This Section establishes reasonable and uniform limitations, safeguards and controls for oil and gas exploration and production facilities and operations within the City that will allow for the reasonable use of an important resource. These regulations also ensure that oil and gas exploration and production facilities and operations will not be detrimental to the health, safety, comfort, convenience, and general welfare of the neighborhood, and will not be incompatible with the surrounding area.

(§ 5, Ord. 1085, eff. January 6, 2006)

A.

General requirement. All petroleum exploration and development within the City, and each permit for petroleum exploration and development issued by the City shall comply with all applicable requirements of this Chapter.

B.

Application of sensitive use related standards. The requirements of this Chapter, and conditions of approval that are based on distances from occupied sensitive uses (as defined in Section 9-40.070(A) (Noise Mitigation), shall only apply to occupied sensitive uses that were in existence at the time the permit for the subject oil operations was approved.

(§ 5, Ord. 1085, eff. January 6, 2006)

The definitions of the petroleum-related terms used in this Chapter shall be those used by the California State Division of Oil and Gas, unless a specific term is otherwise defined in Article 8, or unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(§ 5, Ord. 1085, eff. January 6, 2006)

A.

Conditional Use Permit required. Conditional Use Permit approval shall be required prior to the commencement of each oil or gas related use. The Conditional Use Permit may impose conditions of approval, including design requirements to: protect persons or property in the neighborhood; preserve the quality of the area; preserve or enhance the public health, safety and welfare, or otherwise implement the purposes of this Chapter.

B.

Zoning Clearance required. A Zoning Clearance shall be obtained by the permittee prior to drilling each approved well or commencing site preparation for each well. A single Zoning Clearance may be issued for more than one well/drill site, where the Director determines that compliance with the requirements of this Chapter and any Conditional Use Permit conditions of approval can be as effectively verified as with multiple Zoning Clearances.

C.

Other requirements may apply. The granting of a Conditional Use Permit by the City shall not relieve the operator of the responsibility of securing and complying with any other permit that may be required by other City ordinances, or State or Federal laws.

(§ 5, Ord. 1085, eff. January 6, 2006)

The following general guidelines shall be used in the development of conditions to help ensure that an oil development project generates minimal negative impacts on the environment. Each guideline shall be applied whenever physically and economically feasible and practicable, unless the strict application of a particular guideline would otherwise defeat the intent of other guidelines. An applicant should use the guidelines in the design of the project and anticipate their use as permit conditions, unless the applicant can demonstrate that they are not feasible or practicable.

A.

Permit areas and drill sites should generally coincide and should only be as large as necessary to accommodate typical drilling and production equipment.

B.

The number of drill sites in an area should be minimized by using centralized drill sites, directional drilling and other techniques.

C.

Drill sites and production facilities should be located so that they are not readily seen.

D.

Permittees and operators should share facilities such as, but not limited to, permit areas, drill sites, access roads, storage, production, and processing facilities and pipelines.

E.

Pipelines should be used to transport petroleum products off-site to promote traffic safety and air quality.

F.

Cuts or fills associated with access roads and drill sites within the limits of the City's Hillside Performance Standards, should be kept to a minimum to avoid erosion and visual impacts. They should be located in inconspicuous areas, and generally not exceed 10 vertical feet. Cuts or fills shall be restored to their original grade once the use has been discontinued for more than 60 continuous calendar days.

G.

Gas from wells shall be piped to centralized collection and processing facilities, rather than being flared, to preserve energy resources and air quality and reduce fire hazards and light sources.

H.

Each well shall be located a minimum of 800 feet from occupied sensitive uses. Private access roads to drill sites shall be located a minimum of 500 feet from occupied sensitive uses. [Sensitive uses are defined in Section 9-40.070(A) (Noise Mitigation).]

I.

Oversized vehicles shall be preceded by lead vehicles, where necessary for traffic safety.

J.

Lighting shall be kept to a minimum to approximate normal nighttime light levels as approved by the Director.

K.

In general, projects shall be located, designed and operated so as to minimize their adverse impact on the physical and social environment. To this end, dust, noise, vibration, noxious odors, intrusive light, aesthetic impacts, and other factors of nuisance and annoyance shall be reduced to a minimum or eliminated through the best accepted practices incident to the exploration and production of oil and gas.

(§ 5, Ord. 1085, eff. January 6, 2006)

The following minimum standards and requirements shall apply to all petroleum operations, provided that more restrictive requirements may be imposed on a project through the conditions of permit approval.

