Hermosa Beach Oil Drilling EIR Draft Discussion

Oil Drilling & Recovery Cost Benefit Analysis 

Recovery Implies That You Once Owned or Possessed Something

Costs Far Outweigh Monetary Benefits To  Few People

Air, Water, Noise Health Impacts on the Community of Hermosa Beach

Property Proximity Potential Cancer or Health Impact

Impact Areas Where Injuries Could Occur From An Explosion For Example

Since the City has not provided a proper forum for public comment.  Please use this discussion area below for commenting on the EIR.  

Abandoned Well Methane Gas Leak in Hawthorne, California

Abandoned Water Well Methane Gas Leak Near Capped Oil Wells

Black Dots are Abandoned Oil Wells From Doggr Database 

Crews Monday capped a well leaking methane gas in the South Bay that has forced dozens of residents out of their homes.  The oil industry calls this a "blow out".

Golden State Water workers were capping the well, located on Imperial Highway in Hawthorne, last Thursday when they suddenly experienced an unexpected outflow of water mixed with the gas, the company said.

Nearly 40 families in the area surrounding the well have been evacuated and put up at local hotels due to the gas’ high flammability. “When are we gonna be back? How safe is it? It’s scary because I have a 2-year-old,” one resident said.

The Glenn Anderson (105) Freeway between Crenshaw Boulevard and the San Diego (405) Freeway as well as the transition roads from the 405 to the eastbound 105 were shut down for a short time, according to the California Highway Patrol. All roads were reopened by 11:20 a.m.

 Fire officials said the colorless and odorless gas also has the potential so ignite flash fires. 

The water stopped spouting around 11 a.m. after crews pumped mud into the well.

It will eventually be covered with concrete. It was unclear when families would be allowed to return to their homes.  

Methane Alarm Playa Vista

No one in the South Bay wants to have Methane alarms attached to the homes.  This would be the sad reality if we started drilling for oil again in the South Bay.

Related Articles:
Over a 30 Year Period 50% of Well Casings Fail
Mira Costa High School Plugged Oil Wells at Risk of an Explosion
Slant Oil Drilling Cannot Be Done Safely Near Abandoned Oil Wells
Capped Oil Wells Beneath Homes & Ocean Can Blowout

Videos From Oil EIR Scoping Meeting on July 24

The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process has begun for the E&B oil production project proposed to be located in Hermosa Beach. This project is ultimately to be voted up or down by Hermosa voters sometime in the year 2014. The vote is to be had as a result of a settlement agreement made between the city and Macpherson Oil that supposedly ended the lawsuit brought against the city by the Macpherson Oil company as a result of the city’s ban on oil drilling that was voted by the people.

On Wednesday evening, July 24, an EIR “scoping” meeting, as part of the EIR process for E&B’s proposed oil-drilling, was held in Hermosa’s Community Center Theater with several hundred participants hearing a presentation of the EIR process, and then adding their “scope” of the EIR comments.

The city made a video recording and also a transcript of that meeting. You may now view the video on the city’s website. It is listed in the website’s video archives as the “E&B EIR Scoping Meeting Parts 1, Part 2, Part 3.   Or use this link to go directly to the video archive page:  or browse to https://www.hermosabch.org/ and then click on “agendas / minutes/videos” on the left side of the home page to arrive at the video-archive page. View the video titled Part 1 first as the three video parts may be displayed in reverse order.

The Hermosa Beach video servers are really bad so don't be surprise if your video viewing is choppy.  There are a lot of people interested in the topic and viewing the video.  Please be patient.  Sometimes the video works better using the browsers Firefox and Explorer.  Chrome does not work well.

You have until Monday, Aug. 12, to submit additional comments regarding concerns you desire to be included in the “scope” of the EIR. Submit those comments to the city by email (krobertson@hermosabch.org) or hand deliver them to Ken Robertson, Director of Community Development, city of Hermosa Beach.

We will be going through this video over the next few weeks and will publish highlights below. 

90% of all Oil & Gas Wells are Fracked

Response to:  Easy Reader Opinion Letter "On Local Government: Regarding Fracking"

Fracking is the process by which drillers inject millions of gallons of water, sand, salts, mud and chemicals—all too often toxic chemicals and human carcinogens such as benzene—into the ground at extremely high pressure, to fracture the rock and extract the raw fuel.  Its hard NOT to find a well in Southern California that has NOT been fracked in the last 60 years because the unregulated process has been going on for a long time.  How are we to ever know if this is what has caused the thousands of earthquakes the Midwest is now experiencing?

