Oil-soaked ground may get new life

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- A local company will be the first in the county to

use a technique that promises to dramatically cut the time required to

reduce the level of oil in the ground left from abandoned wells.

Simple Green, with $350,000 provided by the city through a federal grant,

will use its cleaning solution and a 37,000-pound machine known as The

Microenfractionator to decontaminate a “sludge pit” adjacent to the

Central Park Equestrian Center, at Goldenwest Street and Ellis Avenue,

said Milt Krause, vice president of environmental techniques.

Once cleaned, the 10 acres will be made available to the Therapeutic

Riding School, a nonprofit equestrian program for developmentally

disabled youth, according to the city’s grant application dated March 13.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) requested the money be

set aside for the city in the federal budget, his spokesman Ricardo

Bernal said. The money can only be used for this project, he added.

The school has never had its own horse riding arena. In the past, it has

used space donated by the center, said Carol Aoki, the school’s

president.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have this opportunity,” she said.

While traditional cleaning methods take two years, this new approach

brings similar results within 90 days, Krause said.It involves adding

chemicals and bacteria to the soil that breaks down oil molecules into

“microscopic droplets,” he said. Nutrients and moisture are included so

bacteria can multiply in an ideal environment, he said.

“They’re happy little critters,” he said.

The heavy machine, developed by Washington-based H&H; Eco Systems Inc.,

mixes the soil thoroughly, which helps the process along, he said.

As a former oil town with acres of contaminated real estate, the city

stands to gain a big boost from the new technique, said Ron Hagan, the

city’s director of community services.

“It has great implications if it works,” he said.