Salinas >> With Measure Z and last month’s court ruling as a backdrop, the Planning Commission on Wednesday finalized its denial of a Trio Petroleum bid for four oil and gas exploration wells in southern Monterey County.
By a 6-3 vote, the commission adopted a resolution of denial that found the “effects of oil exploration and production are injurious to the general welfare of the residents of Monterey County in terms of carbon emissions and groundwater contamination,” and that there were “no counterbalancing benefits” from Trio’s proposal to drill test wells in the Hames Valley to offset “detrimental effects.”