Bill Text: CA SB551 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 551 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Oil and gas: wells and facilities: abandonment and decommissioning: reporting and inspections.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-10-12 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 774, Statutes of 2019. [SB551 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB551-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate May 17, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 551

Introduced by Senator Jackson

February 22, 2019

An act to add Section 3115 to the Public Resources Code, relating to oil and gas.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 551, as amended, Jackson. Oil and gas: decommissioning, cleanup, and remediation: costs.

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. Existing law requires an operator who engages in the drilling, redrilling, deepening, or in any operation permanently altering the casing, of a well, or who acquires a well, to file with the State Oil and Gas Supervisor an individual indemnity bond for each well so drilled, redrilled, deepened, permanently altered, or acquired in specified amounts depending on the depth of the well. Existing law authorizes an operator who engages in the drilling, redrilling, deepening, or in any operation permanently altering the casing, of 20 or more wells at any time, to file with the supervisor one blanket indemnity bond to cover all the operations in any of its wells in the state, in a specified amount depending on the total number of wells in the state, in lieu of the above-described requirement for an individual indemnity bond for each operation.

This bill would require the division to develop a mechanism to assess the full cost of decommissioning, cleanup, and remediation of infrastructure related to the oil and gas industry, including pipeline facilities, pump facilities, and storage ~~facilities.~~ facilities, as specified.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 3115 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

3115.

(a) The division shall develop a mechanism to assess the full cost of decommissioning, cleanup, and remediation of infrastructure related to the oil and gas ~~industry,~~ industry that are within the division’s regulatory jurisdiction, including pipeline facilities, pump facilities, and storage facilities.

(b) (1) The mechanism may be a standard formula or model from which the cost of decommissioning, cleanup, and remediation of infrastructure may be expeditiously assessed.
(2) The standard formula or model may incorporate generalized costs for any category or type of infrastructure.
(3) The mechanism shall be able to project the cost of decommissioning, cleanup, and remediation of infrastructure at the time of the expected decommission of the infrastructure or, if an expected date of decommissioning cannot be assigned, at an estimated date of decommissioning that is not later than 30 years from the date when the assessment is made.