PART 3. DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS FOR SITE ABANDONMENT AND REDEVELOPMENT
Sections:
9537 Development Standards.
The following development standards shall be applied to all redevelopment projects within the footprint of an oil or gas site, including any building permit involving a current or former oil or gas site:
A. Any demolition, abandonment, reabandonment, or restoration shall be adequately monitored by a qualified individual, funded by the permittee or operator and retained by the City, to ensure compliance with those conditions designed to mitigate anticipated significant adverse effects on the environment and to provide recommendations in instances where effects were not anticipated or mitigated by the conditions imposed on the permit or entitlement. Pre-restoration and post-restoration surveys of sensitive biological resources shall be employed as appropriate to measure compliance.
B. The site shall be assessed for previously unidentified contamination.
1. The permittee shall ensure that any discovery of contamination shall be reported to the Petroleum Administrator and the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
C. The permittee shall diligently seek all necessary permit approvals, including revisions to an entitlement or the demolition, abandonment, reabandonment and restoration permit, if any are required, in order to remediate the contamination.
D. The permittee shall be responsible for any cost to remediate the contamination on the site. This Chapter is not intended to limit the permittee or operator’s rights under the law to seek compensation from parties who have contributed to contamination of the site.
E. The permittee shall ensure that appropriate notification has been recorded with the County Recorder to describe the presence and location of any contamination left in place under the authority of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
F. All abandoned or reabandoned wells shall be leak tested subject to the following requirements:
1. All abandoned wells located within an oil and gas site must be tested for gas leakage and visually inspected for oil leakage. The operator shall apply to the Petroleum Administrator for an inspection permit to witness the well testing. The leak test shall be completed utilizing a gas detection meter approved in advance by the Petroleum Administrator, and shall be conducted by a State licensed geotechnical or civil engineer or a State registered environmental assessor, class II, or the Petroleum Administrator, or a designee, as determined necessary by the Petroleum Administrator.
2. The permittee shall prepare and submit a methane assessment report for each tested well prepared per the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety “Site Testing Standards for Methane” (P/BC 2014-101), as may be amended. The operator may use the City’s consultant to observe the leak test or be responsible for City consultant test fees. Following satisfactory test results as per the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety standards, a well vent and vent cone shall be installed to the satisfaction of the Petroleum Administrator and in compliance with the recommendations contained in the methane assessment report.
3. The submitted methane assessment report shall be prepared by a State licensed geotechnical or civil engineer. A well shall be considered leaking if the leak test report indicates the meter read is greater than level II as defined by the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety “Site Testing Standards for Methane,” which is set at one thousand (1,000) parts per million.
4. An approved methane assessment report is valid for twenty-four (24) months from approval by the Petroleum Administrator. If an abandonment permit has not been issued by this time, retesting shall be required. Following all testing and inspection, the test area shall be returned to its previous state to the satisfaction of the City Building Official.
5. If there has not been a change to the well, no leak test is required if a valid methane assessment report, accepted by the Petroleum Administrator and showing no leaks in excess of the leak limit, has been completed for an abandoned or reabandoned well within the prior twenty-four (24) months.
G. Prior to any development or redevelopment of a current or former oil or gas site, or prior to abandoning or reabandoning any well, the operator shall:
1. Obtain permit(s) and abandon all idled wells consistent with CMC 9510.3 and provide a certificate of compliance to show that the wells and/or sites are abandoned consistent with standards recommended or required by DOGGR to the satisfaction of the Petroleum Administrator. Permits shall not be required if the idled well is scheduled to produce oil or natural gas, or to be used for injection, as part of the development or redevelopment of a former oil or gas site and if said production or injection occurs within five (5) years of issuance of a CUP or DA under this Chapter.
2. Obtain permit(s) consistent with CMC 9510.3 to reabandon all previously abandoned wells that do not meet standards recommended or required by DOGGR for abandonment in effect at the time of reabandonment, and provide a certificate of compliance that the wells and/or sites are reabandoned consistent with current conditions and standards recommended or required by DOGGR to the satisfaction of the Petroleum Administrator. Permits shall not be required if reentry of an abandoned well is scheduled to occur within five (5) years of issuance of a CUP or DA under this Chapter, and if reentry actually occurs within that period of time.
3. In lieu of subsections (G)(1) and (G)(2) of this Section, obtain a deferral covenant from the City requiring abandonment or reabandonment to standards recommended or required by DOGGR, or equivalent standards as determined by the Petroleum Administrator, at a specific time or upon the occurrence of a future event. The deferral covenant shall be approved as to form by the City Attorney, contain a provision to indemnify and hold harmless the City for damages related to wells not abandoned or reabandoned consistent with standards recommended or required by DOGGR, and shall be recorded by the operator with the County Clerk prior to approval.
H. Other Development Standards.
1. Permanent structures, or other construction that would be difficult or expensive to demolish, shall not be located on top of any abandoned oil or gas well such that access for a well abandonment rig or other well maintenance equipment is constrained or inhibited from access to the well in the event of a future oil or gas leak, unless it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the City Manager that it is not feasible or, within an industrial zone, the developer proposing such construction provides written assurances to the satisfaction of the Petroleum Administrator, to be included in the recorded declaration of covenant prescribed in subsection (H)(3) of this Section, that they are aware of and accept the risks associated with such construction. Pervious improvements, such as landscaping and porous parking areas with adequate landscape buffers, may be located on top of an abandoned or reabandoned well which has passed the leak test consistent with this Section.
2. Redevelopment of a Former Oil and Gas Site. If redevelopment of an oil and gas site for use other than an oil and gas operation is proposed at a completely or partially abandoned oil or gas site, the applicant shall submit an application to be processed as a conditional use permit consistent for that use under Chapter 1 of Article IX. Said application shall include the content required by CMC 9510.3.2, and the conditional use permit shall comply with the development standards of this Section.
3. Prior to issuance of a permit or entitlement for redevelopment of a former oil and gas site, the owner shall record a declaration of a covenant, in a form subject to the review and approval of the City Attorney, putting future owners and occupants on notice of the following: the existence of abandoned oil wells on the site; that the wells within the site have been leak tested and found not to leak; description of any methane mitigation measures employed; a statement as to whether or not access to these wells has been provided to address the fact that they may leak in the future causing potential harm; acknowledgment that the State may order the reabandonment of any well should it leak in the future; acknowledgment that the State does not recommend building over wells; and releasing and indemnifying the City for issuing any project permit or entitlement for the project, along with notice of the assurances, if any, required by subsection (H)(1) of this Section. The covenant shall run with the land, apply to future owners, and may only be released by the City. (Ord. 16-1590, Exh. B (§ 1))