Aera plays key role in OC conservation deal
A Bakersfield-based oil producer is taking a central role in the remediation and conservation of a 387-acre former petroleum site said to be the last large, unprotected coastal property in Southern California.
Despite inheriting its share of the land and never having operated there, Aera Energy LLC was part of a partnership that last week sold 387 acres near the mouth of the Santa Ana River, in Orange County, for habitat, public recreation and, likely, Native American ceremonial use.
The nearly $100 million closing price, about half of it paid out of state taxpayer money, calls for Aera and two other oil companies to spend an estimated $14 million capping 13 idle wells on the site, removing old oilfield infrastructure and remediating contaminated soil, plus $2 million for 20 acres of habitat restoration. The work is expected to be finished in two or three years. No conservation credits will be associated with the transaction.
“Millions of Californians will soon be able to enjoy this remarkable new open space overlooking the Pacific Ocean,” California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said in a news release. “This includes residents from nearby communities with precious few parks and open spaces.”
The property is a vestige of the former Banning Ranch situated between Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach that has been left undeveloped because it had been the site of oil production since the early 1940s. No oil is produced on the property now, but Aera said the property had been putting out a few hundred barrels per day under a company now known as HDLLC.
Aera became involved, at least on paper, with its June 1997 formation as a joint venture of Shell and Mobil, which at that time owned part of the property. That
gave the Bakersfield company a 50-percent share of the obligation to eventually help with the site’s cleanup, now triggered by the sale agreement.
“As a California company, Aera holds the values of Californians: We strive to innovate, we celebrate productivity and we advocate for the preservation of our beautiful state,” Aera President and CEO Erik Bartsch said in a company news release. “We are proud that this land is now in conservation and will forever be open space to be enjoyed by millions of people, in perpetuity.”
For five years the Trust for Public Land worked toward permanent conservation of the property believed to have been first inhabited 3,000 years ago.
The nonprofit’s efforts found success with state money to roughly match a $50 million donation from Orange County residents Frank and Joan Randall.
The Trust for Public Land said the property includes about 100 acres of marshes, mudflats and riparian scrub, plus 67 acres of coastal sage scrub with habitat for up to five endangered species.
Aera said the property will be permanently deed-restricted to limited recreation and habitat preservation. While there is likely to be a visitor center, some camping, ceremonial uses and a trail system connecting with other pedestrian and bike pathways, future permitting will need to be carried out by the new owner, called the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, as approved by the California Coastal Commission.