Last night, members of the Westside Clean Air Coalition and their allies came together to once again protest SoCalGas’s continued, reckless attempts to expand the dangerous gas compressor station situated in the heart of West Ventura’s community, and across the street from E.P. Foster Elementary School.

At a scoping meeting, held at the Bell Arts Factory in downtown Ventura, dozens of Venturans, parents, teachers, impacted community members and environmental advocates called on the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to address the public safety and environmental impacts of expanding the compressor station in an upcoming Environmental Impact Report (EIR). 

Impacted community members and environmental advocates expressed concern over the health impacts of expanding the gas compressor station, particularly to nearby residents and students experiencing poor air quality and distracting noise levels. In 2017, NASA identified this compressor station as a “super-emitter” of methane.

“The Ventura Compressor Station is one of the only compressor stations in the country located so close to homes and schools. There are more people living within both a quarter mile and a mile than 99.5% of the other pipeline gas compressor stations in the United States. If the project is allowed to move forward as proposed, it would rank among the very worst in the nation in terms of threat to community,” said Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas (CFROG) Executive Director and Westside resident, Haley Ehlers. “Our community was clear in our demands that the environmental review must include the everyday health impacts and threats of poor air quality, industrial noise, and blowout or explosion.”

In addition, groups called for the CPUC to study alternative locations for the compressor station including studying electric or smaller compressors.

“As a local Chumash woman, I have been committed to standing against the SoCalGas compressor since day one, understanding my birth obligation and responsibility,” said Ventura Art and Culture Commissioner KC Rodriguez. “My commitment is an action of honoring, teaching and bringing forth my ancestors’ superb advocacy of environmental stewardship on our unceded Chumash land, safeguarding all lives, especially  those who go unseen, unheard, and for our elders and children, our future leaders. We must return to respecting the sacred circle that all lives are connected to and do better.”

“As we have all been saying for years, the gas compressor is already putting our children’s health and ability to safely learn at risk and plans to expand it would only make those issues worse,” said Food & Water Watch Central Coast Organizing Manager Tomás Rebecchi. “We call on the CPUC to address our concerns in the Environmental Impact Report, but more so, we encourage the CPUC to prioritize studying alternative locations for the compressor station, with less polluting designs.” 

“The environmental justice issues of residents living near the gas compressor cannot be overlooked,” said Liz Campos, Ventura District 1 City Councilmember. “And the high incidence of leukemia, and other childhood cancers as well as asthma and other CNS illnesses at a school less than 75 yards from the compressor station is criminal from my viewpoint.”

“As a student fellow with Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas (CFROG), one of my duties is to canvas communities alongside peers and colleagues,” said Melissa Muñoz, student and fellow with CFROG. “I have canvassed along the Ventura Avenue communities several times, and each time, the environment makes one’s allergies trigger; they flare up almost immediately, making it hard to breathe. It’s easy to put yourself in the shoes of families and children who live right next to or near this extremely toxic infrastructure. It should make everyone angry that this compressor station is burdening community members. This is an environmental injustice that has been overlooked by decision makers for far too long. The lives of residents of Ventura are at stake here and they must not be overlooked any longer.”

In 2021 SoCalGas announced plans, without the proper permits and without informing the community, to expand a gas compressor station right across the street from E.P. Foster Elementary School, the Boys & Girls Club of Ventura, and many Westside residents, mostly people of color and children. Despite the clear risk to residents, SoCalGas planned on doubling the size of the compressor station. Further, to pay for the expansion, SoCalGas planned on increasing rates for gas in people’s homes.   

Venturans opposed to this reckless expansion soon came together to form The Westside Clean Air Coalition – ultimately pushing the CPUC to order SoCalGas to pause any plans to expand the facility until community demands for transparency were met.

However, in August of 2023, the CPUC allowed SoCalGas to submit a new application to expand the facility. Not only does this new application fail to address the concerns of impacted community members, but it also includes more than $500 million in new costs – which will largely come from increased rates for consumers in Ventura and elsewhere. 

Yesterday’s scoping meeting was the second the CPUC held, with the first being held virtually a few weeks before.