found to be in compliance with overall coastal planning accomplished by 

 the State Coastal Commission staff. 



POTENTIAL NEW ONSHORE FACILITIES 



Planning for potential new onshore facilities on a county-by-county 

 basis is not possible without reliable information on potential OCS oil 

 and gas field locations and production. Precise estimates of field pro- 

 duction, or even of field location, are not possible until exploratory 

 wells have defined oil-bearing structures. Even so, geological and geo- 

 physical data and interpretations can be used for more refined estimates 

 than the state has been able to make to date. These data have been with- 

 held as a matter of policy supported by the Freedom of Information Act 

 by the Department of the Interior on the grounds that it is proprietary. 

 Litigation by State and local agencies has not been successful in obtain- 

 ing it. 



The OCS Task Force completed an initial planning study of potential 

 production from Sale 35 and the Santa Barbara Channel. This effort, 

 published in January, 1976, developed assumptions of field location and 

 production from data provided by the USGS and other sources to identify 

 "target areas" in each county that could be expected to be developed for 

 processing, treatment, storage or shipment of OCS oil and gas. Criteria 

 for target area selection were developed in cooperation with oil company 

 representatives and are as close as possible to those used by the industry 

 in selecting sites for OCS-related development. The selection of target 

 areas represents the only comprehensive attempt to plan for OCS produc- 

 tion in California to date, although a number of related studies, 



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