Bill Text: CA SB1433 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Gravity-Based Energy Storage Well Pilot Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-08-15 - August 15 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB1433 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB1433-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
June 19, 2024 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
June 11, 2024 |
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Amended
IN
Senate
May 16, 2024 |
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Amended
IN
Senate
March 19, 2024 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 1433
| Introduced by Senator Limón |
February 16, 2024 |
An act to add Section 3106.2 to, and to add and repeal Article 10 (commencing with Section 3474) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to oil and gas wells.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1433, as amended, Limón.
Gravity-Based Energy Storage Well Pilot Program.
Existing law requires the State Oil and Gas Supervisor to supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells so as 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 of energy, and damage to underground and surface waters suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes by the infiltration of, or the addition of, detrimental substances. Existing law defines “wells” to mean oil or gas wells or other wells related to oil or gas production.
Under existing law, a person who fails to comply with the requirements relating to the regulation of wells is guilty of a misdemeanor.
This bill would, until January 1, 2034, establish the
Gravity-Based Energy Storage Well Pilot Program and would authorize the supervisor to authorize the conversion of not more than 1,000 wells for use as gravity-based energy storage wells, as defined, to evaluate their use, including the establishment of appropriate operating conditions and physical parameters to safely generate energy. The bill would require idle wells that are authorized for use as gravity-based energy storage wells to be identified as gravity-based energy storage wells in a plan or updates to the plan required to be filed with the supervisor. The bill would require the mechanical integrity of gravity-based energy storage wells to be assessed by the Geologic Energy Management Division not less than annually. The bill would require an operator of a gravity-based energy storage well, in the event of a loss of mechanical integrity of the well or a leak to the environment, to notify the division, the State Air Resources Board, the appropriate regional water quality control board, and schools and
community members within 3,200 feet of the well. The bill would require gravity-based energy storage wells to be continuously monitored for fluid leaks. The bill would specify that the authorization for wells to be used as gravity-based energy storage wells end at the termination of the pilot program. The bill would, by January 1, 2032, require the Secretary for Environmental Protection, in consultation with certain entities, to evaluate the pilot program and make recommendations to the Legislature for a framework to implement an ongoing Gravity-Based Energy Storage Well Program to regulate the operation of gravity-based energy storage wells.
Because a violation of the requirements of the Gravity-Based Energy Storage Well Pilot Program would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would prohibit the supervisor from authorizing or allowing the use of a well or hydrocarbon reservoir for
any purpose other than provided for in law.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 3106.2 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:3106.2.
The supervisor shall not authorize or allow the use of a well or hydrocarbon reservoir for any purpose other than provided for in this division, including Section 3106.SEC. 2.
Article 10 (commencing with Section 3474) is added to Chapter 1 of Division 3 of the Public Resources Code, to read:Article 10. Gravity-Based Energy Storage Well Pilot Program
3474.
For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:(a) “Federal agency” means the United States Environmental Protection Agency, including Region 9 of that agency.
(b) (1) “Gravity-based energy storage well” means a well that is plugged with all perforations sealed, is isolated from a hydrocarbon reservoir, has mechanical integrity, is not a conduit for fluid migration into a beneficial use aquifer, and is exclusively used to store or generate energy by raising or lowering a weight within the well casing.
(2) A well that has been
fully plugged and abandoned pursuant to Section 3208 is not eligible to be a gravity-based energy storage well.
(3) A well listed as an orphan well pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 3206.3 or an idle-deserted well, as defined in Section 3251, is eligible to be converted for use as a gravity-based energy storage well if all applicable and necessary rights to do so have been obtained.
3474.2.
(a) The supervisor may authorize the conversion of not more than 1,000 wells for use as gravity-based energy storage wells pursuant to this article to evaluate their use, including the establishment of appropriate operating conditions and physical parameters to safely store and generate energy.(b) Before authorizing the use of a well as a gravity-based energy storage well, the supervisor may require the operator to provide additional information demonstrating the suitability of the well for use as a gravity-based energy storage well.
(c) The conversion of a well for use as a gravity-based energy storage well
does not relieve the operator of its obligation to plug and abandon the well, decommission attendant facilities, and remediate the site.
