The breeding season for red-legged

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Oil & Gas Journal 
May 24, 1999 


HISTORY OF THE GUADALUPE-AVILA BEACH SPILLS 


 October 1947
                Guadalupe Dunes exploration begins with Sand Dunes Oil Co.

 1948
                  Guadalupe oil purchased by Continental Oil Co., which
                  drills first commercial well but shuts it down the next
                  year.

 1951
                  Union Oil Co. of California (later renamed Unocal
                  Corp.) acquires field; produces it until 1990.


 1955-1990
                Unocal uses diluent to thin and transport the heavy crude.

 1988
                  Peak production at 4,500 b/d from 215 wells.

 January 1988
                  Diluent first seen in beach sands and surf at
                  Guadalupe Dunes; odor complaints lead Unocal
                  to shut down 147 wells.

 January 1989
                  During a construction project, old leaks of crude oil,
                  gasoline, and diesel fuel found in downtown Avila
                  Beach from a pipeline built in the 1920s. Unocal drills
                  26 vapor recovery wells.

 January 1990
                  Plume observed at beach near Santa Maria River area.
                  Unocal suspends production in February and
                  discontinues use of diluent, erects bentonite wall in
                  March (800 ft long by 18 ft deep by 4 ft wide), and installs
                  15 wells on landward side to extract diluent.

 November 1991
                  PVC wall 275 ft long and 6 ft wide installed to prevent
                  migration to river/lagoon.

 1992
                  Unocal buys some contaminated private property at
                  Avila Beach for $ 500,000.

 July 1992
                  Former Unocal employee informs California Department
                  of Fish and Game (F&G) that he believes the company
                  has known about the diluent leaks for years but kept
                  them secret; F&G uses search warrant to initiate 8-hr
                  raid on Unocal's office and seizes 25 boxes of files.

 August 1992
                  Old pipeline above Avila Beach bursts, spilling 150 bbl
                  onto the beach.

 March 1993
                  Investigation ordered by California Regional Water
                  Quality Control Board, and F&G finds more diluent
                  contamination in other parts of the Gaudalupe Dunes
                  field inland.

 June 1993
                  F&G seizes another 67 boxes of files.

 July 1993
                  F&G reports at least 112 crude oil and diluent spills have
                  occurred in Gaudalupe field since 1984, but only 16
                  were reported. San Luis Obispo District Attorney's
                  office files 28 criminal charges against Unocal and
                  six of its employees.

 1992-1994
                  Beach excavation and bentonite wall replaced with
                  high-density polyethylene (HDPE) barrier.


 March 1994
                  Unocal pleads "no contest" to three criminal charges
                  and agrees to a $ 1.5 million settlement.
                  State Attorney General sues Unocal.

 Jan.-Apr. 1994
                  Unocal excavates beach and installs HDPE wall.

 February 1995
                  Santa Maria River changes course toward plume; steel
                  sheetpile walls installed in December 1995
                  and October 1996.

 August 1995
                  Unocal announces plan to sell all California holdings
                  to Torch Energy Advisors Inc. for $ 500 million but
                  retains lease of Guadalupe field and cannot sell it until
                  clean-up is complete.

 November 1995
                  LeRoy Well #2 exposed by river; Unocal excavates
                  2,840 cu yd of contaminated sand.

 October 1996
                  Sheetpile wall installed to protect HDPE wall.

 July 1998
                  State Attorney General announces a $ 43.8 million
                  settlement with Unocal for contamination. State
                  regulators order study of diluent contamination
                  in other oil fields.

 August 1998
                  State approves $ 18 million Avila Beach plan to
                  extract nearly 10,000 bbl of crude oil and fuel,
                  entailing excavating beach and razing
                  buildings downtown.

 November 1998
                  Avila Beach buildings torn down, signaling start
                  of full cleanup.

 January 1999
                  Sheetpile wall started on beach at Avila in preparation
                  for huge excavation project expected to take 18 months.

 June 1999
                  Work was to begin in March on comprehensive clean-up
                  plan over the entire Guadalupe Dunes, beginning with
                  the most serious contamination at the beach. But
                  detection of low levels of PCBs (polychlorinated
                  biphenyis) and the breeding season for red-legged
                  frogs has delayed work until June at the earliest.


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