Newhall Ranch Reabandonment of 20 Wells

Newhall Ranch Reabandonment of 20 Wells

The Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) has approved permits for Newhall Land and Farming Agency to reabandon 20 plugged and abandoned oil wells located within the Newhall Ranch Resource Management and Development Plan Mission Village grading boundary. The wells are situated in the former Castaic Junction Oil Field within unincorporated Los Angeles County. For the purposes of this project, reabandonment means the adjustment of the well casing of wells that were previously plugged and abandoned in accordance with DOGGR standards at the time of abandonment, for the purposes of implementing approved grading and land development activities. The Project requires the well casings to be either raised or lowered to accommodate changes to the surface grade as part of site development, to meet DOGGR regulations upon completion of final grading within the Mission Village grading boundary. The well adjustments range between less than 5 feet to 80 feet, with an average adjustment (raising or lowering of the well casing) of 22 feet. As such, the casings of these wells will be raised or lowered so that the final plating is 8-10 feet below ground surface of the final grade of the Mission Village development area. All work will be conducted under the oversight of the Coastal District, Ventura Field Office of DOGGR, in accordance with state oil and gas regulations. The reabandonment activity consists of minor alterations to existing oil wells that will not result in expansion of the capacity of any of the subject abandoned wells. Due to the graded condition of the Mission Village area, Newhall does not expect to encounter any contaminated soils; however, if unanticipated discoveries occur during reabandonment activities, the soils will be addressed in accordance with the approved Newhall Ranch Remedial Action Plan/Soil Management Plan, approved by the Los Angeles County Fire Department Health and Hazardous Materials Division, and adopted by CDFW as lead agency for the Project. There are no unusual circumstances associated with the proposed reabandonment activity, nor would the proposal result in any new or more severe significant environmental impacts to cultural resources, special status species, or other sensitive resources due to the graded condition of the Mission Village area. DOGGR has considered the RMDP EIR/EIS analysis and finds that the Reabandonment activity is within the scope of the activities evaluated in the document. DOGGR has not identified any additional mitigation measures that would substantially lessen or avoid any significant effect that the project would have on the environment. Further, DOGGR finds that the CDFW and Los Angeles County have already adopted feasible mitigation measures that are relevant to the abandonment activity to reduce impacts to less than significant levels, and that Los Angeles County has the authority to implement such mitigation measures. The Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources has approved permits for Newhall Land and Farming Agency to reabandon the oil and gas wells listed below. API# Well Name API# Well Name API# Well Name API# Well Name 0403716513 NLF #48 0403716475 NLF #04 0403716478 NLF #07 0403716484 NLF #13 0403716487 NLF #16 0403716488 NLF #17 0403716495 NLF #24 0403716498 NLF #27 0403716300 NLF #29 0403716501 NLF #31 0403716502 NLF #32 0403716504 NLF #34 0403716505 NLF #35 0403716508 NLF #41 0403716512 NLF #46 0403716514 NLF #49 0403716519 NLF #56 0403716522 NLF #59 0403716528 NLF #69 0403716530 NLF #72

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