As City Hall announced two weeks ago, the Dog Park has been closed since Tuesday, Sept. 28 due to the seepage of liquid and the presence of very low concentrations of methane gas (which, according to the city’s consultants, do not pose a risk to public health or safety).
City Hall, the Plains Exploration & Production Co. (PXP), and the state Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), have all continued to investigate the cause of the seepage and methane release.
As a result of further investigation, the city on Oct. 5 delivered a letter to Atlantic Oil Co. (the company that plugged an abandoned an oil well in 1972 under the location that is now the Dog Park), asking the company to take all immediate and necessary steps to properly re-plug and re-abandon the oil well and to return the Dog Park to the condition prior to the seepage.
Throughout last week city staff met with representatives from PXP and Atlantic Oil and spoke with representatives from DOGGR to discuss the causes of the problem and remedial action.
PXP and Atlantic Oil have agreed to accept responsibility to reseal the abandoned well in order to prevent the migration of injection water and methane up the well and to remediate the soil and surrounding area.
Currently, Atlantic Oil and PXP are developing a remediation plan to submit to DOGGR. Once DOGGR approves the plan, PXP, acting as an agent for Atlantic Oil and in its own right, will be prepared to make the necessary repairs to the well and perform the remediation
The city and PXP are working to finalize an agreement to provide PXP access to the city’s property at the Dog Park and provide for restoration of the city’s property upon completion of the work.
Once the agreement is finalized and signed by both parties, PXP can apply to DOGGR to perform the work. The Dog Park will remain closed until all repairs are done to the satisfaction of all parties.
Currently, it is estimated the repairs will take between 30 and 60 days to complete.