(d) The supervisor may assess a fee not to exceed the reasonable costs incurred by the division in implementing this article.
3474.4.
A well that has been permitted or operated as a Class II well, as defined in Section 3130, shall not be authorized for use as a gravity-based energy storage well without the written acknowledgment and authorization from the federal agency. The written acknowledgment and authorization shall be part of the well record.3474.6.
(a) (1) An idle well that is authorized for use as a gravity-based energy storage well remains an idle well for purposes of this division and shall be identified as a gravity-based energy storage well in any plan or update to a plan required pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 3206.(2) An operator shall update an applicable plan pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 3206 to identify the use of an idle well as a gravity-based energy storage well not less than annually.
(b) An idle well that is authorized for use as a gravity-based energy storage
well remains subject to the applicable idle well fee specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 3206.
3474.8.
(a) The mechanical integrity of a gravity-based energy storage well shall be assessed by the division not less than annually and shall include, at a minimum, pressure testing. The assessment shall be part of the well record. A gravity-based energy storage well that has lost mechanical integrity shall cease operation as a gravity-based energy storage well until mechanical integrity is restored. In the event of a loss of mechanical integrity or leak to the environment, the operator of a gravity-based energy storage well shall notify the division, the State Air Resources Board, the appropriate regional water quality control board, and any schools or community members living within 3,200 feet of the well of the loss of mechanical integrity or leak.(b) A well after being converted for use as a gravity-based energy storage well shall be continuously monitored for fluid leaks, including, but not limited to, methane leaks. The supervisor, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board and the State Water Resources Control Board, shall establish criteria for fluid leak monitoring and reporting.
3474.10.
Except as otherwise provided in this article, a gravity-based energy storage well shall meet all requirements applicable to a well specified in this division.3474.12.
The division shall identify all wells converted to or being operated as gravity-based energy storage wells on its internet website.3474.14.
(a) On or by January 1, 2032, the Secretary for Environmental Protection, in consultation with entities operating gravity-based energy storage wells, the division, the State Water Resources Control Board and regional water quality boards, the State Air Resources Board, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, relevant local jurisdictions, environmental and environmental justice organizations, tribes, and other stakeholders, shall evaluate the Gravity-Based Energy Storage Well Pilot Program and make recommendations to the Legislature for a framework to implement an ongoing Gravity-Based Energy Storage Well Program to provide for regulation of the operation of gravity-based energy storage wells. The recommendations shall be informed by the Gravity-Based Energy Storage Well Pilot Program and shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:(1) Implications of conversion of a well to a gravity-based energy storage well for local land use authorization and applicability of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000)), including designation of the appropriate lead agency.
(2) Appropriate regulatory parameters, including physical design, operating conditions, mechanical integrity, and inspection protocols, for a gravity-based energy storage well to ensure safe operation and no fluid, including, but not limited to, methane, leakage to the environment, including into aquifers of beneficial use. This shall include whether
the redrilling of a plugged and abandoned well may be allowed for a gravity-based energy storage well.
(3) Implications of conversion of a well to a gravity-based energy storage well for existing well classifications and associated requirements.
(4) Tracking and monitoring by the regulator of gravity-based energy storage wells to ensure that those wells are ultimately plugged and abandoned pursuant to Section 3208, attendant equipment and infrastructure is decommissioned, and the site remediated.
(5) Fee structure for gravity-based energy storage well operations to ensure that gravity-based energy storage well operations fully compensate regulatory oversight by the state.
(6) Structure and payment schedule from gravity-based energy storage well operations to fund the applicable plugging and abandonment of a gravity-based energy storage well, decommissioning of associated infrastructure, and site remediation.
(7) The amount of renewable energy generated and the ease of connecting a gravity-based energy storage well to existing electrical infrastructure.
(b) The recommendations pursuant to subdivision (a) shall include a review of gravity-based energy storage well operations including any leaks to the environment and loss of mechanical integrity.
(c) In developing the recommendations pursuant to
subdivision (a), there shall be at least one public meeting to solicit public input.
(d) The recommendations shall be submitted to the Legislature in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
3474.16.
(a) This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2034, and as of that date is repealed.(b) The authorization issued pursuant to Section 3474.2 shall terminate upon the repeal of this article.
