UGS SoCalGas 022024-001
Summary
SCH Number
2024040511
Public Agency
California Department of Conservation
(DOC)
Document Title
UGS SoCalGas 022024-001
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
4/11/2024
Document Description
Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) submitted one Notice of Intention (NOI) to drill a new replacement underground gas storage (UGS) well at the Honor Rancho Gas Storage Facility (Honor Rancho Facility) in Los Angeles County (Project).
The new replacement well wil be a part of the Honor Rancho Facility, an existing facility of an investor-owned utility that is used to provide natural gas services. The proposed Project is located at the Honor Rancho Facility in Los Angeles County, 30 miles north of the city of Los Angeles, within the Honor Rancho Gas Field. The Honor Rancho Gas Field was discovered in 1956 and a depleted reservoir in the field was converted into a natural gas storage facility in 1975 (now, Honor Rancho Facility). The Honor Rancho Gas Field is approximately 2,300 acres. The Honor Rancho Facility occupies approximately 600 acres of the entire gas field. Approximately 50% of the Honor Rancho Facility is located in the City of Santa Clarita, with the remainder located in unincorporated Los Angeles County.
The purpose of the proposed Project is to drill a new replacement gas well, WEZU 25 E. The new well is part of the routine replacement of the lost deliverability incurred due to previous plug and abandonment work at the Honor Rancho Storage Field. The proposed Project is anticipated to replace 30-50 MMCFD of gas deliverability of the estimated 450 MMCFD that has been lost over the past years from the abandonments of 16 gas storage wells. The well will be drilled on an existing pad. The proposed Project will require temporary surface equipment consisting of a natural gas-powered drilling rig and ancillary equipment required to perform the drilling activity. Activities ensure compliance with revised regulations (14 CCR § 1726 et seq.) to enhance the safety of UGS projects.
In 2018, CalGEM promulgated regulations that establish standards for the design, construction, and maintenance of all gas storage wells. The regulations include stringent well construction standards that are required to ensure that gas storage wells are safe and will maintain their integrity over time. The well construction standards promote environmental safety by focusing on leak prevention.
The proposed project consists of CalGEM approving one permit for SoCalGas to drill a new replacement gas well listed below, in the Honor Rancho Gas Field.
API # 0403730609 Well Name: WEZU 25 E
Contact Information
Name
Jan Perez
Agency Name
Department of Conservation, CA Geological Energy Management Division
Job Title
Senior Environmental Scientist
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Coordinates
Counties
Los Angeles
Township
04N
Range
16W
Section
07
Base
SB B&M
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
14 CCR § 15301
Reasons for Exemption
Class 1, Existing Facilities (14 CCR §§ 15301, 1684.1): Class 1 exemption applies as CalGEM’s regulations state: “Class 1 consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing previously. The Honor Rancho Facility (CPUC CPCN Decision 84923) is an existing facility of an investor-owned utility that is used to provide natural gas services and is an integrated component of the natural gas transmission process. The purpose of the proposed Project is to make up for lost deliverability due to previous plug and abandonment work associated with ongoing inspections to comply with CalGEM’s 2018 regulations that establish standards for the design, construction, and maintenance of all gas storage wells. Deliverability is the measure of the amount of gas that can be delivered (withdrawn) from a storage facility on a daily basis. Because the proposed Project is to make up for lost deliverability, the replacement well will enable the facility to operate in substantially the same manner as it did before capacity was lost. In addition, the proposed Project will not increase the gas injection or withdrawal rates, beyond what the facility is permitted for by the CPUC. Accordingly, the proposed Project involves “negligible or no expansion” of the facility’s deliverability and satisfies the requirements of the Class 1 exemption.
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
14 CCR § 15302(c)
Reasons for Exemption
Class 2, Replacement or Reconstruction (14 CCR § 15302(c)): Class 2 applies because it consists of “replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced[.]” Examples of Class 2 include, but are not limited to, “Replacement or reconstruction of existing utility systems and/or facilities involving negligible or no expansion of capacity.” The proposed Project involves the installation of a new replacement gas storage well from wells being converted to tubing and packer and outage associated with the ongoing inspections in compliance with CalGEM’s 2018 regulations that establish standards for the design, construction, and maintenance of all gas storage wells. The new replacement gas storage well will be installed on an existing well pad within the existing Honor Ranch gas storage facility and no additional construction will occur. The replacement gas storage well will serve the same purpose as the wells that have been plugged and abandoned and are necessary for the Honor Ranch Facility to provide the same measure of deliverability. The proposed Project will not result in an expansion in gas compressor capacity, nor will there be an expansion of the injection and withdrawal rates. Therefore, the replacement wells satisfy the requirements of the Class 2 exemption.
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
14 CCR § 15303
Reasons for Exemption
Class 3, New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures (14 CCR § 15303): Class 3 “consists of construction and location of limited numbers of new, small facilities or structures; installation of small new equipment and facilities in small structures...” Examples of this exemption include but are not limited to “[w]ater main, sewage, electrical, gas, and other utility extensions...” Because the proposed Project involves the installation of one small structure in a natural gas facility, and the structure is an extension of the natural gas transmission process, the project is categorically exempt under the Class 3 exemption.
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
4 CCR §§ 15307, 15308
Reasons for Exemption
Classes 7 and 8, Protection of Natural Resources and the Environment (14 CCR §§ 15307, 15308): Classes 7 and 8 also apply. They include actions taken by regulatory agencies as authorized by law to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of a natural resource or the environment where the regulatory process involves procedures for the protection of the environment.” As demonstrated in the record, the proposed Project involves the drilling of a new gas storage well to replace diminished gas deliverability capacity as a result of plugging and abandoning wells in the facility to comply with the regulations CalGEM promulgated in 2018, that establish standards for the design, construction, and maintenance of all gas storage wells. The regulations include stringent well construction standards that decrease the risk for adverse impacts to natural resources in the area. CalGEM has statutory and regulatory authority to protect natural resources and the environment. The new gas storage well would ensure that potential impacts to natural resources and the environment from compliance issues associated with the well are minimized, and the new well will also include conditions that protect natural resources and the environment. Therefore, as demonstrated in the proposed Project file, the new well would assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, and/or protection of a natural resource and the environment.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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