AERA to restore pickleweed to Bolsa Chica

Jenny Marder

The California Coastal Commission has asked a local energy company

to mount a small scale restoration project in the Bolsa Chica

lowlands to make amends for four oil spills that took place during

the past three years.

AERA Energy cleaned up the three spills that occurred in 2000 and

another last August.

Now, the commission is asking that they restore 4,520 square feet

of pickleweed habitat in an area known as wet cell 38 to make up for

the area damaged by the spills.

Cleanup and restoration could begin as early as March and is

expected to take at least three years, said Robin Blanchfield, an

energy analyst for the coastal commission.

AERA Energy owns an oilfield within the Bolsa Chica wetlands and

Bolsa Chica gap, one of the last remaining wetlands in California.

The oilfield has been in operation since 1938.

In July and September of 2000, there were three small oil spills.

After the spills, 55 to 59 cubic yards of contaminated soil and 1,500

to 2,260 square feet of pickleweed and iceplant were removed.

A third spill last August led to the removal of approximately 3.5

cubic yards of soil and 10 square feet of vegetation.

The spills resulted from leaks in gathering pipelines, Blanchfield

said, adding that about 60% to 70% of the vegetation they removed has

since reestablished itself.

AERA Energy spokeswoman Susan Hersberger said that the company has

a series of measures in place to prevent spills from occurring in the

future.

Preventive measures include replacing or relocating existing

pipelines when necessary and frequently monitoring and inspecting the

pipelines, she said.

“The area contaminated was cleaned up, but we told them, ‘As

mitigation for the temporal loss, we would still like you to do a

restoration project,’” Blanchfield said.

After many discussions, AERA agreed to perform the restoration

project in the wetlands.

The area consists of an old access road, an abandoned well pad and

a mixture of barren soil with a few patches of upland vegetation

species, including mustard, iceplant and goldenbrush, according to a

permit proposal submitted by AERA to the coastal commission.

The goal of the restoration program is to provide a

self-sustaining re-vegetated pickleweed wetland area.

Hersberger said that site preparation and planting will take about

one to two months, after which the company will monitor the site.

The length of the monitoring period has not been determined.

Amigos de Bolsa Chica activist David Carlberg said he welcomed the

restoration.

“Any time we’re cleaning up the environment, it’s a good thing,”

he said.

* JENNY MARDER covers City Hall. She can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at jenny.marder@

latimes.com.