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SB-1054 Oil and gas: well operation: notice.(2011-2012)

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SB1054:v94#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  May 29, 2012
Amended  IN  Senate  May 08, 2012
Amended  IN  Senate  May 01, 2012
Amended  IN  Senate  April 17, 2012
Amended  IN  Senate  March 29, 2012

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2011–2012 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1054

Introduced  by  Senator Pavley

February 09, 2012

An act to amend Sections 3203 and 3213 of, and to add Sections 3203.1 and 3203.2 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to oil and gas.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1054, as amended, Pavley. Oil and gas: well operation: notice.
(1) Existing law requires, before commencing the work of drilling an oil and gas well, the operator to file a written notice of intention to commence drilling with the State Oil and Gas Supervisor or district deputy. Existing law provides that the notice is deemed approved if the supervisor or the district deputy fails to give a written response to the notice within 10 working days from the date of receipt.
This bill would extend the response time by the supervisor or the district deputy from 10 working days to 15 working days.
The bill would also require the owner or operator to provide notice to, among others, certain surface property owners and occupants no less than 20 calendar days prior to the planned drilling operations of an oil and gas well. If the oil and gas well is reasonably anticipated to pierce an underground water source that is suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes, the bill would require the owner and operator to provide the notice to the appropriate regional water quality control board and to the supervisor or district deputy, and would require the notice to be posted on the Internet Web site of the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources. The bill would require the notice to include information about the oil and gas well and the planned operations. The bill would require a well owner or operator to notify, among others, the supervisor or district deputy before commencing hydraulic fracturing operations. If the oil and gas well pierces an underground water source that is suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes, the bill would require the owner or operator to notify the appropriate regional water quality control board and would require the supervisor or district deputy to post the notice on the division’s Internet Web site.
The bill would also require the supervisor, beginning January 1, 2014, and on the 10th calendar day of each year thereafter, to submit to the Legislature an annual written report regarding the implementation of this notice requirement.
(2) Existing law requires the owner or operator of any oil and gas well to keep a careful and accurate history of the drilling of the well.
This bill would require the history of the oil and gas well to include the time period that hydraulic fracturing treatments are performed.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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 15 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 one year of receipt of the notice, the notice shall be deemed canceled. 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.
(b) After the completion of any well, this section also applies as far as may be, to the deepening or redrilling of the well, any 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 well, and the number or designation specified for any well in a notice filed as required by this section, shall not be changed without first obtaining a written consent of the supervisor.
(c) If an operator 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 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 pay any charges assessed under Article 7 (commencing with Section 3400), the supervisor may deny approval of 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).

SEC. 2.

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

3203.1.
 (a) For the purposes of this section, “surface property owner” means the owner of a real property as shown on the latest equalized assessment roll or, if more recent information than the information contained on the assessment roll is available, the owner of record according to the county assessor or tax collector.
(b) (1) Not less than 20 calendar days prior to the planned start of drilling operations of a well, the well owner or operator shall notify all of the following:
(A) Every surface property owner, or authorized agent of that owner, and every surface property occupant whose property line or place of residence is within 300 feet of the real property upon which the wellhead will be located, with the exception of an owner or occupant whose property line or place of residence is located more than 2,500 feet from the centerline of the planned vertical wellhead at the surface.

(B)(i)The appropriate regional water quality control board for any underground waters suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes, if the well is reasonably anticipated to pierce the underground water source.

(ii)If the notice is provided to a regional water quality control board pursuant to this subparagraph, the notice shall also be provided to the supervisor or the district deputy and shall be posted on the division’s Internet Web site within five days of the receipt of the notice.

(C)Every water supplier who uses any underground waters suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes that the well is reasonably anticipated to pierce.

(B) The appropriate regional water quality control board based on the wellhead location.

(D)

(C) Every municipal government in which a recipient of the notice pursuant to subparagraph (A) is located.
(2) The notice shall be mailed or delivered. Notice to a municipal government pursuant to subparagraph (D) (C) of paragraph (1), and a regional water quality control board pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), and the division, may be provided electronically by prior written agreement. Notice to the division shall be provided electronically.
(3) The notice shall provide all of the following:
(A) The location of the well.
(B) The well identification number, if available.
(C) A description of the planned drilling operations understandable to a layperson.
(D) The time period when drilling operations are planned to occur.
(E) Instructions on how to obtain additional information on the status of drilling operations from the well owner or operator.
(F) The contact information for the district deputy.
(G) Information on how to obtain additional information on the well from the division, including well log data.
(4) The well owner or operator shall provide to the supervisor or district deputy a complete list of all recipients of the notice and a copy of the information provided in the notice required pursuant to this subdivision, in no less than 10 calendar days prior to commencing drilling operations. The division shall post a copy of the information provided in the notice on the division’s Internet Web site within five days of receiving this information.
(5) The well owner or operator shall notify all recipients of the notice required, pursuant to this subdivision, if the drilling operations do not occur during the proposed time period.
(c) A well owner or operator who complies with this section is deemed to be in compliance with the notice requirement pursuant to Section 848 of the Civil Code.
(d) For the purposes of enforcing this section, the division may conduct a random sample of 5 percent or less of the lists provided pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b).

