Salinas >> With a controversial remote San Benito County solar farm project as an unlikely backdrop, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday granted an appeal by Trio Petroleum of the county Planning Commission’s denial four south Monterey County exploratory oil and gas wells.
By a 4-1 vote, the supervisors agreed to reverse the commission’s Jan. 20 action, with the majority arguing Trio Petroleum had followed all the county’s guidelines in pursuing the test wells and there was no legitimate reason to deny the use permit application. The test well permit is good for 18 months of operation per well, and if any of them show enough promise to warrant actual oil or gas production then Trio would have to apply for a new permit.