HUNTINGTON BEACH : Plan Submitted to Correct Oil Well Violations

South Coast Oil Corp. has submitted a plan to correct health and safety code violations at its 17 oil wells shut down last week by the city.

The city this week ordered Stephen T. Harris, president of South Coast Oil, to present a written plan and timeline to fix violations on each of the downtown wells shut down, said Fire Chief Michael P. Dolder. Harris submitted the plan Wednesday.

The city also served Harris with a criminal complaint stemming from the operations of one well, which was shut down after a Jan. 8 fire caused by an apparently illegal gas line installed on the well.

Robert S. Rose, a Century City attorney representing both Harris and South Coast Oil, said: “We expect to be in full compliance in a relatively short period of time with most of the wells. Hopefully, (the plan) will be approved.”

Rose also said he hopes to resolve the criminal complaint against Harris before an arraignment next Wednesday at Municipal Court in Westminster.

Lee Caldwell, oil field inspector for the Fire Department, said Thursday that minor revisions need to be made in the plan submitted.

“I just want to make sure there is no misunderstanding between either South Coast Oil and the city on what work is required and how South Coast Oil is going to pursue it,” Caldwell said.

Dolder said that once the city accepts Harris’ plan to fix the violations, and as each problem is corrected for each well site, “then the well can be turned back on.”

“If he doesn’t do that, we’ll have to go through a different process,” Dolder said.

However, Dolder added that resolving the matter in the court “isn’t an efficient process. It’s a more expedient route to get him to comply.”

Caldwell said that while two of the 17 wells were idle, all of them had “some type of violations.” Since an inspection of the well sites in August, the city has warned Harris repeatedly to correct the violations, he said.

Violations include failure to install counterweight guards on the oil wells, failure to provide adequate fencing around sites and failure to place proper operator signs on sites. Caldwell also said that South Coast Oil did not have required proof of liability insurance on file with the city.