Signal Hill Municipal Code Ch. 16.22 Idle Wells

A well shall be deemed to be an idle well if, the well does not produce an average of two barrels of oil per day or one hundred cubic feet of gas per day for a continuous six months period during any consecutive five-year period prior to or after January 1, 1991, except that an active water injection well shall not be classified as an idle well.

(Ord. 2015-05-1475 § 5)

A. Whenever a well is an idle well, as defined in Section 16.22.010, the Oil Services Coordinator or his designee shall send notice thereof by registered mail to:

1. The surface owner, mineral owner, and lessee of land on which the well is located as shown on the last equalized assessment of the city;

2. The permittee or operator of the well as indicted on either the records of DOGGR or the records of the city.

B. The notice shall include the name and location of the well in question.

C. The Building Department shall maintain a list of idle wells located within the city.

(Ord. 2015-05-1475 § 5)

A. Whenever a well is an idle well and the notice has been given, as described in Section 16.22.020, the permittee, operator, or other responsible party shall cause the well to be abandoned or reabandoned pursuant to Section 16.24.090 within three months; or

1. Repair and reactivate the well as a pumping well or injector well; or

2. Obtain an annual idle well permit.

B. Failure to obtain an annual idle well permit, abandon or repair and reactivate an idle well shall be conclusive evidence of desertion of the well permitting the Oil Services Coordinator, his designee, and DOGGR to cause the well to be abandoned. Said wells shall also be deemed a public nuisance.

(Ord. 2015-05-1475 § 5)