HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Ord 778 1969-01-20
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ORDINANCE NUMBER
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA,
REGULATING MINING, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION OF OIL
AND OTHER HYDROCARBON SUBSTANCES, DECLARING THE
URGENCY THEREOF, AND THAT THIS ORDINANCE SHALL
TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY.
The City Council of the City of Seal Beach does ordain as follows:
Section 1. No person shall open or operate any ~ine in the
City, nor shall any person remove any minerals from any. property in
the city, nor shall any person enter the subsurface of the City from
any point inside or outside the City for the purpose of removing any
minerals from any property in the City: except that a person who
complies with the requirements of this ordinance may remove oil, gas,
and other hydrocarbon substances from property within the City.
For the purposes of this ordinance "mine" includes all mineral bear-
ing properties of whatever kind or character, whether underground,
quarry, pit, well, spring, or other source from which any mineral
substance is or may be obtained. "Mineral" for the purpose of this
ordinance includes all mineral products, both metallic and non-
metallic, solid, liquid, or gaseous, and mineral waters of whatever
kind or character.
Section 2. Purposes of Ordinance. The purposes of the
provisions of this ordinance are to prohibit the drilling either on
the surface or in the subsurface of the City for oil and gas, to
prohibit the production of oil and gas, and to prohibit the storing
and transportation of oil and gas in the City except as permitted by
the provisions of this ordinance and Ordinance No. 483.
The Council hereby declares that it is also the object and purpose of
this ordinance to establish reasonable and uniform limitations, safe-
guards, and controls for the drilling for and production of oil, gas,
and other hydrocarbon substances within and under the City. Such
limitations, safeguards, and controls are found to be necessary in
order to protect the citizens, their property rights, and the general
public of the City and to put into effect practices which will provide
a plan for the orderly drilling for and production of oil and gas,
which substances are important to the national economy. Such orderly
development is necessary and will protect the surface uses and the
value and character of residential, commercial, and other real property
in the City. The Council recognizes that many of its citizens and
property owners have made substantial investments in real property:
therefore, in order to protect such citizens and their property rights,
and to provide for the orderly exploration, development, and production
of oil and gas, it is necessary to regulate the drilling for and pro-
duction of oil and gas in the manner set forth in this ordinance.
The Council hereby finds and determines that the uncontro~led~dril1ing
on the surface or in the subsurface for oil and gas and the uncontrolled
production thereof in the city would be detrimental to the general
welfare of the citizens and residents of the City and detrimental to
the general public peace, health, safety, comfort, convenience, and
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Ordinance Nu~er
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, __ __ ,__ __ _J prosperity. The Council finds and determines
that subsurface areas within the City may be explored for oil and
gas, and if such substances are found, the same may be produced
by directional or slant drilling methods from surface locations
outside the City and from certain designated locations within
the City. Such operations, when conducted from surface locations
in the City, must be limited to a certain controlled arill site
or sites which may be established and created by ordinance not
in con~lict with Ordinance No. 483. Such openations, when conducted
from surface locations outside the City myst comply with the
regulations of the City or County having local control of the
drill site area and applicable provisions of this ordinance. Such
controlled drill site or sites and the limitations and regulations
set forth in this ordinance are necessary in order to protect the
citizens and residents of the City from oil odors, noise, dust,
the spreading of oil, dirt, and debris upon the public streets
of the City, and to protect buildings and structures from
vibrations, sinking, or other damages caused by the drilling for
and production of oil and gas in an unrestricted location and
manner.
Nothing in this ordinance shall be deemed or construed
to invalidate or amend Ordinance No. 483 and in the event of
conflict in the provisions of this ordinance'and Ordinance No. 483,
the provisions of Ordinance No. 483 shall be controlling. '
Nothing in this ordinance shall be deemed to be in conflict
with State laws concerning the drilling for oil on state owned
~ide and submerged lands and the provisions of this ordinance
shall not be deemed to be applicable to the drilling and production
of oil where wells are located and bottomed on state owned tide and
submerged lands.
Nothing in this ordinance shall be deemed to be in conflict
with Ordinance No. 683 or Ordinanee No. 683 as amended or any other
ordinance designating license fees and/or taxes. All fees provided
for or required by this ordinance shall be in addition to all
other required fees and taxes.
Section 3. Definitions.
(a) "Applicant" shall mean any pez;son who seeks a permit
pursuant to the provisions of this ordinance.
(b) "Permittee" shall mean any person who receives a
permit pursuant to the provisions of this ordinance.
(c) "Controlled drill site" shall mean the surface location
in the City set forth in Section ~ of this ordinance o~ other
ordinances upon which surface operations indident to oil well
drilling or deepening and the production of oil and gas and other
hydrocarbon substances from beneath the surface of real property,
within or outside the City, may be permitted under the terms
and conditions of this ordinance and as prescribed by the terms
and conditions of the permit of the Council.
(d) "Directional drilling" shall mean the whipstocking
or slant drilling of an oil and gas well more than five (5') degrees
off vertical.
(et> "Oil well" shall mean any well or hole already drilled,
being drilled, or to be drilled from the surface into the earth,
which well or hole is used or intended to be used in connection
with the drilling for, pro~pecting for, or production of oil,
natural gas, or other hydrocarbon substances. "Oil well" shall
also include a well or hole used for the subsurface injection
into the earth of oil field waste~ gases, water, or liquid
substances, including any well or hole which has not been abandoned
and is now in existence.
