City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
A3-1
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council discuss and comment on the Notice of
Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report, dated June 28, 2007, for Oil
and Gas Production Activities in the Baldwin Hills Oil Field.
BACKGROUND:
On June 28, 2007, the County of Los Angeles (the lead agency), issued a Notice of
Preparation (NOP) to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) that
would assess the potential environmental impacts associated with the future oil and
gas production activities in the Baldwin Hills. The DEIR will evaluate the
environmental impacts associated with the planned activities at the oil field over the
next 10 to 20 years.
A copy of the NOP document was provided to the City Council under separate cover
through the City Manager’s Office.
Plains Exploration and Production Company (PXP), the operator of the Inglewood
Hills Oil Field and the Applicant, has submitted an application to the County of Los
Angeles to establish a Community Standards District (CSD) for the portion of the
Inglewood Oil Field located in the Baldwin Hills Zoned District, an unincorporated
Meeting Date: 07/23/07 Item Number: A-3
AGENDA ITEM: Discussion of the Los Angeles County Notice of Preparation of a
Draft Environmental Impact Report for Oil and Gas Production Activities in the
Baldwin Hills Oil Field.
Contact Person/Dept.: Thomas
Gorham/Planning; Charles
Herbertson/Public Works; Heather
Iker/City Attorney; Martin Cole/City
Manager
Phone Number: 310-253-5727; 310-253-
5635; 310-253-5660; 310-253-6000
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [x] General Fund: Yes [] No [x]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: []
Public Notification: Master Notification List (07/18/07).
Department Approval:
Sol Blumenfeld (07/18/07); Charles
Herbertson (07/18/07); Carol Schwab (by
H. Iker) (07/18/07); Jerry Fulwood
(07/18/07)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Iker) (07/18/07)
City Controller Approval:
Marlee Chang (07/19/07)
City Manager Approval:
Jerry B. Fulwood (07/19/07) City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
A3-2
area of LA County. For the purpose of the NOP, the Inglewood Oil Field is referred
to as the Baldwin Hills Oil Field.
The County of Los Angeles is proposing to implement a CSD in the Baldwin Hills
that will update the zoning regulations as they relate to oil and gas production
activities at the oil field. The CSD will establish permanent development standards,
operating requirements and procedures for oil and gas operations in the Baldwin
Hills. The development standards in the CSD will be guided by the analysis
contained in the DEIR.
The purpose of the NOP is to solicit initial input on the content and scope of the
DEIR. Two public scoping meetings will be held by the County:
• July 24, 2007, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Complex, Culver City.
• July 26, 2007, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Knox Presbyterian Church at 5840 La
Tijera Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90056
Staff plans on attending the July 24
th
scoping meeting. The 30-day NOP review
period ends Tuesday, July 31, 2007 and staff will submit written comments on the
NOP by that date.
DISCUSSION:
A City staff team consisting of members from the City Manager’s Office, the City
Attorney’s Office, and the Public Works and Community Development Departments
is working collaboratively to review and comment on all documents pertaining to the
Oil Field project.
As stated in the NOP, the purpose of the County’s notice:
“…is to obtain agency and the public’s views as to the scope and content of the
environmental information and analysis that should be included in the EIR…”
Therefore, it is expected that the City’s “views” provided to the County on the NOP
would be of a broad nature. More detailed comments can be provided to the County
based upon the DEIR ultimately produced by the County.
For the broad purposes of the NOP document, staff has identified some key issues
that should be addressed in the Draft EIR when it is ready for public review:
City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
A3-3
Planning
The preliminary scoping analysis conducted by the County of Los Angeles identifies
fourteen environmental issue areas that could have significant impacts as a result of
oil and gas development activities. The NOP further notes each of these issue
areas will be comprehensive studied to identify all appropriate mitigation measures.
In addition to these potentially significant impacts, there are three areas related to
land use and project construction that should be addressed as part of the scope of
the EIR. These potentially significant impacts include:
Grading:
The EIR must evaluate the potentially significant impacts that may result from project
grading as it relates to adjacent properties. The NOP project description refers to
“limited grading” as part of the scope of work, but does not define what limited
grading entails and the design guidelines for the Community Standards District
(CDS) in Baldwin Hills should indicate precisely how much grading can be expected
in connection with each drill site and how such limited grading will not create
hazardous slope conditions for adjacent properties that must be mitigated. Section
3.1.5 -- Geological Resources refers only natural geological hazards that are to be
addressed but does not indicate how the EIR will address man-made geological
hazards resulting from grading operations in connection with the project.
Future Drilling Over the Next 10 – 20 Years:
The NOP indicates that over the next 20 years approximately 53 wells per year
could be drilled for a total of 1,065 wells. These wells will require site preparation
and grading. The NOP notes that “it is not possible to identify the exact locations of
each well”. The EIR should address how grading operations, problems of
subsidence and other geological hazards will be addressed and mitigated relative to
adjacent properties, if it is not possible to identify the precise location for each well.
Further, the EIR should look at proposed projects in surrounding areas, including,
but not limited to, current and future drilling in Culver City and include a complete
analysis of cumulative effects.
Impacts to Land Use:
The NOP indicates that threats to public health and safety due to accidental gas
releases and noise and vibration occurrences are the most likely impacts to land use
and quality of life. The EIR should address how impacts upon property values and
quality of life that result from noxious odors due to accidental gas release will be
addressed in the EIR and mitigated as required.
Due to the sensitivity of the issues related to the oil field to Culver City, staff requests
the County provide the City, at minimum, a 60-day review period of the Draft EIR.
The minimum State requirement for public review of a Draft EIR is 45-days. The 60- City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
A3-4
day review period will provide City staff and elected officials with the time necessary
to complete a comprehensive and community inclusive review of the Draft EIR.
General Comments
Following are some of the areas staff suggests be included as part of the City’s
comments on the NOP. Although some categories are covered in the NOP, staff
would like to have input, for example, regarding some of the methodologies to be
used in the DEIR’s analysis. If the Council concurs, staff will add more details to
these and related categories before submittal on July 31
st
.
• Noise impacts from oil field operations – both short term drilling operations
and on-going pumping operations. The City wants to ensure the most
appropriate and accurate methods are used to collect data for optimal
analysis.
• Impacts from odors and other air quality resulting from drilling or pumping
operations including gas releases that may occur (monitoring programs
should be instituted).
• Impacts from settlement of ground surfaces as the result of drilling, pumping
or related operations. This is especially important for areas underneath
inhabited areas of Culver City.
• Aesthetic impacts from drilling and pumping operations including impacts to
the view from surrounding residential areas of Culver City.
• The NOP indicates that there will be several new “plants” being proposed
(water treatment, water softening and steam generation with regeneration
wastes being "injected back into an onsite formation". The DEIR should fully
describe those plants and operations and address any discuss any impacts
from such operations (i.e. what may be expelled into the air by the steam
plants, noise issues, whether these plants will also be used for the pumps and
wells located in Culver City).
• The DEIR should also analyze current problems/risks of the existing operation
and how the new regulations will address these concerns.
In summary, staff recommends the City Council direct staff to prepare more detailed
comments based on the general topics to submit to the County by the July 31, 2007
deadline.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
There is no fiscal impact at this time for the discussion and direction recommended
in this item.
City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
A3-5
ATTACHMENTS:
None
MOTION:
That the City Council:
Discuss the Notice of Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report, dated
June 28, 2007, for Oil and Gas Production Activities in the Baldwin Hills Oil Field
and direct staff as deemed appropriate. .