Santa Barbara, CA – Assemblymember Pedro Nava, Chair of the Joint Committee on Emergency Services & Homeland Security and Jared Huffman, Chair of the Committee on Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials to hold Briefing on January 4, 2007 at 1:00 p.m. at the David Gebhard Public Meeting Room in Santa Barbara regarding the recent Greka oil spill.

The focus of the briefing will be to better understand what led to this spill and learn how accidents like this can be avoided in the future.

“As Chair of the Joint Committee on Emergency Services and Homeland Security, it is my responsibility to make sure that the public and the environment are protected,” said Nava.  “This briefing will give us insight on those responsible for the spill. It is unconscionable that a company that has been cited more than 250 times for environmental violations and had multiple oil spills is still in business. In about a month, Greka has spilled about 44,000 gallons of toxic material. Enough is enough.”

“I am greatly concerned that Greka Energy has had four oil spills in the past 2 months,” said Assemblymember Jared Huffman.  “There are so many questions that need answering – why these spills keep occurring, what we’re doing about it and how we can prevent more from happening in the future. This meeting will attempt to answer these questions and generate ideas for legislation and oversight that can prevent future disasters from happening."

Assemblymember Nava visited the oil spill site in Santa Maria on December 10th and saw first hand the devastation caused by the spill, now estimated to be over 68,000 gallons, the equivalent of 8 gasoline tanker trucks. Nava sent a letter on December 11, 2007 to the Director of the California Department of Fish & Game, Mr. John McCammon, requesting that those responsible for the spill be held accountable and if warranted, that civil and criminal prosecutions be pursued.

Who: Chair of the Joint Committee on Emergency Services & Homeland Security Assemblymember Pedro Nava, Chair of the Committee on Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials Assemblymember Jared Huffman, California Department of Fish & Game Office of Oil Spill Prevention, Central Coast Regional Water Quality Board, California Department of Conservation, and Santa Barbara County Fire

What:  Briefing hosted by the Chairs of the Joint Committee on Emergency Services & Homeland Security and the Committee on Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials regarding the Greka oil spill

When: Friday, January 4, 2007, 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Where: David Gebhard Public Meeting Room, 630 Garden Street (between Ortega and Cota Streets) Santa Barbara CA

Please contact John Mann in Assemblymember Nava’s District Office for more information at 805-483-9808