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Search Business wire for oil & gas related stories Drill-Sidetrack News page 1 June
20, 2001 Tri-Valley Oil & Gas Co. is rigging up to resume testing
OF THE CITY OF DELANO, CA HAS APPROVED THE PERMITTING OF EXPLORATION WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OPERATIONS UPDATE February 6, 2001 Earlier this year, Tri-Valley, Corp. Oil & Gas asked for permission to drill on land earmarked for wastewater management use. An ordinance allowing petroleum companies to drill for oil inside Delano's city limits. The permit request from Tri-Valley
Oil, which kicked off the issue, will be heard separately. Today February
6, 2001 the city council voted to approve this permit process.
12/22/2000
Bakersfield-based Tri-Valley Corp. has
applied to the city for permission to drill and explore for oil on a 2.5-acre
city-owned parcel on Cecil Avenue, between Albany Street and North Kern
State Prison.
The parcel has been leased to an alfalfa
grower but is used by the city for waste-water treatment.
Tri-Valley's application, however, has
been held up for review the past month because the city currently doesn't
have an ordinance relating to petroleum drilling and exploration.
City Planner Michael McCabe said planning
staff members are considering drafting an ordinance that would permit drilling
in Delano only on lands zoned for rural-agricultural and industrial uses.
"This is a first for us," McCabe said of
the application from Tri-Valley.
The matter is set to come before the City
Council for a vote in February, community development director Matthew
Alexander said.
A draft of the ordinance would be modeled
after that of the city of Bakersfield, which requires petroleum companies
to fence in sites to keep trespassers out.
In an October letter, public works supervisor
Bill Hylton argued against letting Tri-Valley drill on treatment plant
land, saying waste-water operations could be hindered and future efforts
to expand would be stymied.
Tri-Valley President F. Lynn Blystone said
he hoped the city would find a way to come up with an ordinance allowing
in-town drilling.
"This is something that could greatly benefit
the community in so many ways," Blystone said.
Tri-Valley plans only to drill in the area
for about a month unless they find a substantial pocket of fuel, Blystone
said. At which point, the company would consider installing longer-term
installations, he said.
Areas zoned for rural-agricultural and
industrial use generally are located in the north and west corners, near
Delano's airport and along Highway 99, away from the residential areas.
Less than a fifth of Delano's 10 square
miles is zoned for such purposes.
Tri-Valley has been exploring for oil in
the north county the past year, bringing in drilling rigs on county islands
on Cecil and near Lost Hills.
Alexander said city officials likely will
continue crafting a drilling ordinance, even if Tri-Valley decides to back
out of Delano.
"We need to look at the idea anyway," Alexander
said. "We should have an ordinance on the books in case another situation
like this comes up again."
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