IFeatureClass.Search throws error “0x80041599 The number of points is less than required for feature”

Question

I am creating a buffered geometry around a point feature in order to search for other nearby features. I use the TopologicalOperator to create my buffered geometry. I am attempting to search a feature class when a ComException is thrown telling me that 'the number of points is less than required for feature'. I am unsure whether it is referring to the geometry I am searching with, which I have verified is a polygon with 129 points, or to a feature in the feature class that I am searching within. I have run an ArcObject routine to try and rid the various features classes of features with invalid geometries, but this error persists.

The data's SR is WGS84 with a XY resolution of .000000001. The MXD's projection is Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere. I am buffering my points by 10 feet. The code works and buffer size work fine in the dev environment but is failing in the test environment.

Spatial Indexes on Search FCs

FC1
1.133126
0.000000
0.000000

FC2
0.310968
0.000000
0.000000

FC3
0.193221
0.000000
0.000000

Snippits of source below. Note that GeoUtil has several methods that will pull values off the ServerContext.

Create Buffered Geometry

private IGeometry GetBufferedGeometry(IFeature feature, int bufferFeet, GeodatabaseUtil geoUtil)
{
    // Convert shape to Map's spatial reference
    var geometry = feature.ShapeCopy;
    geometry.Project(geoUtil.GetMapSpatialReference());

    // Convert buffer feet to Map's distance units
    IUnitConverter converter = new UnitConverterClass();
    var bufferUnits = converter.ConvertUnits(bufferFeet, esriUnits.esriFeet, geoUtil.GetMapDistanceUnits());

    // Buffer shape
    var topoOp = geometry as ITopologicalOperator;
    var bufferedGeometry = topoOp.Buffer(bufferUnits);

    // Project buffered shape back to dataset projection
    bufferedGeometry.Project(feature.Shape.SpatialReference);
    return bufferedGeometry;
}

Search for features

// Create buffered filter
var spatialFilter = geoUtil.NewSpatialFilter();
spatialFilter.Geometry = GetBufferedGeometry(feature, searchBuffer, geoUtil);
spatialFilter.SpatialRel = info.SpatialRelationship;

// Search for features within filter
var featureCursor = searchClass.Search(spatialFilter, true);
var foundFeature = featureCursor.NextFeature();
while (foundFeature != null)