SEC. 3.

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

3203.2.
 (a) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Surface property owner” means the owner of a real property as shown on the latest equalized assessment roll or, if more recent information than the information contained on the assessment roll is available, the owner of record according to the county assessor or tax collector.
(2) “Hydraulic fracturing” or “fracking” means a well stimulation treatment that typically includes the pressurized injection of water and other materials into an underground geologic formation in order to create or propagate fractures in the formation, thereby or with the intent of causing or improving the production of oil or gas from a well.
(b) (1) Thirty calendar days prior to the commencement of hydraulic fracturing operations on a well, the well owner or operator shall notify all of the following:
(A) Every surface property owner, or authorized agent of that owner, and every surface property occupant whose property line or place of residence is within 300 feet of the real property upon which the wellhead will be located, with the exception of an owner or occupant whose property line or place of residence is located more than 2,500 feet from the centerline of the planned vertical wellhead at the surface.
(B) Every surface property owner, or authorized agent of that owner, and every surface property occupant whose property line or place of residence is within 300 feet, in any direction, from the horizontal projection of the subsurface portion of the designated well to the surface.
(C) The appropriate regional water quality control board for any underground waters suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes, if the well pierces the underground water source. The owner or operator shall, at the same time, notify the supervisor or district deputy that a notice has been provided pursuant to this subparagraph, and the supervisor or district deputy shall post the notice on the division’s Internet Web site within five days of the notification based on the wellhead location.

(D)Every water supplier who uses any underground waters suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes that the well pierces.

(E)

(D) Every municipal government in which recipients of the notice pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) are located.
(2) The notice shall be mailed or delivered. Notice to the regional water quality control board and the division pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1), and to a municipal government pursuant to subparagraph (E) (D) of paragraph (1), may be provided electronically by prior written agreement. Notice to the division shall be provided electronically.
(3) The notice shall provide all of the following:
(A) The location of the well.
(B) The well identification number.
(C) A description of the planned fracking well stimulation technique understandable to a layperson.
(D) The time period when fracking well stimulation is planned to occur.
(E) Instructions on how to obtain additional information on the status of drilling operations from the well owner or operator.
(F) The contact information for the district deputy.
(G) Information on how to obtain additional information on the well, including well log data.
(4) The well owner or operator shall provide to the supervisor or district deputy a complete list of all recipients of the notice and a copy of the information provided in the notice required pursuant to this subdivision, in no less than 20 calendar days prior to starting a hydraulic fracturing stimulation treatment. The division shall post a copy of the information provided in the notice on the division’s Internet Web site within five days of receiving this information.
(5) The well owner or operator shall notify all recipients of the notice required pursuant to this subdivision if the hydraulic fracturing well stimulation treatment does not occur during the proposed time period.
(6) The well owner or operator shall add the actual time period of the hydraulic fracturing well stimulation treatment to the records contained in the well drilling history pursuant to Section 3213 and report it accordingly.
(c) A well owner or operator who complies with this section is deemed to be in compliance with the notice requirement pursuant to Section 848 of the Civil Code.
(d) For the purposes of enforcing this section, the division may conduct a random sample of 5 percent or less of the lists provided pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b).

(d)

(e) Beginning January 1, 2014, and no later than the 10th calendar day of each year thereafter, the supervisor shall submit to the Legislature a written report describing compliance with this section, in order to evaluate compliance and the regulatory burden imposed the materials received from the well owners and operators pursuant to this section. Data shall be aggregated geographically by the municipal government and district. The report shall include the total number of notices issued, the number of wells with notices, and any additional information necessary to interpret the results. The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

SEC. 4.

 Section 3213 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

3213.
 The history shall show the location and amount of sidetracked casings, tools, or other material, the depth and quantity of cement in cement plugs, the shots of dynamite or other explosives, and the results of production and other tests during drilling operations. The history shall include the time period that hydraulic fracturing treatments are performed.