Multiple environmental groups have begun to protest a proposed 20-year permit renewal for Signal Hill Petroleum, and the company has hired independent, third-party scientists and researchers to create a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to provide an overview of its operations, which was expected to be completed in September.
The purpose of an Environmental Impact Report is to provide the City and public with the full environmental effects of a project and suggest mitigations to minimize significant effects.
In January 2023, the Signal Hill Planning Commission conducted a public Environment Impact Scoping Meeting for a possible 20-year permit renewal for Signal Hill Petroleum.
The meeting was to notify the public of the proposed extension, which will be the longest permit renewal for the company if approved.
Local groups Climate Brunch and Sierra Club created an online petition on Sierra Club’s website that has gained 249 signatures as of Oct. 26.
In the 10 months since then, the issue has not returned to the Planning Commission, though the City expected the EIR to be completed by September, multiple City officials told the Signal Tribune in June and August.
As of Nov. 2, the EIR has still not been released, and city spokesman Michael Fratino told the Signal Tribune in an email that the draft EIR “is not complete but could be by the end of the calendar year.”
“If so, we anticipate beginning the required 45-day public comment period and posting of the document on the City web site after the first of the year,” Fratino wrote in an email.
City Manager Carlo Tomaino said in an email that the City did not set a due date for the draft EIR.
Signal Hill Petroleum’s most recent Conditional Use Permit extension expired on July 23, 2023.
The Signal Tribune reached out to the city of Signal Hill’s communications department through multiple phone calls on Oct. 25 and 26 and made requests for a phone interview, but the requests were denied and no phone calls were returned.
Tomaino said in an email to the Signal Tribune on Nov. 1 that the Conditional Use Permit remains in place so long as the business operator remains in compliance with the terms of the permit, and is only revoked if the operator is found in violation of the terms.
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