A.

Setback requirements. No well shall be drilled and no equipment or facilities shall be permanently located within:

1.

100 feet of any dedicated public street, highway or nearest rail of an active railway, unless the new well is located on an existing drill site and the new well would not present a safety or right-of-way problem. If the review authority determines that aesthetics is a problem, the permit shall be conditioned to mitigate the problem.

2.

800 feet of any building or dwelling not necessary to the operation of the well. In no case shall the well be located less than 100 feet from each structure.

3.

800 feet of any institution, school or other building used as a place of public assembly. In no case shall any well be located less than 300 feet from each structure.

4.

300 feet from the edge of the existing banks of any channel as established by the Ventura County Watershed Protection District (VCWPD) and 100 feet from the existing banks of all other channels appearing on the most current United States Geologic Survey (USGS) 2,000′ scale topographic map as a blue line. These setbacks shall prevail unless the permittee can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Public Works Department that the subject use can be safely located nearer the stream or channel in question without posing an undue risk of water pollution, damage to wildlife and habitat, and impairment of flood control interests. In no case shall setbacks from streams or channels be less than 50 feet. All drill sites located within the 100-year flood plain shall be protected from flooding in compliance with Ventura County Watershed Protection District requirements.

5.

The applicable setbacks for accessory structures for the zone in which the use is located.

6.

100 feet from any spring appearing on the most current USGS 2,000' scale topographic map.

B.

Obstruction of drainage courses. Drill sites and access roads shall not obstruct natural drainage courses. Diverting or channeling such drainage courses may be permitted only with the authorization of the Public Works Department or the Ventura County Watershed Protection District.

C.

Containment of contaminants. Oil, produced water, drilling fluids, cuttings, and other contaminants associated with the drilling, production, storage and transport of oil shall be contained on the site unless properly transported off-site or injected into a well. The permittee shall furnish the Director with a plan for controlling oil spillage and preventing saline or other polluting or contaminating substances from reaching surface or subsurface waters. The plan shall be consistent with the requirements of the City, County, State and Federal Governments.

D.

Dust prevention. The drill site and all roads or hauling routes located between the public right-of-way and the subject site shall be improved or otherwise treated as required by the City and maintained as necessary to prevent the emanation of dust.

E.

Light emanation. Light emanation shall be controlled so as not to produce excessive levels of glare or abnormal light levels directed at any neighboring uses.

F.

Painting. Each permanent facility, structure, and aboveground pipeline on the site shall be colored to mask it from the surrounding environment and uses in the area. The selected colors shall also take into account factors including heat buildup and the designation of dangerous areas. The colors shall be approved by the Director prior to the painting of facilities.

G.

Site maintenance. The permit area shall be maintained in a neat and orderly manner so as not to create any hazardous or unsightly conditions such as debris; pools of oil, water, or other liquids; weeds; brush; and trash. Equipment and materials that are appurtenant to the operation and maintenance of the oil well on the site may be stored on the site. If the well has been suspended, idled or shut-in for 30 days, as determined by the City, all such equipment and materials shall be removed within 90 days.

H.

Removal of equipment. All equipment used for drilling, redrilling, and maintenance work on approved wells shall be removed from the site within 30 calendar days of the completion of such work unless a time extension is approved by the Director.

(§ 5, Ord. 1085, eff. January 6, 2006)

Each drilling operation and well site shall comply with the following standards for noise mitigation.

A.

Maximum noise levels. Unless exempted by this Subsection, drilling, production, and maintenance operations associated with an approved oil permit shall not produce noise, measured at a point anywhere on a lot containing occupied sensitive uses such as residences, schools, health care facilities, or places of public assembly, that exceeds the standards in Table 4-1, or any other more restrictive standard that may be established as a condition of a specific permit.

1.

Noise from the site shall be considered in excess of the standard when the average sound level, measured over one hour, is greater than the standard that follows. The determination of whether a violation has occurred shall be made in compliance with the provisions of the permit in question.

2.

Nomenclature and noise level descriptor definitions are in compliance with ANSI Sec. 3.33-1980, "Second Level Descriptors for Determination of Compatible Land Use." Measurement procedures shall comply with the adopted "Noise Measurement Guidelines and Procedures."

TABLE 4-1 - MAXIMUM NOISE LEVELS

Notes:

(1) For purposes of this Section, a well is in the "producing phase" when hydrocarbons are being extracted or when the well is idled and not undergoing maintenance. It is presumed that a well is in the "drilling and maintenance phase" when not in the "producing phase."

