After it became clear Measure J would pass Tuesday night at initiative supporters’ headquarters, Congressman Sam Farr told the crowd that their efforts could “wake up” the rest of the state’s counties and communities throughout the nation. Farr in an interview after the speech, however, told the Free Lance he wasn’t opposed to cyclic steaming, a practice banned in the local initiative and one that is used at a massive oil field in his home county.
“This community, this county, just woke up,” Farr told the San Benito County crowd, which applauded at that point and several others during his speech. “And you know what, all politics is local. So if you wake up San Benito County, you can wake up 58 other counties in California. You can wake up 4,000 counties in the United States.”
In the interview after, Farr told the Free Lance he was OK with stream extraction in the San Ardo Oil Field in his home county of Monterey. Oil companies at San Ardo, combined, are the largest contributor to the county’s property tax base.
“Monterey County has been very supportive of the steam,” Farr said. “It’s the biggest revenue-income tax for the county and they’ve been doing it for 100 years.”
When asked if he supports the cyclic steaming practice, Farr responded, “I haven’t had issues with steam extraction.” He added, when asked about its inclusion in Measure J, that the local initiative “was broader” beyond steaming.
With voter approval Tuesday, Measure J will take effect Jan. 1 and will ban fracking and all other enhanced extraction, including the cyclic steaming.
Cyclic steaming was proposed for Citadel Exploration’s Project Indian site, which includes plans for up to 1,000 wells in the Bitterwater area where measure supporters estimated it was six miles from Pinnacles National Park.
Farr went on to say fracking is his focus “because of water and the chemicals you put into it.”
“I think it’s really questionable,” he went on. “Frankly, I’m not a supporter of having to develop more hydrocarbons for energy needs in America.”
The Democrat from Carmel said leaders need to do everything they can to invest in alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal.
Farr said he supports addressing the fracking issue at the federal level.
“But I don’t think there’s any politics in Washington,” he said.