The fracking process is used to boost production at 90% of all oil and gas wells in the United States, according to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, and fracking is increasingly common in other countries as well.  Although fracking most often occurs when a well is new, companies fracture many wells repeatedly in an effort to extract as much valuable oil or natural gas as possible and to maximize the return on their investment in a profitable site.

The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC), is a United States organization that represents the governors of 30 member and eight associate states, and works to ensure the nation's oil and natural gas resources are conserved and utilized to their maximum potential while protecting health, safety and the environment. It was established by the charter member states' governors in 1935. The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission is the oldest and largest interstate compact in the nation.

Fracking poses serious dangers to both human health and the environment. The three biggest problems with fracking are:

1. Fracking is causing earthquakes in Midwest
2. Fracking can cause adjacent older plugged wells to explode. 
3. Fracking leaves behind a toxic sludge that companies and communities must find some way to manage. Safely disposing of the sludge created by fracking is an ongoing challenge.
4. Somewhere between 20 percent and 40 percent of the toxic chemicals used in the fracking process remain stranded underground where they can, and often do, contaminate drinking water, soil and other parts of the environment that support plant, animal and human life.
5. Methane from fracture wells can leak into groundwater, creating a serious risk of explosion and contaminating drinking water supplies so severely that some homeowners have been able to set fire to the mixture of water and gas coming out of their faucets.

In 2005, President George W. Bush exempted oil and gas companies from federal regulations designed to protect U.S. drinking water, and most state oil and gas regulatory agencies don’t require companies to report the volumes or names of the chemicals they use in the fracking process, chemicals such as benzene, chloride, toluene and sulfates.

The result, according to the nonprofit Oil and Gas Accountability Project, is that one of the nation's dirtiest industries is also one of its least regulated, and enjoys an exclusive right to "inject toxic fluids directly into good quality groundwater without oversight."

In May 2012 the California Senate defeated a bill, introduced by state Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), requiring drillers to notify local property owners and water authorities in advance that hydraulic fracturing was going to occur, and requiring the testing of groundwater before and after the hydraulic fracturing to determine whether contamination had occurred. Pavley said that this monitoring and reporting approach would help to address citizens' concerns. The state Senate defeated the bill in a bipartisan 18-17 vote.

How Many Oil and Gas Drilling Fatalities Each Year?

A chart on the number of oil drilling fatalities each year from 2007-2011, 

Hermosa Beach Oil Drilling Hazardous Chemical Warning Signs

E&B Oil Drilling Must Post These Warning Signs

Michael Collins of Hermosa Beach requests details on what signs E&B Natural Resources will be posting near the oil drilling site.

Michael Collins following up on his request 2 weeks prior.
When will we get information on oil drilling warning signs?

Protecting Communities from the Health and Environmental Effects of Oil and Gas Production

Hands Across The Sand Hermosa Beach - Saturday, May 18, 2013

Hands Across The Sand Hermosa Beach

Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 11 am

Here is video from 2010 celebrating an "oil free" town.  

Please take notice that Hermosa City Councilman Jeff Duclos is in this video.  

Jeff Duclos is also an alternate on the Coastal Commission.  

Hermosa Beach Oil Drilling Municipal Code Law

5.56. 000E adopted June 25, 1985

Ord 85-803, adopted June 25, 1985 provides for the establishment of an oil code. Such oil code is on file and available in the office of the City Clerk.

5.56. 010 Oil drilling unlawful.

The drilling, boring or otherwise sinking of an oil or gas well, or oil or gas wells, or the maintenance, pumping or operation of any oil well or oil wells or gas well or gas wells in the city is declared to be a nuisance and is to be unlawful. It is unlawful for any person to drill, bore or otherwise sink or maintain, pump or operate or cause to be drilled, bored or otherwise sunk, or maintained, pumped or operated, or to aid in the drilling, boring or otherwise sinking, or maintaining, pumping or operating of any gas or oil well or wells for the purpose of procuring oil, gas or other hydrocarbon substances within any portion of the city. It is unlawful for any person to commence the construction or to construct or maintain any derrick, or any oil well apparatus in the city for the purpose of drilling for or maintaining any oil or gas well in the city; except, however, the oil wells now constructed or under construction or in actual operation in the city. (Ord. 95-1139 § 2, 1995; prior code § 21-10)

Oil & Gas Drilling Time Lapse Video

Does Oil & Gas Drilling Belong In Hermosa Beach, California?

