Coastal Hazards & Legacy Wells

Legacy Wells

In the late 1800s, the area offshore of Summerland Beach contained hundreds of oil wells and related drilling infrastructure. Today, the coastline area retains the vestiges of that extensive offshore oil production. These are the unfortunate legacy of the rapid and intensive offshore oil development along the coastline that began just before the turn of the twentieth century, primarily at Summerland Beach in Santa Barbara County.

Most legacy oil and gas wells were abandoned in the early 1900s when oversight was nonexistent. Virtually no records exist regarding the drilling and abandonment of these wells. Removal, if any, varied from well to well and involved rudimentary procedures that fell well short of current health, safety, and environmental protection requirements. Based on the Commission’s research, there are approximately 200 high priority legacy oil and gas wells (identified as Category 1 wells), that could, depending on their condition, leak oil into the marine environment, negatively impacting swimmers, surfers, recreational users, and marine and coastal wildlife and fish, as well as causing environmental degradation and public health and safety hazards. Many other wells are categorized as medium (Category 2) to low (Category 3) priority wells because more information is available about the integrity and abandonment of these wells or because a responsible party is or may be available to address any leak that may occur.