Bill Text: CA SB724 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Oil and gas: wells and production facilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-10-10 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 652, Statutes of 2017. [SB724 Detail]
Download: California-2017-SB724-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Senate
May 26, 2017 |
Amended
IN
Senate
April 27, 2017 |
Amended
IN
Senate
April 17, 2017 |
Senate Bill | No. 724 |
Introduced by Senator Lara |
February 17, 2017 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
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This bill would require the division to provide a list of known idle-deserted wells, hazardous wells, deserted facilities, and hazardous facilities to cities and counties upon request. The bill would authorize a city or county to request to enter into a contract with the division to either receive funds to reimburse a city or county for its costs related to plugging and abandoning a hazardous or idle-deserted well and decommissioning hazardous or deserted facilities, or for the division to conduct work related to plugging and abandoning a hazardous or idle-deserted well and decommissioning hazardous or deserted facilities, as specified. The bill would prohibit the division, on or after July 1, 2018, from
commencing any activity to plug and abandon a hazardous or idle-deserted well or decommission a hazardous or deserted facility within the jurisdiction of a city or county without entering into a contractual memorandum of understanding with the city or county, except as provided.
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Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: YES Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 3203 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:3203.
(a) The operator of any well, before commencing the work of drilling the well, shall file with the supervisor or the district deputy a written notice of intention to commence drilling. Drilling shall not commence until approval is given by the supervisor or the district deputy. If the supervisor or the district deputy fails to give the operator written response to the notice within 10 working days from the date of receipt, that failure shall be considered as an approval of the notice and the notice, for the purposes and intents of this chapter, shall be deemed a written report of the supervisor. If operations have not commenced within 24 months of receipt of the notice, the notice shall be deemed canceled, the notice shall not be extended, and the cancellation shall be noted in the division’s records. The notice 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.SEC. 2.
Section 3206 of the Public Resources Code, as added by Section 4 of Chapter 272 of the Statutes of 2016, is amended to read:3206.
(a) The operator of any idle well shall do either of the following:SEC. 3.
Section 3206.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:3206.5.
(a) Any city or county may request from the supervisor a list of all idle wells, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 3008, within its jurisdiction.SEC. 4.
Section 3237 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:3237.
(a) (1) The supervisor or district deputy may order the plugging and abandonment of a well or the decommissioning of a production facility that has been deserted whether or not any damage is occurring or threatened by reason of that deserted well or production facility. The supervisor or district deputy shall determine from credible evidence whether a well or production facility is deserted.SEC. 5.
The heading of Article 4.2 (commencing with Section 3250) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:Article 4.2. Hazardous Wells and Facilities
SEC. 6.
Section 3250 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:3250.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares that hazardous and certain idle-deserted oil and gas wells and hazardous and deserted facilities, as defined in this article, are public nuisances and that it is essential, in order to protect life, health, and natural resources that those oil and gas wells and facilities be abandoned, reabandoned, produced, or otherwise remedied to mitigate, minimize, or eliminate their danger to life, health, and natural resources.SEC. 7.
Section 3251 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.SEC. 8.
Section 3251 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:3251.
For the purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:SEC. 9.
Section 3255 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:3255.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, the supervisor may order to be carried out, or may undertake, any of the following operations, as applicable, on any property in the vicinity of which, or on which, is located any well or facility that the supervisor determines to be a hazardous well, an idle-deserted well, a hazardous facility, or a deserted facility:SEC. 10.
Section 3258 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:3258.
(a) The division shall not make expenditures pursuant to this article that exceed(b)Upon request by a local entity, the division shall provide the local entity a list of known idle-deserted wells, hazardous
wells, deserted facilities, and hazardous facilities.
(c)A local entity may request to enter into a contract with the division to either receive funds to reimburse a local entity’s costs related to plugging and abandoning a hazardous or idle-deserted well and decommissioning hazardous or deserted facilities or for the division to conduct work related to plugging and abandoning a hazardous or idle-deserted well and decommissioning hazardous or deserted facilities.
(1)A local entity seeking to contract with the division pursuant to this section shall submit a request to the division. The request shall be approved by the local entity’s legislative body before it can be considered by the division. The request shall contain all of
the following:
(A)The location of the well to be plugged and abandoned and the production facilities to be decommissioned.
(B)(i)All required nonwell or nonproduction facility-related activities and payments the local entity believes will be required to complete the project, including, but not limited to, relocating and accommodating impacted residents, utility relocation, business and transportation impacts, and site restoration.
(ii)A stipulation that the local entity will pay all costs identified pursuant to clause (i).
(C)(i)A statement of facts indicating why the specific well or wells or production facility or
facilities were chosen.