B.

Exceptions from noise standards. The noise standards in Table 4-1 shall not be exceeded unless the ambient noise levels exceed the applicable noise standards. In such cases, the maximum allowable noise levels shall not exceed the ambient noise levels.

C.

Compliance with noise standards. When a permittee has been notified by the Department of Environmental Services that the operation is in violation of the applicable noise standard, the permittee shall correct the problem as soon as possible in coordination with the Department of Environmental Services. In the interim, operations may continue as stated below; however, the operator shall attempt to minimize the total noise generated at the site by limiting, whenever possible, activities including the following:

1.

Hammering on pipe;

2.

Racking or making-up of pipe;

3.

Acceleration and deceleration of engines or motors;

4.

Drilling assembly rotational speeds that cause more noise than necessary and could reasonably be reduced by use of a slower rotational speed;

5.

Picking up or laying down drill pipe, casing, tubing or rods into or out of the drill hole.

If the noise problem has not been corrected by 7:00 p.m. of the following day, the offending operations, except for those deemed necessary for safety reasons, shall be suspended by the Deputy Director/City Planner until the problem is corrected.

D.

Preventive noise insulation. If drilling, redrilling, or maintenance operations, including as pulling pipe or pumps, are located within 1,600 feet of an occupied sensitive use, the work platform, engine base and draw works, crown block, power source, pipe rack and other probable noise sources associated with a drilling or maintenance operation shall be enclosed with soundproofing sufficient to ensure that expected noise levels do not exceed the noise limits applicable to the permit. Such soundproofing shall be installed prior to the commencement of drilling or maintenance activities. These requirements may be waived if the Director is satisfied that the applicable noise standard can be met.

E.

Hours of well maintenance. All nonemergency maintenance of a well, such as the pulling of pipe and replacement of pumps, shall be limited to the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. of the same day if the well site is located within 3,000 feet of an occupied residence. This requirement may be waived if the Director is satisfied that the applicable noise standard can be met.

F.

Limited drilling hours. All drilling activities shall be limited to the hours of 7:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m. of the same day when they occur less than 800 feet from an occupied sensitive use. Nighttime drilling shall be permitted if it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Director that the applicable noise standard can be met.

(§ 5, Ord. 1085, eff. January 6, 2006)

A.

Securities. Prior to the commencement or continuance of drilling or other uses on an existing permit, the permittee shall file, in a form acceptable to the City Attorney and certified by the City Clerk, a bond or other security in the amount of not less than $10,000.00 for each well that is drilled or to be drilled. Any operator may, in lieu of filing this security for each well drilled, redrilled, produced or maintained, file a security in the amount of not less than $10,000.00 to cover all operations conducted in the City, conditioned upon the permittee well and truly obeying, fulfilling and performing each and every term and provision in the permit. In case of any failure by the permittee to perform or comply with any term or provision in the permit, the Commission may, after notice to the permittee and a public hearing, by resolution, determine the amount of the penalty and declare all or part of the security forfeited in compliance with its provisions. The sureties and principal will be jointly and severally obligated to pay forthwith the full amount of the forfeiture to the City. The forfeiture of any security shall not insulate the permittee from liability in excess of the sum of the security for damages or injury, or expense or liability suffered by the City from any breach by permittee of any term or condition of said permit or of any applicable ordinance or of this security. No security shall be exonerated until after all the applicable conditions of the permit have been met.

B.

Insurance. For the life of the permit, the permittee shall maintain liability insurance of not less than Five Hundred Thousand and No/100ths ($500,000.00) Dollars for one person and One Million and No/100ths ($1,000,000.00) Dollars for all persons and Two Million and No/100ths ($2,000,000.00) Dollars for property damage.

(§ 5, Ord. 1085, eff. January 6, 2006)

The permittee shall immediately notify the Director and Fire Department and all other applicable agencies in the event of fires, spills, or hazardous conditions not incidental to the normal operations at the permit site. Upon request of the City, the permittee shall provide a written report of any incident within seven calendar days, which shall include a description of the facts of the incident, the corrective measures used and the steps taken to prevent recurrence of the incident.

(§ 5, Ord. 1085, eff. January 6, 2006)

Within 60 days of revocation, expiration or surrender of any permit, or abandonment of the use, the permittee shall restore and revegetate the site to as nearly its original condition as is practicable, unless otherwise requested by the landowner.

(§ 5, Ord. 1085, eff. January 6, 2006)