Timing is All

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This brief letter is about a restrictive hearing timetable that limits citizen input on a big oil decision impacting our city. Carpinteria is soon conducting a final hearing on the proposed expansion of Veneco’s oil production off its coast. The City’s Environmental Review Committee may create a serious problem by proposing a restrictive time table. The date for this final hearing is Monday, May 19, but the deadline for written comments about the project is several days earlier, on May 14. This abrupt cutoff for written comments by citizens puts them at a distinct disadvantage, denying them the opportunity to evaluate the final presentations either pro or con before they can write their own evaluations of the final presentations. This could have the totally unfair effect o giving Veneco the last word without an opportunity for informed rebuttal. Why not use the same fair and balanced procedure used for the first Environmental Impact Report? That one included ample time for citizens’ comments at the final hearing and adequate time for written comments after the hearing.

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