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(f) "Drilling equipment" shall mean all temporary
structures, tanks, equipment, and facilities necessary or
convenient for the drilling of a well or well hole, including,
but not limited to, wood or steel derricks, portable masts, engines,
pumps, temporary fuel and water tanks, and other like facilities
ordinarily used in connection with the drilling of an oil and
gas well.
(g) "Exploratory area" shall mean a described area
established by the Council containing not less than forty (40)
acres, the boundaries of which shall follow property lines,
public streets, highways, or alleys so far as practicable, in
which subsurface area the drilling for oil and gas or oil or
gas and the production of oil and gas are permitted only by the
person upon whose application the exploratory area is established,
or his successor in interest. It shall be the subsurface portion
of real property in which the~e is likely to be found deposits
of oil and gas or oil or gas in which drilling ~nd production
operations may be carried on and oil and gas or oil or gas wells
bottomed for the production of such substances.
(h) "Developed area", shall mean that subsurface area
under real property in the City in or under which there are
proven oil and gas reserves and on which and from which real
property. there is a currently producing oil and gas or oil or
gas wellybeing operated and produced under and by virtue of an
oil and gas lease in full force and effect and which lease was
executed and deyivered prior to the effective date of this
ordinance, in which subsurface area the drilling for and production
of oil and gas is permitted as provided in this ordinance. Such
area shall contain not less than one acre.
Section 4. Existing wells. The right to maintain and
operate oil and gas wells lawfully drilled in or into the surface
or the subsurface of the City prior to the effeetive date of this
ordinance, which wells are still being drilled or are producing
oil or gas or other hydrocarbon substances at the time this
ordinance becomes effective"shall not be prohibited; provided,
however, any such wells shall be maintained and operated in
accordance with law and in full compliance with the terms and
conditions of the permits pursuant to which they were drilled.
Any such well shall hereafter be referred to as an "existing well."
No existing well shall be drilled, redrilled, or deepened below
its present bottom without first complying with all the terms,
conditions, and provisions of this ordinance including, but not
limited to, the payment of the application fee and permit fee,
the securing from the Council of a permit as required by Sectio~s
12 through 15 of this ordinance and the approval of the explenatory
area as required by Sections ioand it of this ordinance. /5A- 1~-'1
Section 5. Wells for which permits were granted prior
to effective date of this ordinance. Every oil and gas well for
which a permit was granted by the Council prior to the effective
date of this ordinance which has not as yet been spudded in may
be drilled, maintained, and operated; provided, however, each such
permit heretofore granted shall expire and be of no further force
or effect unless the well is spudded in within ninety (90) days
after said effective date and thereafter is prosecuted diligently
to completion, and if a producing well is not secured within one
year after the effective date of this ordinance, the well shall be
abandoned. The Council, for good cause, may allow additional time
for the completion of the well. In every case, however, each
such well shall comply with all provisions of law and all of the
terms, conditions, and requirements imposed by the Council in the
permit granted for the drilling of sudh well.
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Section 6. Wells for which permits were applied for
prior to effective date of this ordinance: Expiration of permits.
All applications for a permit to drill any oil and gas ~ell filed
pursuant to the provisions of the Seal Beach City Code an~effect
prior to the effective date of this ordinance, shall be processed
insofar as filing fees, notices, hearings, other procedural
matters, and approval or disapproval by the Council is concerned,
in accordance with the procedures in effect on the date of filing
such application, but no such well may be drilled without complying
with all of the terms and conditions of this ordinance. Any permit
granted pursuant to an application filed prior to the effective
date of this ordinance, shall expire and be of no further virtue,
force, or effect unless such well shall have been spudded in
within ninety (90) days from the effective date of the~permit and
thereafter prosecuted diligently to completion. If a producing
well is not secured within one year from the effective date of
the permit, the well shall be abandoned. The Council, for good
cause, may allow additional time for the completion of the well.
Section 7. oil and gas wells f.or which applications are
filed after effective date of this ordinance. No person shall
drill for or produce oil, gas, or other hydrocarbon sUBstances
from any surface location within the City, whether the subsurface
operation from such well is within or outside the City, except as
permitted by this ordinance and Ordinanee No. 483. No person
shall drill or produce oil or gas or other hydrocarbon substances
from the subsurface of the City from drill sites located either
within or outside the City except as permitted by this ordinance.
No person shall drill or redrill or deepen below its pEesent bottom
any well for the production of or exploration for oil'or gas or
other hydrocarbon substances where any portion of the surface
operation or the subsurface operation of such well is located
within the City except as is authorized by this ordinance.
Section 8. Drilling prohibited. The Council hereby finds
and determines that it is, and it is hereby declared to be, unlawful
and a public nuisance for any person hereafter to erect any derrick
or drilling equipment and hereafter to drill an oil and gas or oil
or gas well from surface ~rill sites or locations within the City
except in the manner provided in this ordinance and Ordinance No. 483.
