Well-Known Concerns : Huntington Beach Residents Say Oil and Quality of Life Don’t Mix

In the seven years since they moved into their house on 2nd Street, Jim Calvillo and his family have learned to hate their next-door neighbors: three oil wells that are unwelcome companions, day and night.

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“We can’t even sit out in the back yard, especially during the summertime, because the fumes from the oil produced and solvents used are so strong,” said Calvillo, who is also plagued by noise from the wells, which pump 24 hours a day. “We also have to close the windows, which makes it very uncomfortable.”

Calvillo and other downtown residents, already weary of living near the oil wells, grew more concerned after a Jan. 8 fire broke out in a well behind a 10th Street house, resulting in damage to the well but not the house.

The well was shut down by city fire officials and remains inactive.

“It was an eye-opener. You realize how dangerous it can be,” said Chuck Bollman, whose home abuts the well. “If (the wells) are not responsibly handled, then you can have a problem, like what happened.”

Jack Santiago, who owns an 11-unit apartment complex next to the well site on Bollman’s property, said he is also alarmed.

“We built the apartments 30 years ago and it dawned on me that some dumb thing like that could destroy us,” said Santiago, who depends on the rental income for his livelihood.

A city inspection of downtown wells Jan. 18 resulted in the closure of 17 wells operated by South Coast Oil Corp. of Los Angeles for violations of city health and safety codes. The three wells next to Calvillo’s house were among them.

Violations ranged from failing to install counterweight guards on wells to failing to provide proper fencing and signs.

The city attorney’s office filed criminal charges against South Coast Oil in connection with the fire. The six misdemeanor counts and 14 infractions include unlawful continuance of a fire hazard and failure to correct previous violations, city officials said. Fire Chief Michael P. Dolder said that in the past 18 months, South Coast Oil has not complied with numerous requests to correct various violations.

“And prior to that, there’s been noncompliance issues,” Dolder said.

A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Feb. 22 in Municipal Court in Westminster.

South Coast Oil submitted plans to correct violations Jan. 25, but they have yet to be approved by the Fire Department.

“Our expectation is that all of the violations will be cured and the hope is that the criminal aspects of the complaint will be resolved,” said the company’s attorney, Robert S. Rose,.

When Rose was asked why South Coast had ignored city requests to fix wells that were in violation of the city’s Oil Code, he said the company had spent in excess of $350,000 “to keep the wells in good working order so they produce and also protect the integrity of the site.”

The lawyer added that South Coast is eager to have its work plan approved so it can begin making corrections because lost production is costing the company $1,500 a day. He also said repair efforts had been hampered by a lack of capital.

Rose, who said he has been associated with the oil business for 38 years, acknowledged that oil wells can be dangerous. “But these wells do not present any immediate dangers,” he said.

But Richard C. Manuel, operations manager for the state Department of Conservation’s division of Oil and Gas, said the well sites do pose safety hazards. “Anything that does not meet city and state safety requirements is not safe,” he said.

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Councilman Ralph Bauer said he will push for City Council action that would ensure that residents’ health and welfare is not compromised and improve the appearance of “unsightly” oil well sites. Bauer has also formed an informal committee of city officials, downtown residents and a state official to address issues surrounding the downtown wells.

Lee Caldwell, the city Fire Department’s oil field inspector, also believes residents have valid concerns.

“They have a right to expect that an oil operation is going to be run in a safe and professional manner and that every precaution that is required is taken,” Caldwell said. “I don’t think this oil operator is doing that.

Caldwell estimates that 600 oil wells are scattered throughout a city where wells have been a part of the landscape since oil started gushing in the 1920s. Another oil boom brought more wells in the 1950s.

The 41 wells in the downtown area alone stand beside seaside homes, between houses on small parcels, on corner lots and in back yards. Many of them were drilled more than 40 years ago.

In years past, property owners eagerly gave up portions of their land in exchange for the money from oil leases and royalties. But nowadays, residents say, many wells are marginal producers and royalties are small. Since the downtown building boom of the 1980s, the wells and the homes just don’t mix, some say.

“It’s not a compatible use with the amount of building downtown,” Bollman said.

Mariette Gable, whose 9th Street house is next to a South Coast well that has been idle for about a year, agreed.

“I have all the same complaints as everybody else has,” she said. “I agree with the rest of the neighbors that all of the wells should be out of here. This is a family neighborhood.”

Bollman, who has lived in his family’s 10th Street house most of his 45 years, compared the situation to living next to railroad tracks. “It’s there and you just accept it. There’s some danger involved, but your hands are tied.”

Bollman’s parents gave up part of their land in exchange for an oil lease they signed on April 12, 1955. Bollman said like most oil leases, they “are forever.”

“Virtually, they’re good as long as the well produces anything--and they are impossible to break,” he said.

Removing a well is an expensive alternative. Manuel, the state official, said the cost of abandoning a well in Huntington Beach can range between $25,000 and $40,000, depending on the condition of the well and whether it has been idle for a period of time. Well casings must be removed, the well itself must be plugged with cement, and soil must be cleaned of any contamination. In addition, costly rig equipment must be used to remove the well.

E.T. Conlon , 77, said the $50,000 it cost to get rid of the well in his yard on 9th Street a few years ago was money well spent. About 15 years ago, Conlon said he endured an oil spill that blanketed his yard.

“I just wanted to get rid of (the well). Safety was a primary reason,” said Conlon, who has lived in his house 25 years. “I’ve got a nice yard now. I don’t have any regrets.”