(ii)The statement shall provide details regarding the potential harms to public health and environmental safety posed by the well or facility as documented by the local agency or public health and safety agencies within the appropriate jurisdiction.
(D)Estimated costs, determined by a licensed operator or contractor, to plug and abandon a well and decommission associated production facilities.
(E)Estimated costs of all other activities identified in subparagraph (B).
(F)All permits, if any, the division must obtain before the commencement of work to plug and abandon a well or decommission a production facility, and the anticipated
timeline for the project.
(G)A timeline for estimated project completion.
(H)A verification that any funds provided by the division shall only be spent on the plugging and abandoning of a well and decommissioning production facilities and will not be used for nonwell or nonproduction facility-related activities and payments, including, but not limited to, relocating and accommodating impacted residents, utility relocation, business and transportation impacts, and site restoration.
(I)A verification that the local entity will adhere to all state contracting and subcontracting rules, as specified in the state contract manual.
(J)If a local entity is
seeking funding to perform the plugging and abandonment or decommissioning work itself, documentation that the local entity is the operator of the well or production facility, will become the operator of the well or production facility, or has an agreement with the operator of the well or production facility for the work to be performed.
(2)(A)In reviewing and evaluating requests related to plugging and abandoning a hazardous or idle-deserted well or decommissioning a hazardous or deserted facility, the division shall prioritize and decide to approve or deny requests based on, at minimum, all of the following criteria:
(i)The degree of potential danger to life, health, or natural resources posed by a specific hazardous or idle-deserted well or
hazardous or deserted facility.
(ii)Whether the specific hazardous or idle-deserted well or hazardous or deserted facility is located within an economically disadvantaged community.
(iii)The cost and potential environmental or public health benefits of plugging and abandoning the hazardous or idle-deserted well or decommissioning the hazardous or deserted facility.
(iv)The availability of third-party funding, including private development fees and federal matching funds.
(v)Any other consideration or priorities the division deems necessary, including, division funding and the statewide priority level of the hazardous or idle-deserted
well or
hazardous or deserted facility identified in the local entity’s request.
(B)This paragraph shall not be construed to require the division to approve any request.
(3)(A)Upon approving a local entity’s request, the division and the local entity shall enter into a contractual memorandum of understanding providing, at a minimum, all of the following:
(i)A statement identifying the costs each party will be responsible for paying.
(ii)A statement identifying the manner in which the city or county shall submit invoices for payment to the division.
(iii)A verification that the local entity agrees to pay all costs to plug and abandon a well and decommission the production facility in excess of the estimate provided in the application pursuant to subparagraphs (D) and (E) of paragraph (1).
(iv)A verification that the local entity shall be responsible for any cost not identified in the memorandum of understanding or the local entity’s request.
(v)A verification that any funds provided by the division that are not utilized shall be returned to the division within 15 days of the completion of the project identified in the local entity’s request.
(vi)Clearly state that the division shall only be responsible for the costs authorized pursuant to this section.
(B)Before the memorandum of understanding is effective, both of the following shall occur:
(i)The memorandum of understanding shall be approved by the legislative body of the local entity, and signed by an agent thereof, within 30 days of receiving notice of the division’s approval of the local entity’s request. A failure to submit the approved memorandum of understanding to the division within 30 days cancels the division’s approval of the local entity’s request.
(ii)The memorandum of understanding shall be approved by the supervisor. The supervisor shall approve a memorandum of understanding provided both of the following conditions are met:
(I)The
division has sufficient funds to cover the plugging and abandonment of the well or decommissioning of the facility, based on a division’s estimate of the total cost of the work.
(II)The local entity provided all information and contractual conditions required by this section.
(d)On or after July 1, 2018, the division shall not commence any activity to plug and abandon a hazardous or idle-deserted well or decommission a hazardous or deserted facility within the jurisdiction of a local entity without entering into a contractual memorandum of understanding with the local entity pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c).
(e)Subdivisions (b), (c), and (d) do not apply to any idle wells, hazardous wells, idle-deserted
wells, deserted facilities, or hazardous facilities located on property owned by a state agency.
(f)(1)Nothing in this section shall limit the division’s authority to plug and abandon a well or decommission a production facility deemed by the supervisor to pose a substantial threat to public health and environmental safety.
(2)If the division acts pursuant to paragraph (1), moneys shall only be expended on plugging and abandoning hazardous or idle-deserted wells and decommissioning hazardous or deserted facilities and shall not be used for nonwell or nonproduction facility-related activities and payments, including, but not limited to, relocating and accommodating impacted residents, utility relocation, business and transportation impacts, and site
restoration.
(g)
(h)For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)“Economically disadvantaged community” means a community with a median household income less than 80 percent
of the statewide average.
(2)“Local entity” means a city or county.