Bill Text: CA AB591 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Oil and gas production: hydraulic fracturing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-08-16 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB591 Detail]
Download: California-2011-AB591-Amended.html
Bill Title: Oil and gas production: hydraulic fracturing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-08-16 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB591 Detail]
Download: California-2011-AB591-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 591 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wieckowski
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Dickinson)
FEBRUARY 16, 2011
An act to amend Sections 3106, 3107, and 3270
3107 and 3203 of the Public Resources Code, relating to
oil and gas production.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 591, as amended, Wieckowski. Oil and gas production: hydraulic
fracturing.
Under
(1) Under existing law, the
Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of
Conservation regulates the drilling, operation, maintenance, and
abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state. The State Oil and Gas
Supervisor supervises the drilling, operation, maintenance, and
abandonment of wells and the operation, maintenance, and removal or
abandonment of tanks and facilities related to oil and gas production
within an oil and gas field regarding safety and environmental
damage. Existing law requires the district deputy to prepare
maps regarding oil and gas production in each district and
to collect information regarding the presence of oil and gas and the
location and extent of strata bearing water or surface water
suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes.
Existing law also requires the supervisor to supervise the
drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells so as to
permit the owners and operators of the wells to utilize all methods
and practice known to the industry for the purpose of increasing the
ultimate recovery of underground hydrocarbons. It is the policy of
the state generally to allow an operator in producing and removing
hydrocarbons to perform certain procedures, as the injection of air,
gas, water, or other fluids, or the application of pressure heat.
This bill would include in that policy the process of
hydraulic fracturing. The bill also would instead
require the district deputy for oil and gas production
in each district of the state to show on maps through a special
designation each well where hydraulic fracturing is being used,
including in restimulation of a well. The bill would require the
division, by regulation, in prescribing minimum facility maintenance
standards for production facilities to compile a list of any
chemicals or components used in the process of hydraulic fracturing.
to collect information on the presence of oil and gas
deposits and the location and extent of strata bearing water or
surface water suitable for irrigation, domestic, industrial, or
wildlife purposes that might be affected. The bill would also require
the maps prepared by the district deputy to be posted, as specified,
on the division's Internet Web site.
(2) Existing law requires the operator
of a well, before commencing the work of drilling the well, to file
with the supervisor or the district deputy a written notice of
intention to commence drilling, and prohibits the commencement of
drilling until approval is given by the supervis or or the
district deputy. The existing Safe Drinking Water and Toxic
Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65) prohibits any
person, in the course of doing business, from knowingly and
intentionally exposing any individual to a chemical known to the
state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without giving a
specified warning, or from discharging or releasing such a chemical
into any source of drinking water, except as specified.
This bill would revise that procedure to instead require the
operator to file an application before commencing drilling and would
require additional information to be included in the application,
including information regarding the chemicals, if any, to be injected
into the well. The bill would require the supervisor to post the
information regarding the type of process and list of chemicals on
the division's Internet Web site. The bill would require the operator
to notify every property owner and occupant of property
within one mile of a well if the application includes a chemical
known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity pursuant to the list
adopted in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic
Enforcement Act of 1986.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Hydraulic fracturing is a technique used in the production of
oil and gas that involves the pressurized injection of water and a
mix of chemical into an underground geologic formation in order to
fracture the formation, thereby causing or enhancing the production
of oil or gas from a well.
(b) Hydraulic fracturing has been used in California for several
decades to extract oil and gas and is likely to be used more
extensively as the industry seeks to develop additional oil and gas
bearing formations.
(c) The Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the
Department of Conservation, which has the obligation to protect
public health and the resources of the state, including groundwater
resources, has the authority to regulate all oil and natural gas
drilling in the state, but currently does not require the disclosure
of pertinent information regarding hydraulic fracturing or ascertain
what specific types of production and exploration are taking place at
permitted wells.
(d) Given California's geologic, seismic complexity, and finite
and significantly compromised water resources, it is important to
collect basic information about natural resource production
processes. The state and the public should know when and where
hydraulic fracturing is occurring and what chemicals are being used
in the process.
(a) Hydraulic fracturing is a technique used in the production of
oil and gas that involves the injection under great pressure of
water, a proppant, such as sand or ceramic beads, and a small mix of
chemicals into an underground geologic formation in order to fracture
the formation, thereby causing the flow of oil or gas to the
surface.
(b) Although hydraulic fracturing is not as widely used in
California as in some parts of the country, it has been used in
California to extract oil and gas and has the potential to be used
more extensively.
(c) The chemicals used in the practice of hydraulic fracturing
have the potential to migrate into nearby strata and aquifers.
