6245.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), the commission or a local trustee shall not enter into any new lease or other conveyance that authorizes the exploration for, or the development and production of, oil or natural gas upon lands owned by the state and under the jurisdiction of the commission that are located seaward of the ordinary high water mark for tidal waterways and the ordinary low water mark for navigable nontidal waterways upon tidelands and submerged lands
in the California Coastal Sanctuary that would result in the increase of oil or natural gas production from from, or facilitate additional development of, or exploration for, oil or natural gas from, federal waters.(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), the commission or a local trustee shall not enter into any lease renewal, extension, or modification that authorizes a lessee to engage in new or additional exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas upon lands owned by the state and under the jurisdiction of the commission that are located seaward of the ordinary high water mark for tidal waterways and the ordinary low water mark for navigable nontidal waterways
any activity upon tidelands and submerged lands in the California Coastal Sanctuary that would result in the increase of oil or natural gas production from from, or facilitate additional development of, or exploration for, oil or natural gas from, federal waters.
(c)Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply if either of the following occur:
(1)The President of the United States has found a severe energy supply interruption and has ordered distribution of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve pursuant to Section 6241(d) of Title 42 of the United States Code, the Governor finds that the energy resources subject to subdivision (a) or (b) will contribute significantly to the alleviation of that interruption, and the Legislature subsequently acts to amend this chapter to allow for the leasing or other conveyance or the lease renewal, extension, or modification, as applicable.
(2)The commission determines that oil or gas deposits subject to a lease impacted by
subdivision (a) or (b) are being drained by means of producing wells upon adjacent federal lands and the lease or other conveyance, as applicable, is in the best interests of the state.
(c) Nothing in this section shall prevent any of the following:
(1) The commission from issuing leases pursuant to Section 6243 or 6244.
(2) Any activity undertaken to repair, replace, or maintain any pipeline or other infrastructure used to convey oil or natural gas or any other
activity necessary to ensure the safe operation of infrastructure used in the exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas.
(3) Any activity undertaken to convey oil or natural gas produced from state waters.
(d) The commission may establish guidelines regulations for the implementation of this section.
(e) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “California Coastal Sanctuary” means the California Coastal Sanctuary described in Section 6242.
(1)
(2) “Commission” means the State Lands Commission or a local trustee of granted public trust lands, as defined pursuant to Section 6306. Commission.
(2)
(3) “Development” means those activities taking place following the discovery of oil and natural gas, including geophysical activity, drilling, platform construction, pipeline construction, and operation of all onshore support facilities that are performed for the purpose of ultimately producing the resources discovered.
(3)
(4) “Exploration” means the process of searching for oil and natural gas, including any drilling, whether on or off known geological
structures, including the drilling of a well in which a discovery of oil or natural gas is made and the drilling of any additional delineation well after the discovery that is needed to delineate any reservoir and to enable a lessee to determine whether to proceed with the development and production.
(4)
(5) “Federal waters” means those waters and submerged lands lying seaward to the state waters of California of the three mile nautical limit, as set forth
by the federal Submerged Lands Act (43 U.S.C. Sec. 1301), that appertain to the United States and are subject to federal jurisdiction and control.
(5)(A)“New or additional exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas” includes any activity undertaken to increase the capacity of any pipeline or other infrastructure used to convey oil or natural gas from federal waters.
(B)“New or additional exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas” does not include either of the following:
(i)Any activity undertaken to repair, replace, or maintain any pipeline or other infrastructure used to convey oil or natural gas or any other activity necessary to ensure the safe operation of infrastructure used in the exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas.
(ii)Any activity undertaken to convey oil or natural gas produced from state waters.
(6) “Local trustee” means a local trustee of granted public trust lands that is a county, city, or district, including water, sanitary, regional park, port, or harbor districts, or any other local political or corporate subdivision that has been granted public trust lands through a legislative grant.
(6)
(7) “Production” means those activities that take place after the successful completion of any means for the removal of oil and natural gas, including that removal, field operations, transfer of resources to shore, operation monitoring, maintenance,
and work-over drilling. “Producing” means undertaking those activities.
(7)“State waters” means the zone in which the United States has released to adjacent coastal states title, ownership, and the right to manage natural resources, as defined pursuant to Section 36108.