Development and Exploration Well Permitting

Abstract

Abstract The protection of endangered species and sensitive habitat through the performance of biological surveys and the implementation of mitigation measures is critical when obtaining regulatory agency permit approvals for development and exploration wells within the San Joaquin Valley. Certain Federal and State listed endangered species, such as the blunt-nosed leopard lizard (BNLL), also known as Gambelia sila, are fully protected (West's Annotated California Codes, 1992). A new Best Management Practice (BMP) for protection of BNLL was developed in 2004 in a cooperative effort between Occidental of Elk Hills, Inc. (OEHI) and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to facilitate permitting an exploration well on a BLM mineral estate in western Kern County. The BMP mitigation measure was developed under BLM's Programmatic Biological Opinion which provides for Federal incidental take authority pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. The BMP involved installing an exclusion fence around a proposed new well site. A trench approximately six inches deep was cut around the area to be enclosed using a walk behind trencher. The exclusion fence was constructed of 18-inch flashing, buried six-inches in depth and reinforced with stakes. Sections of flashing were joined by overlapping the materials and sealing them with a silicon based adhesive. A sliding gate was constructed using similar materials and a steel plate was placed across the threshold of the entrance to assist gate operations. As a contingency plan for discovery of BNLL within the excluded area, silt fencing would be used to isolate smaller areas inside the exclusion area. The plan specified that a section of the main exclusion fence would be removed, if necessary, to allow the lizard to leave. The exclusion fencing remained intact until drilling and sump closure activities were completed. In summary, no harm came to the endangered BNLL or any other listed species during the course of this project. Since the development and successful implementation of this BMP, the Bakersfield, CA BLM Field Office and other Federal/State wildlife agencies have required other applicants to utilize this mitigation measure on federal and private lands that contain BNLL, as well as for other threatened and endangered species.