Huntington Beach : Citizens Lose Battle to Keep Out Oil Wells

Residents calling themselves Concerned Citizens of Huntington Beach have lost their 2 1/2-year legal fight to block the drilling of 45 oil wells in their neighborhood.

Orange County Superior Court Judge William Rylaarsdam refused Wednesday to overturn the City Council’s November, 1988, approval of a zone change that allowed Angus Petroleum Inc. to drill near the intersection of Springfield Avenue and California Street.

“We’ve worked hard and long to keep this out of our neighborhood,” said resident Mary Parrish, a Concerned Citizens member. “And I still believe it was a bad thing to do to the citizens, the people who live there.”

Parrish added that the group is still weighing whether to appeal the decision.

John D. Carmichael, Angus vice president for California operations, said Thursday that his company is “delighted” with the judge’s ruling. He estimated that drilling can begin as soon as early October.

Despite the repeated opposition by many neighbors of the proposed drilling site, the City Council voted last fall to allow Angus to remove 30 oil wells throughout the city and consolidate 45 new ones at the Springfield facility. Officials of Huntington Beach, a one-time oil boom town, say the city needs to consolidate the wells for safety and aesthetic reasons. They also argue that moving wells to centralized locations improves the prospect for developing land--especially coastal land--that may be blemished by oil pumps.