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Title:
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An Update from the Subcommittee on Regional Oil Operations on the Ongoing Process now before the Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County related to the Draft Baldwin Hills Community Standards District and its associated Environmental Impact Report and Potential Direction to Staff Related Thereto.
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City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
A1-1
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council receive an update from the City Council
Subcommittee on Regional Oil Operations regarding the upcoming Board of
Supervisors meeting scheduled for October 21st at which the Draft Baldwin Hills
Community Standards District and its associated Environmental Impact Report will
be discussed.
BACKGROUND:
In June 2008 the County released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for
the proposed Baldwin Hills Community Standards District (CSD). This CSD will
govern oil field drilling and operations within the unincorporated Baldwin Hills area of
Los Angeles County. On August 19, 2008 Culver City submitted extensive
comments regarding the DEIR. Subsequently Culver City has submitted comments
on various revised versions of the CSD on September 10, 2008, October 1, 2008,
and October 8, 2008. Throughout this process the City has continued to express
concerns both with the inadequacy of the process for public comment on these
documents and the inadequacy of the documents themselves. Although the CSD
has improved somewhat from the initial version that was the original subject of the
DEIR, the City continues to have significant concerns and would like to see
additional revisions to the document that would address the City’s major issues. On
October 21, 2008 the County Board of Supervisors will meet to consider certifying
the Final Environmental Impact Report and approving the CSD.
Meeting Date: 10/20/08 Item Number: A-1
AGENDA ITEM: An Update from the Subcommittee on Regional Oil Operations
regarding the Ongoing Process soon coming before the Board of Supervisors of Los
Angeles County related to the Draft Baldwin Hills Community Standards District and its
associated Environmental Impact Report and Potential Direction to Staff Related
Thereto.
Contact Person: Charles D. Herbertson Phone Number: (310) 253-5630
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification
Master E-Mail Notification List (10/16/08)
Department Approval:
Charles Herbertson (10/16/08)
City Attorney Approval:
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by N. Kimball) (10/16/08)
City Manager Approval:
Jerry B. Fulwood (10/16/08) City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
A1-2
DISCUSSION:
The City Council Subcommittee comprised of Vice Mayor Silbiger and
Councilmember Weissman has been actively involved in guiding staff in working with
the City’s consultants to prepare comments on both the DEIR and the CSD. The
City Council has been involved in the discussion and approval of comments on both
documents and recently directed staff to conduct a public outreach effort to inform
the people of Culver City of the upcoming Board of Supervisors meeting. During the
past week public outreach regarding the meeting took the form of ads in local
newspapers (Culver City News, Culver City Observer, and The Front Page), flyers
distributed door to door throughout the community, flyers distributed to local schools,
information on the City web page, email blasts to local community groups, and a
Reverse 911 message to the community.
At its meeting on October 16, 2008 the Subcommittee requested that this item be
agendized in order to allow them to provide an update to the City Council and to
provide an opportunity for the City Council to discuss this issue and hear additional
public comment. Amongst the items to be discussed will be a strategy for the City
Council’s presentation to the Board of Supervisors at their meeting on October 21,
2008.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
There is no direct fiscal impact caused by this discussion although there may be
future fiscal impacts depending on the direction given by City Council to staff
regarding this issue.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Summary of Major Areas of Concern Remaining with the Baldwin Hills
Community Standards District.
MOTION:
That the City Council:
Discuss this item and give direction to staff as they deem appropriate.
1
City of Culver City
Major Areas of Concern Remaining with the Baldwin Hills
Community Standards District
• The process has been faulty due to lack of adequate review time and
therefore the DEIR should be re-circulated.
o The Community Standards District document which is the basis for the
EIR preparation has changed substantially since the DEIR was circulated.
The DEIR needs to be redone to be in conformance with the document
that it evaluates.
o Throughout the process there has been insufficient time to obtain
meaningful public input on the ever changing CSD document.
However, should the County decide to move forward with the CSD the City of Culver
City would like to see the following major issues addressed:
• The CSD needs to require the consolidation of well drilling to the maximum
extent possible. There needs to be a process in place to review well drilling
permits in order to determine that this requirement is being adhered to.
o Slant/directional drilling should be used where possible to both eliminate
the need, wherever possible, of new well drilling pads and to minimize the
drilling of wells close to sensitive receptors in the communities
surrounding the oil fields.
• The number of oil wells that can be drilled annually without additional
environmental review should be capped at 15 per year.
o All new wells must be subject to a discretionary review that requires well
thought out findings and includes a public process.
o A Conditional Use Permit should be required when the number of new or
redrilled oil wells in any given year exceeds 15.
• Numerous plans or implementation guidelines (over 20) providing guidance
for various aspects of oil drilling operations have yet to be developed and
require a process that includes public input and oversight. Also, there are
many other areas where County approvals will be required ranging from the
color of new oil wells to the amount of insurance PXP is required to carry.
o These plans and approvals need to be developed and/or reviewed by
independent experts in the area of oil field regulation.
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o These plans include procedures governing noise reduction, dust
mitigation, landscaping to address visual impacts, and vapor monitoring.
o A task force made up of officials and citizen appointees from the County
and surrounding communities such as Culver City should be formed for
the purpose of reviewing and providing oversight for the development of
these plans
• Potential health impacts from oil drilling operations continues to be a major
concern of the communities surrounding the oil field. As such, there needs to
be provisions for periodic health assessments in the communities
surrounding the oil fields.
o Surveys that collect data regarding occurrences of cancer or respiratory
diseases would help ensure that no unusual clusters develop in the area
surrounding the oil fields that may be attributable to exposure to toxins
from the oil operations.
• On-going incremental clean-up of the oil fields needs to be required.
o There are a multitude of abandoned wells within the oil fields. Many of
these wells were abandoned years ago when standards were much less
stringent than they are today. There needs to be an on-going, systematic
investigation and clean-up of these previously abandoned wells that is
required. We suggest that for every new well drilled an abandoned well
should be investigated and cleaned up if necessary.
o This clean up work needs to include old tank farms, sumps, and other
areas where contamination may have occurred in the past.
• Plan for eventual conversion of the oil fields to a natural state consistent with
the County’s General Plan.
o An incremental plan that shows gradual pull back of oil drilling activities
from the surrounding sensitive receptors and remediation of the land
should be developed.
o Targeted closure dates for sections of the oil field should be developed so
as to provide for a gradual pull back from the surrounding communities.