Oil and gas company Plains Exploration & Production recently located a second oil well that its officials believe could cause similar problems to those that forced the Culver City Dog Park to be shut down in September and is offering to pay for any remediation costs associated with repairing the well.

The park has been closed since Sept. 28 following the discovery of a water leak from an abandoned well owned by the Atlantic Oil Company, which is no longer in existence. Baldwin Hills-based PXP is Atlantic Oil’s representative.

In a letter to Culver City Mayor Christopher Armenta obtained by the News, Steven Rusch, PXP’s vice president of government affairs, told city officials that his company discovered another abandoned oil well during its investigation into the cause of the accident that has resulted in the closure of the popular canine park for two months. The well, called Smith #5, could pose similar problems for the park and the outlying areas of the Inglewood Oilfield, which is surrounded by residential neighborhoods Culver Crest and Baldwin Hills, according to PXP. The well appears to have been inactive for almost 80 years and oil company officials believe it should be repaired as well.

“As you are aware, PXP is currently acting as the agent for Atlantic Oil Company and conducting the necessary work to re-abandon the “Block #1” well in the Culver City Dog Park. The remediation effort was made necessary when a small water leak was discovered in the Dog Park by Culver City, who subsequently informed PXP on Sept. 28,” Rusch wrote.

In order to do so, Rusch is requesting that Culver City revise a current legal agreement to allow the work to be done inside the city’s boundaries and permits from the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources must be obtained.

“PXP concluded that a proactive reabandonment effort of the Smith #5 well would be beneficial. The well does not meet current DOGGR (Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources) well abandonment standards and PXP can find no evidence the Block Oil Company is still in business,” the letter explains. “While there is no evidence the Smith #5 well is in imminent threat of leaking or presents a danger to life, health, property or natural resources, its condition would benefit by being upgraded to current abandonment standards.

“To conduct this work, PXP will require permits from the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, as well as a revised Right of Entry agreement with Culver City,” Rusch told Armenta and the other four councilmen in his letter.

Culver City officials appear to be receptive to PXP’s recommendation. “(The) city staff supports PXP’s decision to reabandon the Smith #5 oil well at this time. Doing so would help to sensure that there are no future problems resulting from this leak, which could potenially impact the operation of the Dog Park and oil field operations in the surrounding area,” City Manager John Nachbar said in a statement. “Since the Dog Park is already closed and PXP already has the necessary equipment mobilized onsite, reabandoning the #5 Smith well at this time the prudent thing to do.”

Vicki Day Redholz, the chair of the Dog Park, said she hopes the city and PXP take the necessary steps toward solving all problems associated with the wells that will allow the park to open as soon as possible, while taking pains to mitigate any health and safety concerns. “We support the city working with DOGGR and PXP,” Daly Redholtz told the News. “We’re hoping that everyone can come to an agreement and we want the Dog Park to be open in good condition.”

City officals are examining the contract that they signed with PXP.

“PXP has provided Culver City with a draft agreement that would allow them to complete the work on the Smith well. The agreement is presently under review by our city staff,” said Nachbar.

Rusch said PXP would not ask for compensation for the proposed operation from Culver City. “PXP will not seek reimbursement for the cost of the abandonment from Culver City and by this letter is volunteering to fund the reabandonment work entirely at our expense if the city approves the work,” the letter pledges. “PXP believes conducting this work in a proactive fashion while our equipment is already on site would provide a long-term benefit to the city by preventing future water leaks in the Dog Park.”

PXP estimates that it will cost approximately $200,000 to reabandon the Smith #5 well.

Rusch noted that his company also shouldered some of the financial responsibility for repairing the “Block #1” well, the source of the water leak, even though it is not the legal owner.

“While Atlantic Oil Company is the legal owner of the Block #1 well and bears responsibility for the costs of the remediating the well, PXP volunteered to share in the expected $200,000 abandonment costs and to act as Atlantic Oil's agent, given the fact we are a member of the local business community and are positioned to conduct the work in a more timely fashion than any other operator, the city or the state,” Rusch wrote. “We recognize the importance of the Dog Park to the city's residents and share Culver City's desire to see it reopened as quickly as possible.”

PXP initiated work on the remediation effort on Nov.1 and city officials expect the work to be completed within several days.

Relations have been strained between the oil company and Culver City for some time. After the county Board of Supervisors approved a community standards district and a land-use ordinance on Oct. 28, 2008, Culver City and a public interest group filed separate legal actions charging that the county had overlooked health and safety needs of its residents, as well as not giving the city enough time to respond adequately to an exhaustive environmental impact report that detailed the regulations that the county would implement for PXP.

Residents and city leaders had asked for 60 days, although the time allowance recommended under the California Environmental Quality Act is 45 days, which is the time that the county provided.

Last year, the city council passed an ordinance prohibiting oil drilling within city boundaries, prompting a lawsuit by PXP. A judge dismissed that legal action and the prior lawsuits have been consolidated.

Rusch alluded to this contentious history with Culver City, its residents and PXP in his letter.

“While admittedly, PXP’s relationship with the city's leadership has been strained the past several years, PXP has always maintained a desire to forge a stronger working relationship with the city and administrative staff,” the PXP executive wrote. “We hope this offer to proactively stage beneficial well remediation work in the Dog Park not previously contemplated is evidence of that desire.

“We have been pleased at the level of cooperation and productive dialogue we've maintained with the city manager and public works offices throughout the process and we hope to continue this positive working relationship in to the future.”