The Council hereby finds and determines that it is, and it is hereby
declared to be, unlawful and a public nuisance for any person
hereafter to drill or prodace an oil and gas well or oil or gas well
by directional or slant drilling methods from surface locations or
sites outside the City which said wells pass thEough or bottom in
the subsurface of any property loeated within the City except in
the manner provided in this ordinance. The Council hereby finds
and determines that it is, and it is hereby declared to be, unlawful
and a public nuisance for any person hereafter to erect any derrick
or drilling equipment and hereafter to drill an oil and gas or oil
or gas well or to produce oil and gas or oil or gas from surface
drill sites or locations within the City except in the manner and
from the controlled drill site authorized by ordinance. The Council
hereby finds and determines that is is, and it is hereby declared
to be, unlawful and a public nmisance,for any person hereafter to
erect any derrick or drilling equipmeAt and hereafter to drill an
oil and gas or oil or gas well or to produce oil and gas or oil
or gas by directional or slant drilling methods from surface locations
or drill sites outside the City except in the manner authorized
by this ordinance and Ordinance No. 483.
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(a) Subject to the approval of the exploratory area
as required by Section 10 of this ordinance and the issuance of
a Council permit as required by Section 13 of this ordinance
the drilling of an oil and gas or oil or gas well and the
production of oil, gas, and other hydrocarbon substances may
be had or carried on from drill sites located outside the City
limits where such oil and gas wells are drilled into the subsur-
face of real property in the City by directional or slant
drilling in accordance with the requirements of this ordinance.
(b) Subject to the approval of the exploratory area as
required by Section 10 of this ordinance and the issuance of a
Council permit as required by section 13 of this ordinance, the
drilling of an oil and gas or oil or gas well and the production
of oil, gas, and other hydrocarbon substances may be had or
carried on from controlled site or sites which are within the
City and established by ordinance and from which controlled
drill site drilling and production operations may be had in
accordance with the requirements of this ordinance within the
City. No drilling or production operations for oil and gas
may be had on any other sites or surface real property within
the City.
(c) The use of the controlled drill site need not be
exclusive to anyone person, firm, or operator and may be used
jointly by sucp applicant or permittee as may be granted a
Council permit hereinafter referred to.
Controlled drill site No. 1 shall be and embrace the
real property in the City of Seal Beach, County of Orange, State
of California, described as follows:
Commencing at an 8-inch concrete monument which is
the south quarter corner of Section 12, Townsaip 5 South, Range
12 West, SBB&M, Orange County, California; thence North 890 46'
West, a distance of 387.25 feet; thence North 00 14' East, a
distance of 40 feet to a point in the North line of Bolsa Avenue,
as described in Book 560 at page 166 of Official Records of Orange
County, which last mentioned point is the true point of beginning;
thence North 00 14' East, a distance of 1020 Seet; thence 890 46'
West, a distance of 136 feet; thence Sogth 31 27' 34" West, a
distance of 121.90 feet; thence South 0 14' West, a distance
of 915.76 feet to the North line of the aforesaid Bolsa Avenue'
thence South 890 46' East, a distance of 200 feet to the point
of beginning; said land lying entirely within the boundaries of
the U. S. Naval Ammunition and Net Depot, Seal Beach, California,
hereinafter referred to as the Depot; and which parcel of land is
hereinafter referred to as the "City-Owned Land;".
The Council finds and determines that the location of
drill sites on real property within the City, other than as
authorized by ordinance and designated as a controlled drill site,
would be contrary to the best interests of the citizens and
residents of the City and the public health, safety, and general
welfare of the citizens and inhabitants of the City. Drilling
from or on the surface of real property within the City, except
from or upon the controlled drill site authorized by ordinance
is hereby prohibited, and the d#illing of an oil and gas or oil
or gas well from any drilling site in the City, except from or
on the such controlled drill site shall constitute a public
nuisance and shall be abated as provided in this ordinance.
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Section 9. Whipstocking: Easements required: Compliance
with requirements of other jurisdictions. No oil or gas well may
be drilled unless the applicant holds and presents to the Council
evidence that such applicant has the right to enter or pass through
each parcel of property such drilling will take the well through
between the drilling site and the well bottom, including the
right to take oil and gas from the property in which the well will
be bottomed. Slant drilling or whipstocking of any well into, out
of, or through the City is hereby prohibited unless the applicant
for any such permitameets and fully complies with all the require-
ments of every city or, in the case of unincorporated territory,
of every county in wh~ch such well or any part thereof is or will
be located and meets and fully complies with all applieable State
and Federal laws and regulations.
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section 10. Applications for exploratory areas. No
Council permit shall be granted or considered by the Councilor set
for hearing until the Council has approved the boundaries of the
exploratory area into waich such a well or wells may be drilled.
An application for approval of the boundaries of the proposed
exploratm~y. area shall be required, and in such applicatmon the
applicant shall set forth and describe with a proper legal
description the real property in the City which the applicant proposes
to explore for oil and gas purposes. A map shall also be attached
to the application, which map shall clearly show and outline the
proposed exploratory area. Such area shall be known'and designated
as the "Exploratory Area." Such exploratory area .sh![l'lL contain not
less than forty (40) acres. The exploratory area may include
property within and prope~ty outside the City. Each such application
shall have attached thereto geoligical information and the opinion
of a geoligist or petroleum engineer indicating that the boundaries
proposed for the exploratory area include the subsurface portion
of real property in which there is likely to be found deposits of
oil and gas.