(d) The Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the
Department of Conservation, which has the obligation to protect
public health and the resources of the state, including groundwater
resources, has the authority to regulate all oil and gas drilling in
the state, but has not been regulating hydraulic fracturing,
apparently due to the lack of the adoption of specific regulations.
(e) The state and public should know where hydraulic fracturing is
occurring and what chemicals are being used in the process.
SEC. 2. Section 3106 of the Public Resources
Code is amended to read:
3106. (a) The supervisor shall supervise the drilling, operation,
maintenance, and abandonment of wells and the operation,
maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities
attendant to oil and gas production, including pipelines not subject
to regulation pursuant to Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 51010)
of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code that are
within an oil and gas field, in order to prevent, as far as possible,
damage to life, health, property, and natural resources; damage to
underground oil and gas deposits from infiltrating water and other
causes; loss of oil, gas, or reservoir energy; and damage to
underground and surface waters suitable for irrigation or domestic
purposes by the infiltration of, or the addition of, detrimental
substances.
(b) The supervisor shall also supervise the drilling, operation,
maintenance, and abandonment of wells in order to permit an owner or
operator of a well to utilize all methods and practices known to the
oil industry for the purpose of increasing the ultimate recovery of
underground hydrocarbons and which, in the opinion of the supervisor,
are suitable for this purpose in each proposed case. To further the
elimination of waste by increasing the recovery of underground
hydrocarbons, it is hereby declared as a policy of this state that
the grant in an oil and gas lease or contract to a lessee or operator
of the right or power, in substance, to explore for and remove all
hydrocarbons from any lands in the state, in the absence of an
express provision to the contrary contained in the lease or contract,
is deemed to allow the lessee or contractor, or the lessee's or
contractor's successors or assigns, to do what a prudent operator
using reasonable diligence would do, having in mind the best
interests of the lessor, lessee, and the state in producing and
removing hydrocarbons, including, but not limited to, the injection
of air, gas, water, or other fluids into the productive strata, the
application of pressure heat or other means for the reduction of
viscosity of the hydrocarbons, the process of hydraulic fracturing,
the supplying of additional motive force, or the creating of enlarged
or new channels for the underground movement of hydrocarbons into
production wells, when these methods or processes employed have been
approved by the supervisor, except that nothing contained in this
section imposes a legal duty upon the lessee or contractor, or the
lessee's or contractor's successors or assigns, to conduct these
operations.
(c) The supervisor may require an operator to implement a
monitoring program, designed to detect releases to the soil and
water, including both groundwater and surface water, for aboveground
oil production tanks and facilities.
(d) To best meet oil and gas needs in this state, the supervisor
shall administer this division so as to encourage the wise
development of oil and gas resources.
SEC. 3. SEC. 2. Section 3107 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
3107. (a) A district deputy in each district, designated by the
supervisor, shall collect all necessary information regarding the oil
and gas wells in the district, with a view to determining the
presence of oil and gas sands and the location and extent of
strata bearing water suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes
that might be affected. presence of oil and gas
deposits and the location and extent of strata bearing water or
surface water suitable for irrigation, domestic, industrial, or
wildlife purposes that might be affected.
(b) The district deputy shall prepare maps and other accessories
necessary to determine the presence of oil and gas sands and
the location and extent of strata bearing water suitable for
irrigation or domestic purposes or surface water suitable for those
purposes. Each well where hydraulic fracturing is being used,
including in restimulation of a well, shall be shown on these maps
through a special designation. deposits and the
location and extent of strata bearing water or surface water suitable
for irrigation, domestic, industrial, or wildlife purposes. The maps
prepared by the district deputy pursuant to this section shall be
posted on the division's Internet Web site, as a modification to any
existing maps, and shall include the information obtained pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 3203.
(c) This work shall be done with the view to advising an operator
as to the best means of protecting the oil and gas sands and the
water-bearing strata and surface water, and with a view to aiding the
supervisor in ordering tests or repair work at wells. All data shall
be kept on file in the office of the district deputy of the
respective district and in the supervisor's office, and shall be
made available to any member of the public who requests to view it.
deputy of the respective district.
SEC. 4. Section 3270 of the Public Resources
Code is amended to read:
3270. (a) The division shall, by regulation, prescribe minimum
facility maintenance standards for all production facilities in the
state. The regulations shall include, but are not limited to,
standards for all of the following:
(1) Leak detection.
(2) Corrosion prevention and testing.
(3) Tank inspection and cleaning.
(4) Valve and gauge maintenance, and secondary containment
maintenance.