Public OpinionPoll Results

Oil Companies Do NOT have to Disclose Fracking Sites in CA

Fracking is Still Highly Unregulated in California
See the Fracking Health Dangers of Gas Here


Baldwin Hills Oil Sink Hole in 1963 See (6 min 25 seconds)
Pressurized Oil Extraction Wells Caused This

Hydraulic Fracking Diagram

California Fracking Unregulated

E&B Oil Reveals Hydraulic Pumping Will Be Used

E&B further explains their hydraulic fracking technique using 27 oil wells and 3 water injection wells. The drilling rig will be 87 feet tall and will be temporarily on site for four months before it is removed. During that four month period three exploratory wells and one water injection well will be drilled. This will allow us to analyze the quality, along with the rate and flow, and other important factors of the produced oil, gas and water.

Pressurized Hydraulic Oil Extraction Wells Caused This
Redondo Beach Wins $2.5M Law Suit From Oil Companies in 1997

Eight oil companies named in the lawsuit were required to replace the oil they had taken with pressurized water. He said that because they did not, the surface under the water sank up to four feet in some areas. The subsidence led the breakwater to sink four feet below its designed height of 22 feet, Goddard said, and caused storm-generated waves to crash over the protective wall. He said the storm caused more than $8 million in damage to local businesses, a cost absorbed by the city. Several major oil companies were named in the suit, including Texaco, Exxon, Trident and Phillips Petroleum, Goddard said. 

What is an Environmental Impact Report (EIR)?

Hermosa Beach is about to begin the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process and its important that you know what it is, the timing, costs, players, politics & process.  An EIR is the planning document which describes the environmental impacts associated with a oil drilling project.

17 Environmental Impacts

The EIR will analyze 17 different environmental impacts and will determine which ones are significant. Aesthetics, Agricultural resources, Air Quality, Biological resources, Geology and Soils, Greenhouse Gases, Hazards, Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land use and Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population, Real Estate, Public Services, Recreation, Transportation and Traffic, Utilities, Mandatory Findings.  It also describes mitigation measures to reduce the impacts to an appropriate or acceptable level.

Planning Commission & City Council

The information within an EIR allows the decision-makers (the Planning Commission and/or the City Council) to make an informed decision when considering whether or not to approve a project. The report also assists with deciding if approval conditions (entitlements) are necessary. The ultimate decision to approve a project, however, remains with the decision-makers. When the Planning Commmission or City Council approves an EIR, it is simply an acknowledgement that the EIR is true and accurate. It is only a step towards project approval, not a guarantee. The Planning Commmission or City Council may decide to instead decide to approve or deny the project based on overriding considerations. For example, the Planning Commission may find that a proposed project may provide monetary benefits to a community that don't outweigh a problems identified in the EIR, such as unsafe air quality, heavy truck traffic & real estate price decline that will negatively impact property tax revenue.

Public Review

There may also be one or more meetings about the report, either as a separate meeting or as an item in a Planning Commission agenda. Note that approval of the environmental impact report does not mean that the project is approved. Once the report is approved, decision-makers review the project, taking into account the information in the report and other considerations. The public has an opportunity to review and provide comments on a draft of an EIR by contacting, in writing, the planner listed on the EIR. Public input is then included in the EIR, and considered by the decision-makers along with other aspects of the report.

EIR Project Managers

The Hermoa Beach City Council approved a contract with Ed Almanza & Associates, a Laguna Beach firm, to serve as the project manager.  However, there is no public information on this firm available on the internet as of today which is concerning.  The firm will oversee the city’s review of the proposed project at large. The Council also approved a consulting contract with former City Manager Stephen R. Burrell.

Opinion:  "Can Voters Rely on an EIR to Make a Voting Decision?"