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Each application for approval of the boundaries of an
exploratory area shall be accompanied by an application fee of
Five Thousand and no/IOOths ($5,000.00) Dollars. The application
fee shall be to defray the costs to the City of study, investigation,
and hearings by the City Manager and other officers and employees
of the City, by consultants employed by the Council, and by the
Council concerning the proposed exploratory area set forth in
the application.
Section 11. Exploratory area boundaries and pooling of
prope~ty: Hearings and approval. Eaeh applicant requesting
approval of an exploratory area shall have the contractual or
proprietary right and authority to drill for oil and gas under
the surface of at least seventy-five (75%) percent of the area
of the real property in the City described and included in any
exploratory area. The Council may require the applicant to ppove
any such authority by submitting a lease agreament or evidence
of ownership thereof.
In order to metermine the propertboundaries of any
exploratory area, the Council may employ such engineers or eonsul-
tants as it deems necessary to advise the Council in such matter,
and the cost of such services shall be paid by the City.
The Council, in consultation with the applicant, shall
determine the nature and probable extent of the exploratory area.
Having determined the probable ex~ent of the exploratory area,
the Council shall delineate and describe the approved exploratory
area.
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The Council, as a condition to granting its approval, may
require each applicant or permittee to pool all real property which
it controls within the exploratory area as approved. After such
pool is created, the property included therein shall thereafter
be referred to as the "pooled area" or the "community lease". The
applicant shall not be required to obtain leases or contractual rights
to explore all of the real property within such exploratory area,
but the applicant shall agree, in writing, that the owners of any
oil and gas rights within the exploratory area may join in any
leasing arrangements covering the pooled area or any community lease
for the production of oil and gas from the exploratory area. The
owners of oil ang gas rights within the exploratory area shall have
the right to join in any such lease and to share in the rental or
royalty payments for oil and gas produced from the approved
exploratory area. The shares of royalty to be paid shall be
computed on the same basis as that of the average of ~eal property
owners, by surface area, who have by lease or other document agreed
to the drilling for and production of oil and gas by the applicant
from the subsurface of the exploratory area.
The owner of any oil and gas rights within the exploratory
area shall be granted the right to join in any such pooled area or
community lease on the basis set forth in this section. The permittee
or lessee shall accept the owner of such rights into the pooled
area or community lease as provided in this section upon receiving
written notice that such owner will join in and become a part of
such pooled aEea or community lease covering the exploratory area
and upon the execution of the same form of lease executed by other
owners; provided, however, the oil and gas rights are appurtenant to
real property included in the exploratory area. The owner of oil
and gas rights within the exploratory area may join such pooled area
or community leaseeand be included in the right torreceive his pro
rata share of oil and gas royalty the same as if he joined such
lease by giving notice to the permittee at any time after the
exploratory area is approved; provided, however, such owner waives
any right to oil and gas royalties, rentals, or proceeds on or for
any and all production from the exploratory area up to the first
day of the following month after the time such notice is given
to the permittee within five (5) years of the effective date of the
first Council permit issued in the exploratory area. The permittee
shall be reqgired to impound the oil and gas royalty for all
property within the exploratory area (in which the permittee does
not have a contractural or proprietary right to drill for oil and gas
beneath the surface) for a period of five (5) years from and after
the effective date of thecsaid first Council permit and to, during
such five-~ear period, pay such royalty, as they are entitled, to
the owners of oil and gas rights who give written notice and
execute the same form of lease or agreement executed by other owners.
Upon the expiration of five (5) years from the effective date of
the said first Council permit, hhe permittee shall distribute the
remainder of the funds impounded to the owners of oil and gas rights
who have executed the lease in the same manner as shares of royalty
are apportioned. No such owner of oil and gas rights shall be
entitled to a Council permit or the right to drill an oil and gas
well because he has failed to join any community lease or pooled
area or because he does not participate in oil and gas royalty from
peal property located within the exploratory area.
The pooling or unitizing of oil and gas rights within the
exploratory area as between owners, lessees, or others having
rights therein may be made a condition ~o the approval of the
exploratory area.
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The Council may modify the restrictions and conditions
required by this ordinance and impose such other conditions
as it may deem necessary to carry out ~he purpose and intentio~ of
these sections and to fairly and equitably protect the oil and
gas rights of the owners in any exploratory area.
Upon receipt of an application for approval of an exploratory
area, the Council shall set the same for hearing not sooner than
fifteen (~5) days and not later than ninety (90) days after the
filing of such application and shall refer such application to the
City Manager for study and investigation. The City Manager shall,
not later than five (5) days before the hearing by the Council, file
a report upon his study and investigation with the Council and
with the City.Clerk. The Council may, at the request of the
City Manager or on its own motion retain engineers, geologists, or
other persons to asssit the City Manager in his study and investigation.
Notice of the hearing shall be giv.en as required by ordinance and by
mailing a written notice ofi such hearing to the applicant. Any
such hearing may be continued from time to time within six (6)
months after receipt thereof.
In its action upon the application, if the Council shall
find that the boundaries of the proposed exploratory area include
all of the subsurface portion of real property in which there is
likely to be found deposits of oil and gas from a probably single
pool, it shall approve the boundaries of the proposed explorat9ry
area, or, if such boundaries can be modified to justify such a
finding, it shall approve the boundaries of the exploratory area
as modified.