(5) Other facility or equipment maintenance that the supervisor
deems important for the proper operation of production facilities and
that the supervisor determines are necessary to prevent damage to
life, health, property, and natural resources; damage to underground
oil and gas deposits from infiltrating water and other causes; loss
of oil, gas, or reservoir energy; and damage to underground and
surface waters suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes by the
infiltration of, or the addition of, detrimental substances.
(6) A complete list of any chemicals or components used in the
process of hydraulic fracturing.
(b) An operator who constructs, acquires, maintains, or alters an
oil well or a production facility shall comply with the standards
prescribed pursuant to subdivision (a).
(c) In a form and at a time prescribed by the division in
regulation, an operator shall notify the supervisor of the
construction, alteration, or decommissioning of a production
facility.
(d) An operator shall maintain at the production facility's local
office records of maintenance and repair operations, tests, and
inspections, and shall provide the supervisor with access to these
records at all times during normal business hours and with copies of
the records immediately, upon request.
SEC. 3. Section 3203 of the Public
Resources Code is amended to read:
3203. (a) The operator of any a
well, before commencing the work of drilling the well, shall file
with the supervisor or the district deputy a written notice
of intention an application to commence
drilling. Drilling shall not commence until approval of the
application is given by the supervisor or the district deputy.
If the supervisor or the district deputy fails to give the operator
a written response to the notice
application within 10 working days from the date of receipt,
that failure shall be considered as an approval of the
notice and the notice application, and the
application , for the purposes and intents of this chapter,
shall be deemed a written report of the supervisor. If operations
have not commenced within one year of receipt of the notice
application , the notice
application shall be deemed canceled. The notice
application shall contain the pertinent data the
supervisor requires on printed forms supplied by the division or on
other forms acceptable to the supervisor. The supervisor may require
other pertinent information to supplement the notice
application .
(b) (1) On and after January 1, 2012, in addition to the pertinent
information required to be collected pursuant to subdivision (a),
the application shall include all of the following information:
(A) The type of exploration and production techniques that the
operator will use at the well or wells.
(B) A complete list of the chemicals, if any, that will be
injected into the well for hydraulic fracturing or other production
enhancement methods in the exploration or production process or
processes. This list shall include all of the following:
(i) The name of the chemical.
(ii) The purpose of the chemical in the production or exploration
process.
(iii) The Chemical Abstract Service numbers for the chemical.
(iv) The estimated total amount of the chemical used.
(v) The actual rate or concentration of the chemical expressed as
pounds per thousand gallons or gallons per thousand gallons and
expressed as a percentage by volume of the total hydraulic fracturing
fluid or other injected fluid used.
(C) The estimated amount and source of water that will be used in
the exploration or production from the well that is being proposed to
be permitted.
(D) Any radiological components or tracers to be injected into the
well and a description of the recovery method, if any, for those
elements or tracers, the expected recovery rate and disposal method
for recovered components or tracers.
(E) The location of any known seismic faults within five miles of
the well.
(2) The supervisor shall post the type of process and list of
chemicals obtained pursuant to paragraph (1) on the division's
Internet Web site in such a way that it is accessible to the public.
(3) If any of the information required pursuant to paragraph (1)
changes over the course of the exploration and production process,
the operator shall immediately notify the supervisor.
(4) Notwithstanding any other law, if a chemical listed in the
application pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) is also
listed as a chemical known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity
pursuant to the list adopted in accordance with Section 25249.8 of
the Health and Safety Code, the operator shall notify every property
owner and occupant of property within one mile of the well that this
chemical is to be injected into the ground.
(b)
( c) After the completion of any well, this
section also applies as far as may be, to the deepening or redrilling
of the well, any an operation
involving the plugging of the well, or any operations permanently
altering in any manner the casing of the well. The number or
designation of any a well, and the
number or designation specified for any a
well in a notice an application
filed as required by this section, shall not be changed without first
obtaining a written consent of the supervisor.
(c)
( d) If an operator has failed
fails to comply with an order of the supervisor,
the supervisor may deny approval of proposed well operations until
the operator brings its existing well operations into compliance with
the order. If an operator has failed fails
to pay a civil penalty, remedy a violation that it is required
to remedy to the satisfaction of the supervisor pursuant to an order
issued under Section 3236.5, or to pay any charges assessed under
Article 7 (commencing with Section 3400), the supervisor may deny
approval to the operator's proposed well operations until the
operator pays the civil penalty, remedies the violation to the
satisfaction of the supervisor, or pays the charges assessed under
Article 7 (commencing with Section 3400).
