Oilfield/Lease Decommissioning and Restoration Program

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Updated 7/13/06

What is a sump?
Oil drilling in the Santa Maria Valley historically involved holding areas or depressions in the ground known as sumps used to contain water, drilling mud, and oily soil, during the drilling process. These sumps were eventually covered with soil and may contain miscellaneous debris. Most of the sumps in the Santa Maria Valley remain on open land, while some are located in, or near, areas that have been developed for business and residential uses. Many of these sumps have since been removed while others remain in the ground.

What is a "feature"?
The Fire Prevention Division (FPD) refers to areas requiring investigation and potential remediation, as "features". Typically, features include sumps, tank batteries, lease roads, or well cellars. During the investigation phase of our process, these features are identified and subsequent requirements are identified.

Why were the sumps not removed earlier?
Many were. FPD has required testing at potential sump sites because some of the old records are not available or not completely clear. Environmental regulations did not require removing sump material back when many of the drilling sites were shut down.

Why test now?
Since 1998 FPD in collaboration with other agencies and industry have been investigating and remediating oilfield features associated with former oilfield exploration and production activities throughout the county. This testing program is part of the effort to determine where the remaining features are located so they can be removed, when necessary.

What is a responsible party?
A responsible party is the person or entity that caused contamination or had an unauthorized release to the environment. Depending on the release type, FPD uses various local, state, and/or federal laws to name the responsible party.

How are responsible parties identified?
Once FPD is aware of a feature, FPD notifies the responsible party and requires them to follow our process to assessment, remediation and closure of the feature.

How has the testing program impacted property owners?
Property owners are asked by the responsible party to allow access to their property to do the investigation of the identified features. Typically, both parties agree to an access agreement prior to site work occurring. The responsible parties have been repairing any damage to property caused by the testing. It is the responsible parties and FPD's intent to make sure any inconvenience to the property owner is kept to a minimum. However, dependent upon what the investigation results indicate, the process can involve excavating the sump material and replacing it with clean soil.

Is it safe for us to be so close to the sumps?
The sump materials found have been stationary and buried beneath one to four feet of clean soil. Based on independent testing these materials do not pose a human or environmental health risk to residents.

Would the sump materials be considered hazardous waste?
More than 300 sites have been tested to identify levels of chemicals of potential concern. The testing found that the overwhelming majority of materials in the sumps are not considered hazardous waste as classified under state and federal criteria.

How big are sumps?
Sumps vary in size. Santa Maria Valley sumps have been as large as the footprint of a house but a few have been larger than a football field.

Is it safe for my children to play in our yard?
Where we have located sump materials from drilling activities, our tests have found the materials in their buried state do not exceed regulatory safe levels for human health exposure. Typically, the sump materials found to date have been stationary and buried beneath one to four feet of clean soil.

What is the process for removing a sump in a residential area?
Removing the residential sump may involve fencing the properties, and may or may not involve demolishing the structures above the sump, removing the sump material and backfilling the site with clean soil.

Can I get a tax reduction on my property if there is a feature on my property?
The County Assessor's Office makes this determination. The Assessor Office can be reached by contacting Pam Smith 805-568-2578.

What are Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH)?
TPH is an abbreviation for various products that include hydrogen and carbon. These products may include light end products such as gasoline, mid range products such as diesel and jet fuels, and heavier end products such as oils and asphalt. TPH ranges for sump materials typically are in the heavier ranges such as crude and asphalt.

I have heard that the clean-up level for TPH is 100 ppm, is this correct?
No, 100 ppm for TPH is an investigation level, which is a starting point to determine the vertical and lateral extent of TPH contamination in the soil. Clean-up levels are determined on a site by site basis and will be affected by factors such as land-use, volume of contaminated soil, mass of contaminant, and carbon chain value.

Why is Santa Barbara County Fire Department working on sites within the City of Santa Maria?Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Fire Prevention Division (FPD) is responsible for all hazardous materials issues as well as non-hazardous soil and groundwater contamination issues within the County. This includes all City jurisdictions as per our designation by the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal-epa) in 1996 as the Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) for Santa Barbara County.

Why does DTSC have involvement in some sites and not others?
Per State law, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) does not handle crude oil sites. FPD oversees the Oilfield/Lease Decommissioning and Restoration Program. DTSC has regulatory authority over other non-crude oil programs.

CONTACTS

Primary Contacts for Santa Barbara County Fire Prevention Division:
Santa Barbara County Fire Department Website: http://www.sbcfire.com
Kate Sulka, Supervising Hazardous Materials Specialist 805-686-8170

Primary Contacts for Santa Barbara County Assessor’s Office
Pam Smith 805-568-2578

Primary Contacts for the City of Santa Maria
Wendy Stockton, City of Santa Maria, Deputy City Attorney 805-925-0951

Primary Contacts for the Responsible Parties Identified in Sunrise Hills:
ConocoPhillips
Hotline 805-928-6645

Dan Fischman, Site Manager 714-428-7717
dan.fischman@conocophillips.com

Kerr-McGee
Hotline 805-598-7544

Greg Feegle, Project Manager 405-270-2645
gfeegle@kmg.com

Chevron Environmental Management Company
Hotline - Bob Hall, Project Manager 805 781 2238
Robert.hall@chevron.com

Gonzalo Garcia, 805-784-0637
gfgarcia@chevron.com