Section 12.. Production of oil and gas: Developed areas
less than forty acres. Notwithstanding the provisions of th~s
ordinance requiring that the exploratory or producing area contain
not less than forty (40) acres, the holder of a valid Council permit,
as hereinafter required, may drill and produce an oil and gas
well where such well is bottomed and produced from a developed
area as defined in this ordinance; provided, however, in no event
shall any person hereafter erect any derrick or drilling equipment
or drill an 'oil and gas well or an oil well or a gas well from
surface drilling sites or lecations within the City other than
a controlled drill site established and authorized by ordinance.
Section 13. Permits required for all drilling and producing
operations. It shall be unlawful and annaisance for any person
hereafter to conduct any drilling operations for a well hole or
hereafter to drill and produce any oil and gas well or well hole in
the surface or subsurface of the City from any drill site without
first having applied for and obtained from the Council a permit ~
to do~o\Such permit shall be designated and thereafter referred to
as the Council permit.
Section 14. Applications for permits for directional drilling.
Each application for a Council permit shall be made in writing and
shall include:
(a) The legal description of the proposed drill site;
(b) The legal description of all properties, both within
and outside the City, through which such well is proposed to pass;
(c) A statement that the app~icant has the right, by reason
of ownership or the permission of thelowner, to pass through and
enter all property through which such well is proposed to pass;
(d) The proposed location, the type, kind, size, and amount
of equipment, and the method of operation of the proposed well;
(e) The proposed mehhod of handling and using any product
proposed to be developed;
(f) In all cases where the well is proposed to be bottomed
in the City, a statement that the applicant has the contractual or
proprietory right and authority to drill for oil and gas under the
surface of at least seventy-five(75%) percent of the real property
described and included in the approved exploratory area in accordance
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with the requirements of sections 10 and ~l of this ordinance or a
statement bringing the application within the requirements of
Section l220f this ordinance; and
(g) In all cases where the well is proposed to be drilled
from a controlled drill site within the City, a statement that
the applicant has complied or will comply, before spudding in the
well, with all requirements of the City (or in the case of unincorpor-
ated) territory, the County) in which the well is to be bottomed.
At the time such application for a permit is made, the
application fee hereinafter required shall be paid to the City
Manager.
Each application shall be accompanied by a detailed written
report of a geologist, or other person experienced in the field of
subsidence as a result of petroleum extraction, indicating the
nature and extent of the subsidence, if any, that can reasonably
be expected to occur as a result of the proposed drilling and
production or drilling or production, as the case may be, and
indicating the nature and extent of the damage to property, if
any, that could reasonably be expected to occur as a result of
the drilling and production or drilling pr production, as the
case may be, and setting forth ehe qualifications and experience
of the person making the report in the field of land subsidence
as a result of petroleum extraction.
Section 15. Development of oil, gas, and minerals:
Application fees. The filing of any application referred to in
Section 13 of thms ordinance shall be accompanied by an application
fee of One Thousand and no/lOOths ($1,000.00) Dollars. The
application fee shall be to defray the costs to the City oE study and
investigation by the City Manage~,other staff members, consultants
employed by the Council, and the Council concer.ning the proposal
set forth in the application.
Section 16. Hearings and decisions. Upon receipt of any
such application the Council shall refer such application to the
City Manager for study and investigation. The City Manager shall,
not later than thirty (30) days after the filing of the application,
file a report upon his study and investigation with the Council.
The Council may, at ther.equestof the City Manager or on its own
motiun, retain engineers or other persons to assist the City Manager
in his investigation of the application. The application shall be
acted upon by the Council within three (3) months after the filing
thereof. In its action upon the application, if the Council finds
that the terms and conditions of this ordinance have been complied
with and that the persons and property within the City will not be
adversely affected by the granting of the application, and that there
is no reasonable probability of danger of damage to Hn~ real or
personal property or injury to any person within the City by reason
of subsidence of the surface of the earth or other reason due to the
extraction of oil or gas or oil and gas, and if, in a case where
the propesed drill site is located within the City, the Council
shall find that there is no reasonable probability of danger or damage
to any real or personal property or i~jury to any person by reason
of the production and extraction of m~l or gas or oil and gas or
other hydrocarbon substances, it shall grant the application and
the Council permit upon such terms and conditions as the Council
may set and fix in granting such permit in order to protect persons
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and property within the City from injury or damage or hazard of injury
or damage, and when the drill site is in the City, such further
conditions as the Council may impose in order to eliminate or
minimize the adverse effect of such drill site on persons and
property in the vicinity. In all other cases, the Council shall
deny the application. No permit shall be granted without the
following standard conditions being re~uired and made a part and
condition of such permit:
(a) Drilling operations for any well shall commence within
ninety (90) days from the effective date of the permit and there-
after be prosecuted diligently to completion, and, if a producing
well is not secured within one year from the effective date of the
permit, the well shall be abandoned. The Council, for good cause,
may allow additional time for the commencement of the well.
(b) The permittee shall comply with all ordinances, rules,
and regulations of the City and of any other city through which the
well or any part thereof is located or to be drilled, and the
permittee shall comply with all ordinances of the County when the well
or any part thereof is located or is to be drilled partly within the
unincorporated territory of the County. The permittee shall comply
with all rules and regulations of the Orange County Air Pollution
Control District.
