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AB-982 Oil and gas: hydraulic fracturing.(2013-2014)

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Amended  IN  Assembly  May 07, 2013

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2013–2014 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 982

Introduced by Assembly Member Williams
(Coauthor: Senator Wolk)

February 22, 2013

An act to add Sections 3017, 3203.1, and 3203.2 to the Public Resources Code, relating to oil and gas.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 982, as amended, Williams. Oil and gas: hydraulic fracturing.
Under existing law, the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) 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 (supervisor), referred to as the 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 an operator of a well, before commencing the work of drilling the well, to provide notice to, and obtain approval from, the supervisor or district deputy.
This bill would define “hydraulic fracturing.” The bill would also require any notice of intent to drill, rework, or deepen a well where hydraulic fracturing will occur to include a groundwater monitoring plan for review and approval by the supervisor and the appropriate regional water quality control board, which would contain specific information relating to groundwater, water quality, and the monitoring of wells and water quality. The bill would further require any notice of intent to provide specific information regarding the amount of water, the and source of the water, and the method of disposal of produced wastewater water used during hydraulic fracturing operations.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 3017 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

3017.
 “Hydraulic fracturing” means the injection of fluids or gases into an underground geologic formation with the intention to cause or enhance fractures in the underground geologic formation, in order to cause or enhance the production of oil or gas from a well. Alternate terms include, but are not limited to, “fracking,” “hydrofracking,” and “hydrofracturing.”

SEC. 2.

 Section 3203.1 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

3203.1.
 (a) As part of any notice of intent to drill, rework, or deepen a well where hydraulic fracturing will occur, the operator shall provide a groundwater monitoring plan for review and approval by the supervisor and the appropriate regional water quality control board. The groundwater monitoring plan shall include, at a minimum, all of the following information:
(1)  The current water quality of the groundwater basin through which the well will be drilled that is sufficient to characterize the quality of the aquifer and identify the zone of influence of the proposed well.
(2) Water quality data or a plan to obtain data regarding the presence and concentration of the constituents to be used in, or that can be influenced by, the drilling process.
(3) A plan that includes sites for monitoring wells, which will allow the detection of contamination associated with well operation during and after the period of its active use.
(4) An emergency monitoring plan that will be implemented in the case of well casing failure or any other event which has the potential to contaminate groundwater.
(b) Water quality monitoring data shall be submitted electronically to the State Water Resource Control Board geotracker database and any public data registry identified by the division for disclosure of hydraulic fracturing data.
(c) This section shall not apply if the appropriate regional water quality control board confirms that the proposed well will not penetrate or will not be located within the zone of influence of an aquifer that is designated for a beneficial use.

SEC. 3.

 Section 3203.2 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

3203.2.
 Any notice of intent to drill, rework, or deepen a well where hydraulic fracturing will occur, shall include all of the following information:
(a) A description of the estimated quantity of water planned to be used in the hydraulic fracturing process.
(b) The source or sources of the water to be used.

(c)A specific plan for disposing of wastewater produced by the hydraulic fracturing process.