A small group of climate activists are asking the city to deny Signal Hill Petroleum’s request for 20 more years of new oil drilling.
What started as a conversation between friends over brunch has become Signal Hill’s latest environmental protest, targeting Signal Hill Petroleum’s plans for the next 20 years.
Local group Climate Brunch has been spreading a petition for the last few months to protest the 20-year Conditional Use Permit (CUP) that Signal Hill Petroleum is requesting from the Signal Hill City Council. A Conditional Use Permit allows operations not generally permitted by zoning codes.
Signal Hill has granted the oil company with 10 CUPs since 1998, allowing Signal Hill Petroleum to drill 1 million barrels of oil a year from its seven drilling sites in the city. If passed, the extension would allow operations to continue as they have for the past 39 years as well as allowing the company to drill up to 46 new wells.
If denied, Signal Hill Petroleum can continue to drill its existing wells, which they say have at least 50 years of production remaining, but will not be permitted to drill new wells.
In the past 20 years, permits have ranged from six months to two and a half years, potentially making this the longest permit extension ever granted to Signal Hill Petroleum.
Long Beach resident and founder of Climate Brunch, Madison Hobbs, started the petition as part of her New Year’s resolution to combat climate change. Hobbs said she’s been interested in climate change from a young age, inspired by her father, a conservationist.
She started Climate Brunch in January to make an environmental impact with her friends in a “fun, uplifting and motivating way.” Over pancakes and mimosas, the group of friends would brainstorm ways to make a difference in their community once a month.
Hobbs was searching on the California Environmental Quality Act website and came across Signal Hill Petroleum’s proposed permit extension. She immediately decided to make it her next project.
“There’s a lot of attention … behind stopping oil drilling in Long Beach, it seems like there’s more [of a] focus there, and Signal Hill has kind of flown under the radar,” Hobbs said. “So this is something that I thought could be impactful.”
From there, Climate Brunch teamed up with other local environmental activist groups such as The Sierra Club, which advocates for environmental projects around the nation, youth-led climate advocacy organization Sunrise Long Beach and alternative transportation proponent Car-Lite Long Beach.
As of Sept. 7, the petition has gained 179 signatures.
Signal Hill Petroleum commissioned a third party of scientists and researchers to draft an Environmental Impact Report, which will analyze the effects the sites have on the health of the surrounding communities.
The report will be sent to the city and is expected to be published by the city sometime this month, followed by a 45-day public review period where residents can voice their support or opposition for the permit. After that, the report will be sent to the Planning Commission and pending its approval, to the Signal Hill City Council.
In June, Community Development Director Colleen Doan told the Signal Tribune that Signal Hill receives approximately $300,000 in oil taxes annually, less than 1% of the City’s General Fund revenue.
Signal Hill Petroleum Chief Operating Officer Dave L. Slater said that the company wants to shorten the “time-consuming” process of issuing a new permit every few years. A longer permit also will save the company money; filing for a Conditional Use Permit costs the company hundreds of thousands each time they go through the process.
This year’s request is an even more rigorous process, as the company hired a third party to conduct scientific studies at each site to craft a new environmental impact report, which will become public later this month. Slater said it’s costing the company another hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete this report, but they felt it was necessary to be transparent about their operations.
The company has already confirmed their reserves will produce oil for at least 50 more years, and has to undergo annual audits from the City as well as routine and surprise checks from the Air Quality Management District.
“There’s tremendous staff hours and tremendous hours for us and going through the whole process again, that would just be wasted time,” Slater said. “[…] Whether it’s a one-year or a 20-year [permit extension], there’s going to be an annual audit.”
Slater said that they were “concerned” at learning about the petition against the permit, and wants to start a dialogue with the public about their operations. Once the Environmental Impact Report becomes public, the company plans on hosting public tours.
LIQUID GOLD, OR HEALTH HAZARD?
A 2021 study published in the scientific journal “Science of The Total Environment,” analyzed the air quality near oil wells across California, and found evidence that oil wells release harmful levels of air pollutants. Other peer-reviewed studies have found evidence to support a connection between oil wells and health problems, such as cancer and asthma, as well as other issues related to cardiovascular and perinatal health.
The company has been cited for over a dozen violations from the Air Quality Management District in recent years. Slater said that most of these instances are “immediate fixes” caused by minor leaks.
For a brief time at the beginning of this year, it was illegal to drill new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of homes, health care facilities and schools, after Senate Bill 1137 went into effect.
“There’s kind of a propaganda campaign underway trying to tear down oil and gas, but it’s not factually based and we’re very diligently in fact, documenting the cleanliness of our operations and we’re pushing back.”
David L. Slater, Chief Operating Officer for Signal Hill Petroleum
But after a successful campaign against the legislation by Signal Hill Petroleum and other oil and gas companies, the new legislation was suspended, and drilling new wells within 3,200 feet of homes and other sensitive areas will continue to be allowed until voters decide on the issue in the 2024 elections.
Jill Johnston, an oil and environmental justice researcher with the University of Southern California, told the Signal Tribune that multiple studies have shown a significant increase in health detriments for people living within a kilometer (3,200 feet) of an oil or gas production site.
All seven of Signal Hill Petroleum’s drilling sites are within 3,200 feet of six schools, 10 parks and one hospital.
In a May 24 interview with the Signal Tribune, Slater called SB1137 “a deceitful attempt to really hurt oil and gas production in California.”
“There’s kind of a propaganda campaign underway trying to tear down oil and gas, but it’s not factually based and we’re very diligently in fact, documenting the cleanliness of our operations and we’re pushing back,” Slater said, adding that the company supports a mix of clean energy and oil production.
Slater said that toxic air issues in Los Angeles County stem “mostly from transportation, not from oil and gas” and mentioned the 710 and 405 freeways which surround Signal Hill and Long Beach.
A 2021 study from the University of Southern California examined air quality in a LA neighborhood populated by both oil production sites and freeways. It found a 23% reduction in air toxins such as benzene, methane, propane and eight other toxins during periods when oil production was halted, but nearby transportation continued.
Johnston, one of the researchers of the study and others around Los Angeles, told the Signal Tribune that studies like this are what urged the creation of SB1137.
“If you don’t meet the thresholds set by the state, it doesn’t mean there’s no harm,” Johnston said.
Nicole Levin, a representative for The Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign, urged local residents to learn about the issue, attend the public hearing and share their concerns.
“We’d love for the community to turn out,” Levin said. “[…] In the past, it’s been like three people.”
To stay updated on Signal Hill Petroleum’s Permit extension request, check Signal Hill’s Planning Commission agendas and follow the Signal Tribune for more.
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