(c) A copy of the complete record of any such well furnished
to the Division=of Oil and Gas of the state shall be concurrently
filed by the permittee with the City Manager. The permittee shall,
within thirty (30) days after any oil and gas or oil or gas well
is placed on production, file w.i~h the City Manager a plat showing
the location of the producing interval and the drill site. All
records submitted pursuant to the provisions of this subsection
shall be confidential and privileged.
(d) All well holes and oil and gas wells passing through
or bottomed in=or under any real property in the City, which wells
are drilled from drilling sites outside the City, shall be below
a depth of 500 feet upon entering any real property within the City.
(e) All well holes, oil and gas wells, oil wells, and gas
wells bottomed in the City shall be bottomed in an exploratory
area approved pursuant to the provisions of this ordinance or
in a developed area pursuant to the provisions of this ordinance.
(f) The Mayor, members of the Council, the City Manager,
the Public Works Direc~or, the Chief Building Inspector and City~
Engineer, and their authorized assistants or deputies and other
officers, employees, agents, and independent contractors designated
from=time to time by the Council, shall be permitted at all reason-
able times to review and inspect the drill site and any operations
or methods used in the drilling for and producing of oil and gas.
(g) The permittee shall hold the City and its officers
and employees harmless from any claims by third parties arising
out of or resulting from the permittee's operation under any Council
permit. The permittee shall at all times during the existence of any
Council permit be insured for not less than Two Million and no/IOOths
($2,000,000.00) Dollars against liability in tort arising from the
drilling or production activities or operations incident to the
drilling and production of an oil and gas well pursuant to any
Council permit, and such policy shall name as additional insureds
the City, its Mayor, members of its Council, members of its boards
and commissions, and its officers, agents, and employ.ees, while
acting as such, for liability arising out of the permittee's
operation pursuant to such permit. Such policy of insurance shall
be issued by a good and responsible insurance company and shall be
subject to the approval of the City Attorn~y. A certificate of
such insurance shall be filed with the City Clerk before drilling
is commended. Drilling and production shall be suspended at any
time when the required insurance is not in full force and effect.
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Ordinance NumDe~
.fh) The Council permit shall become null and void unless
the permit is accepted by the applicant in its'entirety in writing,
filed with the City Manager within thirty (30) days from the
effective date thereof, together with the payment of the permit
fee required by this ordinance and no wor~_ on such drill site
shall be commenced until such permit is accepted and issued.
(i) The operation of any oil and gas well and production
therefrom drilled pursuant to a Council permit shall be in accordance
with the rules and regulations of the Division of Oil and Gas of
the State, or any successor agency or body thereto.
(j) The oil and gas or oil or gas well drilled pursuant to
any Council permit shall be drilled only within the properties which
the permittee set forth in its application as the properties through
which such well was proposed to pass unless the permittee secures
approval of the Council to cause such well to pass through other
properties.
No permittee shall drill, operate, or maintain any oil
and gas well except in conformity with the terms and conditions of
thelpermit pursuant to which such well is being drilled. After
a Council permit has been granted, the Council may alter, amend,
or add to the conditions of 'such permit in order to protect the
citizens and property rights within the City. Such new, amended,
or added conditions shall be made only after ten (10) days'
notice to the applicant or permittee and after a hearing before
the Council.
Any Council permit may be suspended or revoked by the Council
for any material violation of the conditions of therpermit by the
permittee or for persistent violation of any law by the permittee
in the operation of any such well. The Council shall not revoke
any Council permit without first giving the permittee ten (10) days'
written notice of the nature of the violations and the Council's
intention to revoke such permit. If, within such ten (10) day
period, the permittee requests a hearing before the Council, the
Council shall grant such hearing within fifteen (15) days after
the date of such request. At such hearing evidence shall be
presented to establish to the satisfaction of the Council the extent
and nature of the violation which constitutes grounds for the
revocation, and the permittee shall be given an opportunity to
cross-examine all witnesses testifying at such hearing. The
permittee shall thereafter be permittee at that hearing, or at a
continued hearing (if a continuance is requested by the permittee)
to present evidence to disp~~ve or explamn such alleged violations.
~he Council shall thereupon, after hearing all the evidence, determine
whether or not therpermit should be revoked, and the Council deter-
mination thereon shall be final. If the Council determines that the
permit should be revoked, it shall order the revocation, and the
permittee shall thereafter abandon the well in strict conformity
with the requirements of law.
Section 17. Permits: Further conditions. No Council
permit shall be issued where all or any part of the proposed drill
site is located within the City without the following additional
conditions being required and made a part and condition of such
permit. The Council may require the following additional conditions
being required and made a part and condition of any permit for wells
drilled from a site outside the city.,
(a) All drilling shall be done by means of a steel derrick
enclosed with firep~Dofed and soundproofed material, and operations
shall be carried on diligently from the commencement of the drilling
until the completion of the well or until such well is abandmned.
(b) All drilling and production equipment shall be operated
by either electric or muffled internal combustion engines. All
engines shall be equipped with Maxim Silencers or such other types
of mufflers as may be satisfactory to the Council.
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Ordinance Number
(c) No sump holes shall be permitted, and rotary mud,
drill cuttings, and other waste=material from drilling operations
shall be discharged into a steel tank. Such tank, drill cuttings,
rotary mud, cmd",waste ,~'j;S!.+,.i,.a-r shall be removed from the controlled--
drill site upon completion of drilling operations.