It is important for the entire South Bay to understand this will be the 4th time in 80 years that Hermosa Beach has been faced with an oil drilling ballot measure. Hermosa Beach overwhelmingly banned oil drilling in public votes in 1932, 1958 and 1995. An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will address many aspects of this process, but it will never fully disclose all the damage that oil drilling will bring about in a town 1.3 miles square. Our position as a great area to live will be severely tarnished. These safety and environmental damage resulting from oil drilling will effect generations to come.

An EIR is supposed to be a thorough analysis of: Air quality, Biological resources, Geology and soils, Greenhouse gases, Hazards and hazardous materials, Hydrology and water quality, Land use and planning, Mineral resources, Noise impact, Population and housing, Public services, Recreation, Transportation and traffic, Utilities & any other Mandatory findings of significance like real estate values. Upon the completion of the EIR, a thorough examination of the safety risks will be necessary as it was in the previous MacPhearson oil drilling project. A report like Bircher Report (safety study), which was done in relation to the MacPhearson project, will need to be done.

Its too complicated for the voters to rely on an EIR alone.  Its too complicated and does not address safety to the residents.  An EIR is meant to simply figure out how a project could get approved. Don't be surprised to see this EIR analyzed and separated by parts to make the environmental impacts appear smaller and insignificant to residents. It’s very important that the City Council get a report similar to the Bircher Report to fully understand the risks these kind of project present.

Hermosa Beach has been down this road before and completed an Environmental Impact Report for Macpherson Oil in the 1990's at this exact location. The City Council elected at that time showed great care and diligence in their decision making. They commissioned the Bircher Report and reviewed the EIR and concluded that it was unsafe and the air quality impact would have been too harmful on residents. Three City Council members Sam Edgerton, Julie Oakes and John Bowler unanimously agreed that to not proceed with oil drilling after reviewing all the findings. They felt that the safety risks were too great to allow the oil drilling project to proceed.

We need the EIR to be interpreted by professionals who will take into account the same safety issues our 1990 City Council had to. Our current council chooses not to heed this previous unanimous vote of their predecessors. It is unknown if they even read the prior EIR and related safety reports before agreeing to this settlement arrangement. The current city council viewed the outcome of a jury trail too risky and unlike our 1998 city council they put the citizens at risk, or in this case obviated the due diligence of a complicated project into a political vote where safety arguments and facts might get lost in the rhetoric..

Beverly Hills Bans Oil Drilling

The City of Beverly Hills recently passed a ban on drilling. Read the story in the Beverly Hills Patch, January 26th, 2011.

The amendment to the municipal code bans oil, gas and hydrocarbon extraction from surface rigs, but not wells located beneath Beverly Hills that are connected to sites outside the city. The law also prevents the leasing and construction of new hydrocarbon sites effective immediately.

“The Beverly Hills City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an interim ordinance banning oil and gas drilling. Council members used the legislative action as an opportunity to reaffirm a united, long-held stance that Beverly Hills is no place for surface oil rigs. Councilwoman, Krasne chose to potentially "err on the side of caution" to protect children when she voted "happily, yes" on the ordinance.

"I'm going to say, right now, as I sit at home with a child who has lymphoma, that if there is just a small instance of cancer caused by an oil well on the school campus, then I'm going to err on the side of caution and put this ordinance in place," Krasne said. "If it can be proved to me that this is not the case, then at that time I will gladly lift the ordinance and have no problem."

Earthquakes From Drilling?

Ohio Earthquakes Linked to Natural Gas Drilling 

Read the LA Times Article

Enjoy this recent CBS News Story

One of the environmental impacts that we feel has not, was not adequately addressed initially and certainly now needs to be re-addressed, is the issue of earthquake hazards. And we have a declaration from Dr. David Jackson who's on the National Academy of Sciences.  Dr. David Jackson who's on the National Academy of Sciences. He is a respected geophysicist, was a professor at UCLA. He is on the California Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council. And he said that the reinjection of water into the Hermosa Beach site, well the reinjection of water into any site will increase the likelihood of risk of earthquakes based upon an L.A. Times article and other studies that have come out recently about the fact that. Northridge has increased the risk of earthquakes in our basin. Read the State Lands Commission testimony transcript which he predicted in 1994 and its coming true in place like Ohio.

