State agency investigating source of oil seepFree Access




POLLUTION—Investigators won’t say whether the source of seeping oil beneath a pond on Camarillo Springs Golf Course is natural or from an old well. According to state records, though, the pond was built over two plugged oil wells that were once operated by Burns Oil Co. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

POLLUTION—Investigators won’t say whether the source of seeping oil beneath a pond on Camarillo Springs Golf Course is natural or from an old well. According to state records, though, the pond was built over two plugged oil wells that were once operated by Burns Oil Co. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

From her kitchen window overlooking the Camarillo Springs Golf Course, Melinda Spunt has a clear view of a partially drained pond, one of several water features on the 18- hole course that was built in the early 1970s.

In the year that Spunt and her partner, Quentin Kuhl, have lived in the Courtyard neighborhood that backs up to the course, the pond that was once a haven for wildlife has become more than just an eyesore. Oil has begun seeping up from the bottom of the pond, blackening the remaining water and harming wildlife. It might also pose health issues to the residents of nearby homes.

Over the past year, the pond has become the focus of an investigation by two state agencies.

After months of watching birds covered in tarry oil die and trying to figure out who is responsible for fixing the issue, Spunt reached her breaking point last month.

“It’s just heartbreaking because all of this suffering is going on, and it smells,” she said. “It’s just wrong.”

HAZARD—State records show there are over 200 idle and plugged oil and gas wells in and around the Camarillo Springs area. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

HAZARD—State records show there are over 200 idle and plugged oil and gas wells in and around the Camarillo Springs area. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

Spunt said she marched to the pond that drew her and Kuhl to their home and pulled out five dead birds: a duck, a cormorant, a white egret, a hawk and a coot. She took them home, photographed their tar-coated carcasses, wrapped them in trash bags and duct tape, labeled them with a Sharpie and stashed them in her garage freezer to keep as evidence in case it was needed.

“I’m not one that ever really . . . demands stuff,” Spunt said. “But seeing these birds just struggling, this is (expletive). This is so bad.”

Collecting the bird carcasses was a good idea. A week after she collected them, wardens from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife showed up at her house as part of an investigation into the pond’s oil seepage. She signed the carcasses over to the department for analysis.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife is teaming up with the California Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) to investigate the source of the oil. The agencies are working to determine whether the oil is from a natural seep or leaking from abandoned oil wells.

They’re also trying to figure out short- and long-term solutions to fix the issue.

“We are working with the golf course, and they are installing netting, fencing and hazing equipment around the areas where oil is seeping up to the surface. Final mitigation measures will be outlined upon conclusion of the investigation,” Eric Laughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said in an email.

A CalGEM spokesperson said the source of the oil had not been determined as of Dec. 1.

No timeline for when the investigation will be completed was given by either agency.

Who is liable?

According to state law, liabili- ty for a seeping oil well would fall to the oil company that operated it, but if the company has gone out of business, cleanup falls to the state.

If an abandoned well needs work solely because it’s on land that is being developed, however, California code puts liability on the property owner. If a well is exposed and found to be leaking during the review of a construction site, that liability falls on the developer.

If the oil is caused by a natural seep, the issue becomes more complicated.

The oil would have to flow into neighboring property or cause other problems, like smell or contamination of water, before it would need to be fixed. At that point, it could become the property owner’s responsibility to fix, though it’s not possible to stop the oil production.

“While you can capture oil from a seep and remove it from the site, you can’t actually stop the flow of oil,” said Uduak-Joe Ntuk, state oil and gas supervisor, in an email. He said the La Brea Tar Pits are one example of the region’s many natural seeps.

Beverly Hills attorney Ronald Richards manages Chameleon Springs LLC, the company that bought the 109-acre property in 2015.

Richards, who said he has a long personal history of environmental protection, said his company is coordinating with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to do “everything possible to keep wildlife away from the naturally occurring oil.”

“We take any potential hazard to wildlife extremely seriously. . . . Golf course management has strictly followed all suggested guidance from state experts and will continue to do so until this issue is fully resolved. I have directed the independent golf course managers to spare no expense in resolving the issues,” he said in an email.

If a proposed redevelopment project is approved by the city, the property is expected to be sold to Santa Monica-based New Urban West Inc., the developer trying to get the OK to turn part of the 18-hole course into 248 senior homes.

Fix rests on project approval

Representatives for New Urban West and Western Golf and Hospitality, the Lake Forest based company that manages the course, said both companies are aware of the oil seepage.

Bobby Heath, the chief executive officer of Western Golf, said course staff was not aware of any dead birds being removed from the pond but was working with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to keep animals safe from the impacts of what they believe to be a natural oil seep.

“Like many areas of Ventura County, Camarillo Springs has been subject to small, naturally occurring oil seeps for decades. Since taking over management of the golf course, our staff has consulted closely with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to implement ongoing maintenance of one pond that is occasionally subject to this natural oil seepage,” Heath said in a statement.

As part of the proposed housing development, Jonathan Frankel, a representative for NUWI, said the developers have designed a permanent fix that will keep wildlife out of the pond.

“We are looking forward to obtaining approval from the City of Camarillo so we can begin this work,” Frankel said in an email to the Camarillo Acorn.

Until then, golf course management will continue to work with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to maintain the pond, Heath said.

According to the developer’s plans, permanent barriers will be built over two old oil wells that state records show are beneath the pond.

The two wells, which were once operated by Burns Oil Co., were plugged and abandoned in 1971, according to records from the state Department of Conservation, Division of Oil and Gas. The golf course opened the following year.

The wells are part of the Conejo oil field, which includes over 200 idle and plugged oil and gas wells in and around the Camarillo Springs area, records show. Most of the wells have been unused for decades, and many are under the streets and neighborhoods that have since been built.

According to an April 8 letter from CalGEM to the course’s director of operations, the agency found “no evidence of a well” at or near the seep, but has since continued its investigation into the source.

A nationwide issue

Across the Golden State, abandoned oil and gas wells are causing health concerns for the communities that live near them and financial burdens for the state, according to an investigation by the Los Angeles Times and the Center for Public Integrity.

A 2018 study by the California Council on Science and Technology found that the total costs of plugging and abandoning the state’s 106,687 active and idle oil and gas wells could be up to $9.1 billion, compared to the approximate $110 million in bonds meant to cover those costs.

According to a June 2020 report by Reuters, there are more than 3.2 million abandoned oil and gas wells in the U.S.

Kyle Ferrar is a program coordinator for FracTracker, a nonprofit that addresses the health effects of oil and gas development across the country.

According to Ferrar, who oversees oil and gas development in the western region, it’s very typical for houses and developments to be built over old oil wells in Ventura County.

The multibillion problem not only poses financial concerns, but has the potential to threaten the health of those living near them and cause environmental harm, he said.

When an oil well is plugged and abandoned by the fossil fuel companies that own them, the company typically closes off the outlet and encases it in concrete. As far as the permanence of these plugs, Ferrar said, it’s not a matter of if they will start leaking, but when.

“All of these well casings, even in the ones that are plugged and properly abandoned, they all have a shelf life. They will fail at some point,” he said.

He added that the oil seepage in Ventura County poses a major threat, as the region is home to high-quality groundwater that can be polluted from unchecked seepage.

In addition to the oil, seepage often means there are fumes, many of which are carcinogenic, escaping from the site and into the air.

“It is a risk for any communities that live close to it, any homes that live close to it,” he said. “I don’t suggest anyone live near them.”