(d) During all drilling or production operations, except
in the case of emergency, all equipment or supplies to be delivered
to the drill site shall be transported, truc~ed, or conveyed to the
drill site and unloaded only on Monday through Saturday between the
hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. As soon as commerc&al production
has been established in any new well, acquisition of a right-of-way
or the construction of a pipeline shall be started within ten (10)
days and work thereon diligently prosecuted until such pipeline is
completed in order to eliminate the trucking of oil. Except in
cases of emerqency, all oil and gas shall be shipped and transported
through pipelines when completed. All pipelines ouuside of such
drill site shall be laid to a depth of at least three (3') feet
below the surface of the ground.
(e) Private roads for ingress and egress to and from the
drill site shall be surfaced with gravel, oiled, and maintained
in good condition at ail times during drilling and production
operations. No signs shall be erected on the drill site except those
required by law or permitted by the Seal Beach City Code.
(f) Within ninety (90) days after the complet~on of drilling
operations or abandonment of furhher drilling, the derrick and all
drilling equipment, including temporary tanks, shall be removed
from the drill site. Well abandonment shall be in accordance with
the requirements of the Division of Oil and Gas af the State. Upon
such well abandonment, the permittee shall restore the property as
nearly as possible to its original condition and shall remove all
concrete foundations, oil-soaked soil, and debrisl all holes or
depressions shall be filled to the natural surface.
(g) When required by the Council, the applicant or permittee
shall designate a competent reppesentative who shall be responsible
for the supervision of drilling operations and the carrying out of
conditions of any permit. Such representative shall be available
at all times during drilling operations and shall be the responsible
contact agent of the applicant or ther permittee whom the Council
may require to carry out the provisions of therpermit.
(h) Within thirty (30) days after commercial production
has been established, there shall be commenced and prosecuted diligently
to completion on each controlled drill site adequate landscaping
and screening, either with shrubbery, masonry, or concrete wall
or their equal, so that the same shall not be unisghtly nor
hazardous. All tanks shall be depressed so that the top of any tank
and other equipment and appurtenances shall not extend more than
five (5') feet above the surface of any controlled drill site unless
otherwise permitted by the Council.
(i) Oil produced from such wells may be stores in steel
tanks on the site. Unless otherwise permitted by the Council, the
total amount of storage for prodmction, recycling, and all storage
and operational purposes shall not exceed 2,000 barrels, and no
tank shall exceed 1,000 barrel capaciyy.
(j) All drilling and production equipment installed or
operated upan any controlled drill site shall be so constructed,
opeEated, and maintained that no noise, vibration, odor, or other
harmful or annoying substances of effects therefrom which can be
eliminated or diminished by the use of modern and approved types
of equipment silencers or greater care shall ever be permitted to
result from operations on any controlled drill site to the injury
or annoyancee of persons in the vicinity of such controlled drill
site. Proven technological and mechanical improvements in methods
of drilling and production and in the type of equipment used there-
for shall be adopted from time to time, as the same become available
if the use of such equipment, improvements, and methods will reduce
noise, vibration, odors, or the harmful effects of ann9ying
substances. The use of equ~pment in any controlled drill site,
which equipment causes noise or y,ibration, shall at all times be
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Ordinanoe ~umbe~
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subject to the approval of the Council, and the Council may amend
any permit and require the permittee to abate any noise or v.ibra-
tion which constitutes a nuisance and is detrimental to persons or
property in the vicinity where such equipment is being operated.
(k) All of the operations at the drill site shall be
conducted in a careful and orderly manner, and the premises shall
at all times be maintained in a neat, clean, and orderly manner.
(1) All fire-fighting equipment as required and approved
by the Fire Chief shall be installed and maintained on the
controlled drill site at all times during the drilling and produc-
tion operations.
(m) No earthen sump shall be used or maintained on any
controlled drill site, and all waste water, mud, oil, or other
wasterproducts from drilling and producing operations shall be
accumulated in steel tanks, and such tanks shall not be permitted
to overflow at any time.
(n) The Council may restrict the use of certain streets,
alleys, or roadways in connecfion with the permittee's operations,
which streets, alleys, or roadways shall be named in any permit
granted. In the event any street, alley, or readway is damaged
by the permittee's operations, such damage shall be paid for by
the permittee up,on demand by the City, and the failure to pay
such da~age, be~~n the reasonable cost of the repair of any such
damaged portions, shall be grounds for the revocation of the
permit and the collection of such damage at law by the City.
(0) No permanent derrick shall be installed or maintained
on any controlled drill site or used for the drilling or production
of any oil or gas well.
(p) After an oil and gas well is placed on production,
all equipment with moving parts in use at such well shall be
securely enclosed in a building or by an adequate type of fence
or approved wire screen or housing, sufficient to prevent the
entry of unauthorized persons to such moving parts. Such
protections shall be subject to the approval of the Chief Building
Inspector. Any gates thereto shall be securely fastened at all
times except when authorized personnel are in attendance at such
well.
Section lB. Permit fees. When the Council has granted
any Council permit, the Council permit shall be of no virtue,
force, or effect until it is issued by the City Manager. The
City Manager shall issue a Council permit granted by the Council,
in the form contemplated by this article, upon receipt of written
acceptance of the permit by the permittee and payment to the City
of a permit fee for each well or well hole in the sum of One
Thousand and no/IOOths ($1,000.00) Dollars.
