Brea : Officials Take Look at Site of Shell Drilling

Most of the pumps for oil drilling are now motionless, but city officials, who on Tuesday surveyed land owned by Shell California Production Inc., want to be sure that materials left on the property are not hazardous.

During a 90-minute meeting before a trip to the site off Carbon Canyon Road and Valencia Avenue, a Shell spokesman assured city and county officials that the dirt now covering what were once open pits is neither hazardous nor toxic.

“Believe me, I have seen the tests. There’s nothing out there, but if it’s peace of mind you want, I’d be glad to go out there,” said Shell spokesman Bruce G. Kerr. He offered to hire an independent contractor if the city is not satisfied with the tests already conducted by the oil company.

After the meeting, City Council member Norma Arias Hicks said she will recommend that the council take Shell up on its offer of hiring an independent contractor.

Hicks, who said she frequently drives by the Shell-owned site, had questioned whether pits used to temporarily store drilling mud were closed off without removing the mud.

City officials said they want to be sure the materials--primarily water and clay--were totally removed and not left inside the pits or mixed with dirt and spread across the land. With the aid of a video presentation, Hicks showed Kerr and representatives from the county Environmental Management Agency, among others, how some of the dirt spread near the closed pits appeared much darker than the rest.