TITLE
Recommendation to receive and file report on Signal Hill Petroleum 3D seismic survey in the City of Long Beach.
DISCUSSION
Signal Hill Petroleum (SHP) is a private oil and natural gas contractor and is the operator of
several oil recovery units within the Long Beach Oil Field (near the Long Beach Airport). From
January 7 through January 9, 2006, SHP and its contractor, Ameridian, began conducting a 3D
seismic survey on streets in the Wrigley area of Long Beach, under a Special Events Permit.
The survey requires four large trucks to stop at a site at which, utilizing special equipment
mounted on the trucks, acoustic waves are inducted into the ground creating echoes from deep
within the earth. The echoes are captured via geosensors that provide data to create 3D images
of the subsurface. The primary intent is to greatly enhance the ability to locate oil and natural
gas fields.
What had been represented to the City by SHP as resulting minor ground vibration, similar to the
“ultrasound used to create pictures of unborn babies within a mother’s womb,” was, in fact, a
much more significant ground vibration. The vibration was strong enough that nearby residents
complained of cracks in ceilings and walls, of a glass globe falling and breaking, of objects falling
off shelves, windows shaking, damage to a 1” water pipeline that resulted in leakage, crying
babies, barking dogs, etc.
At the Wrigley Neighborhood Association meeting on January 9, 2006, there were numerous
residents attending who vocalized their strong displeasure with not only the excessive vibration
and noise, but also: 1) the.length of time the trucks were stationed at one location (expected to
be less than 10 minutes, but the trucks were at one location for several hours due to a technical
dysfunction); 2) lack of proper notification for the surrounding area residents; 3) misleading
notification with unresponsive contact phone numbers; 4) lack of an adequate call center to
handle the complaints; 5)...
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