Such permit fee shall be in addition to the application
fee required by Section 15 of this ordinance. Such permit fee
shall be to defray the costs to the City of assuring that the
permittee complies with the requirements of this ordinance and
his Council permit and to defray the expense of enforcing the
provisions of sections 20 and 21 of this ordinance. The permit,
when issued by the City Manager shall show the effective date
as the date upon which the Council granted the permit and the
date of issue as the date when the permit was actually issued
by the City Manager.
Section 19. Abandonment of wells. Any well which has
not been produced, or which has hot been used for subsurface
injection into the earth of oil, gas, oil field waste water, or
liquid substances for a period of one year preceding the effective
date of this ordinance, shall be permanently and finally abandoned
in strict compliance with the rules and regulations of the Division
of Oil and Gas of the State or any regulatory authority having
jurisdiction thereof. For the purpose of this ordinance, a well
providing less than five (5) barrels of oil per day is deemed to
be non producing and shall be abandoned in accordance with this
ordinance and state law.
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Section 20. City Engineerr Subsidence. The City Engineer shall,
from time to time, as he deems appropriate, make such tests and observa-
tions as he deems appropriate to determine if any adverse effect upon
the surface of the City is occasioned or is in danger of being occasioned
by reason of the removal of oil, gas, or other hydrocarbon substances
from the subsurface of the City pursuant to a well, no part of which
is located within the City, but which drains a subterranean oil or gas
pool, part of which is in the City. In the event the City Engineer
observes any such adverse effect or danger, he may order the immediate
suspension of further production from such well or wells as may be
located entirely or partly within the City, and, in the event of such
an order, production on such well shall be suspended by the permittee
or other operator immediately upon receiving notice of such order.
The permittee or other person lawfully producing oil or gas, or oil
and gas, or any other hydrocarbon substances from any such well may
appeal to the Council. The Council may, upon good cause being shown
by the permittee or such other person, vacate or modify the order of
the City Engineer, or if no part of the well is in the City, the
Council may direct the City Attorney to immediately commence such
actions or proceedings as may be necessary for the abatement, removal,
and enjoining of further drilling operations which adversely affect
property within the City in the manner provided by law and to take
such other action and to apply to any court having jurisdiction to
grant such relief as will restrain or enjoin any person from drilling
or producing any such well.
Section 21. Enforcement. Any well drilled or produced, and
any building or structure erected, operated, or maintained, or
any use of property contrary to the provisions of this ordinance or
Ordinance No. 483 shall be and the same hereby are declared to be
unlawful and a public nuisance, and the City Attorney shall, upon
order of the Council, immediately commence action and proceedings
for the abatement, removal, and enjoinment thereof in the manner
provided by law, and shall take such other action, and shall apply
to any court having jurisdiction to grant such relief, and will
restrain and enjoin any person from drilling or producing any such
well, or from erecting, operating, or maintaining such building or
structure, or from using any property contrary to the provisions of
this article.
Section 22. Severability. If any section, subsection,
sentence, clause, phrase, or portion, of the ordinance, or the appli-
cation thereof to any person, firm, corporation, or circumstance, is
for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision
of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not
affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The
Council of the City of Seal Beach hereby declares that it wou~d have
adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause,
phrase, or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that anyone or
more sections, subsections, sentences, cmauses, phrases, or portions
be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 23. Urgency. The city Council finds and determines
that the mining, drilling, and production of oil and other hydrocarbon
substances constitutes a hazard to both persons and property because
of the danger of subsidence, and that this ordinance is therefore
necessary as an emergency ordinance for the preservation of public
health, safety, and welfare.
Section 24. Effective Date. This ordinance, being an
emergency ordinance for immediate pre servance of ea~n public health,
safety, and welfare, shall take effect immediately upon the passage
thereof by the City Council.
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Section 25. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and
adoption of this ordinance and shall cause the same to be posted.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED THIS 20th day of January, 1969, by
the following vote: /
AYES: COUnCil:men~.-u ~t?./:" ~.,.:'et-", ~J
NOES: Councilmen ~~ _ " ,
ABSENT: Councilmen C'~~
ATTEST:
~~~/---
Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss
CITY OF SEAL BEACH )
I, Jerdys Weir, City Clerk of the City of Seal Beach, do hereby certify
to the passage and adoption of the foregoing ordinance of the City
Council at a regular meeting thereof held on the 20th day of January,
1969, by the following vote: ,,/
AYES: COUNCILMEB~?o??~J!. 117," ::t.Jo~_~~ 1;.." ,~
NOES: COUNCILMEN+. ~ I '
ABSENT: COUNC ILMEN a '..... _, .J
~A~S <zd,~u
C y Clerk
I, JERDYS WEIR, CITY CLERK OF THE CITY OF SEAL
BEACH, DO HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE FOREGOING
ORDINANCE IS THE ORIGIr':t.L ORDINANCE NO,7-.Zf'
_._.._,..,... AND WAS FOSTeD PURSUA~ TO ORD.
lNANc:-Nq,p72 ON TI~...,pAY OF'~~1..t.f6f
_.......~,~,,=...~~......... CITY CLERK
'"