Repair Project (APCD Permit to Operate Modification No. 9102-04). The project is located southeast of Platform Heritage on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) waters within 25 miles of the seaward boundary of the State and located off the south coast of the County. The federal lead agency for this project is the U.S. Minerals Management Service. The APCD is the only local agency with permit jurisdiction over this project. Project Description and LocationExxonMobil Production Company proposes to use a cable repair vessel to repair a fault in power Cable C1, located approximately 2,750 feet southeast of the Platform Heritage in about 1,125 feet of water depth. The repair activities will be conducted 24 hours/day from the cable repair vessel which will be positioned above the cable fault area over a period of 25 days in the latter part of 2008 or early 2009. In order to minimize air emissions, as part of the project, ExxonMobil has committed to implementing several measures such as, minimizing use of the vessel engines, preparing an Emissions Reporting Plan, Emissions Daily Report and requiring the repair vessel and other associated internal combustion engines to use fuel with less than 0.0015% sulfur by weight when operating in Santa Barbara County. Limits of APCD Environmental Review for Projects Located on the OCS: When the APCD is the CEQA Lead Agency for the issuance of a discretionary permit for an OCS project, as authorized by Section 328 of the federal Clean Air Act, the APCD, “may limit the CEQA analysis to air quality issues if the Air Pollution Control Officer finds that the analysis of other issue areas is not rationally related to the attainment and maintenance of federal and state ambient air quality standards and compliance with Part C of Title I of the Clean Air Act.” Accordingly this Mitigated Negative Declaration only addresses the impact of the proposed project on air quality. APCD Permit to Operate Modification No. 9102-04 will permit a maximum of 10 tons total of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from the cable repair vessel engines for this project. As described in a Mitigation Agreement, ExxonMobil will be required to provide $14,300 per ton for the 10 tons of permitted NOx emissions associated with the repair of failed Cable C1. The APCD has determined that potentially significant air quality impacts associated with the project will be mitigated to a level of insignificance and the project does not require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report. Therefore, the APCD has issued a Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration. Copies of the Initial Study/Proposed Mitigated Negative
Declaration for the ExxonMobil SYU C1 Cable Repair Project may be
obtained by calling our offices at (805) 961 8811 or by downloading
here (PDF file): The 30 day public comment period for the proposed MND begins on June 2, 2008. Please limit your comments to environmental issues only. Written comments should be sent to Vijaya Jammalamadaka, Technology and Environmental Assessment Division, Santa Barbara County APCD, 260 N. San Antonio Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93110, or vlj@sbcapcd.org before the close of the public review period at 5:00 p.m. on July 1, 2008. to be published Sunday, June 1, 2008
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