We are very concerned about the impact upon the oil and a as sanctuary in the Santa Monica Bay. Pipelines will go into the bay but could rupture in case of an earthquake. We're saving on the earthquake issue it wasn't properly considered by the by the city and now there's new information.  New studies indicate water re-injection increases the likelihood of earthquakes.

Huntington Beach Residents Want Oil Facility Shut Down

The Angus Petroleum production facility on Delaware St. in Huntington Beach from which odors and noise have been emanating.  Huntington Beach residents say fumes, noise from Angus Petroleum are unbearable. Officials say the company is following regulations. This Huntington Beach oil facility has also been connected with oil spills in the area which cost the city $1.5M to clean up.

Residents in the neighborhood near Springfield Avenue and Delaware Street continue to complain to the city and the Southern California Air Quality Management District but say they have yet to see results. City officials and the AQMD say they have been fielding complaints on the facility but so far Angus has been cooperative and complied with regulations.  Last summer residents appealed to the city for help, saying the fumes were causing health issues including headaches and burning eyes. The Fire Department sent a violation notice to Angus Petroleum and said company officials were responsive to residents' concerns.

The Angus Petroleum facility on California Street had been inactive for nearly 11 years but started work again last summer. Oil production began on the site in 1992 but was shut down in 1998.

Reasons Why E&B Oil is a Bad Deal

Based on my discussion I think the deal the Hermosa Beach City Council struck is a bad one for several reasons. The only good news is we have an actual $ settlement number and its not going to bankrupt the city. Here are my top 10 talking points to be used with anyone you know.

1. No public forum was held.  Only 1 company (E&B) bid on the deal behind closed doors. 
2. The oil site will be within 100 feet of homes and businesses.  California recommends a 300 foot  setback and Colorado law requires 350 feet setback.  
3. $1B destruction of real estate values for a new police station or new storm drains on the beach? 
4. Santa Monica Bay is a no-drill sanctuary (Hermosa drilling map). 
5. State Lands Commission Staff recommended against this Oil Drilling project because it expected poor results.
6. Hb cannot use any of the money shared "net revenue" NOT gross for anything that is not on the beach or greenbelt.  See Tidelands Act. 
7. City Council “settlement” is a collective punishment for citizens daring to reject their plans for siting an industrial project next to homes. 
8. Schools won’t benefit much if at all from drilling.  The .20 cents per barrel for the school system was a horrible deal struck in 1990's. Oil was trading at $20 per barrel in 1990's and now at $110 per barrel.
9. Experts claim only 2M-9M barrels are possible at this location at best.  That is only $400,000 to $1.8M for schools at .20 cents per barrel over the lifetime of the project.  Over a 20 year period that is nothing per year for the schools, maybe $20K to $40K per year. Can't even hire one person for that $.
10. Once E&B is entrenched in Hermosa Beach, say good-bye to local control. E&B will call the shots, influence local elections, etc. Hermosa Beach will be forced to jump when E&B says ‘jump’.
11. Oil seeping from the ocean naturally will undoubtedly be disturbed by the slant drill. Do you want more oil washing up on the beach similar to Santa Barbara and Huntington Beach? 
12. HB can pay off E&B Oil company and it will not bankrupt the city.
1. Sell the city storage property next to the fire station for $7.5M 
2. Get a $10M "Judgement Bond" from the State of California at 3% and service loan which will cost the city $300,000 per year. (not much in the grand scheme of things). 
13. Do you want to see a 75 foot drilling tower as you look out over the ocean. (See pic)
14. Drilling on this lot will destroy a perfectly fine $5M lot.  
15. Drilling is noisy and you want to smell fumes of oil downwind everyday? 
16. The oil tar sands used "if found" would be low grade oil and only used for ships and heavily machinery. It takes more energy to refine the crap than regular oil. 
17. Lethal gases and possible explosions?  
18. Additional ground settling and possible earthquakes. 
19. Not a green Hermosa sustainability initiative if that is what the city wants. 
20. Its low grade oil, used by crappy machinery and will have an unknown impact on the sea and surrounding environment. 

Please share this with you friends and neighbors who might be helpful spreading the world that the oil settlement should be a no vote. It may not be on the ballot for a long time but it is never too early to start campaigning against something this stupid. Please let me know if you have any thoughts or concerns. If you have any neighbors that should be on the list please copy them and lets start building the campaign now.