BILL NUMBER: AB 591 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 7, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 10, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wieckowski
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Dickinson)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Allen)
FEBRUARY 16, 2011
An act to amend Sections 3210, 3213, and 3215 of , and to add
Section 3017 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to oil
and gas production.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 591, as amended, Wieckowski. Oil and gas production: hydraulic
fracturing.
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. The State Oil and Gas 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 the
owner or operator of a well to keep, or cause to be kept, a careful
and accurate log, core record, and history of the drilling of the
well. Within 60 days after the date of cessation of drilling, rework,
or abandonment operations, the owner or operator is required to file
with the district deputy certain information, including the history
of work performed.
This bill would define "hydraulic fracturing" and
require a person carrying out hydraulic fracturing on behalf of
an owner or operator at a well to provide to the owner or operator a
list of the chemical constituents used in the hydraulic fracturing
fluid and the amount of water and hydraulic fracturing fluid
recovered from the well . The bill would additionally require
the history of the drilling of the well to include certain
information regarding the amount and source of water used in the
exploration or production from the well and the radiological
components or tracers injected into the well. The bill would also
require the history to include, if hydraulic fracturing was used at
the well, a complete list of the chemicals used in the hydraulic
fracturing and the amount and disposition of water and hydraulic
fracturing fluid recovered from the well .
The bill would require the owner or operator to submit to the
supervisor information regarding the chemicals used in hydraulic
fracturing, who would be required to add this information to existing
Internet maps on the division's Internet Web site and to make this
information available to the public.
This bill would require the State Oil and Gas Supervisor on or
before January 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, to prepare and
transmit to the Legislature a comprehensive report on hydraulic
fracturing in the exploration and production of oil and gas resources
in California.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Hydraulic fracturing is a technique used in the production of
oil and gas that involves the pressurized injection of water and a
mix of chemicals into an underground geologic formation in order to
fracture the formation, thereby causing or enhancing the production
of oil or gas from a well.
(b) Hydraulic fracturing has been used in California for several
decades to extract oil and gas and is likely to be used more
extensively as the industry seeks to develop additional
oil-and-gas bearing oil- and gas-bearing
formations.
(c) The Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the
Department of Conservation, which has the obligation to protect
public health and the resources of the state, including groundwater
resources, has the authority to regulate all oil and natural gas
drilling in the state, but currently does not require the disclosure
of pertinent information regarding hydraulic fracturing or ascertain
what specific types of production and exploration are taking place at
permitted wells.
(d) Given California's geologic, seismic complexity, and finite
and significantly compromised water resources, it is important to
collect basic information about natural resource production
processes. The state and the public should know when and where
hydraulic fracturing is occurring and what chemicals are being used
in the process.
SEC. 2. Section 3017 is added to the
Public Resources Code , to read:
3017. "Hydraulic fracturing" means a technique used in preparing
a well that typically involves the pressurized injection of water and
a mix of chemicals, compounds, and materials into an underground
geologic formation in order to fracture the formation, thereby
causing or enhancing, for the purposes of this division, the
production of oil or gas from a well.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. Section 3210 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
3210. (a) The owner or operator of any well shall keep, or cause
to be kept, a careful and accurate log, core record, and history of
the drilling of the well.
(b) A person carrying out hydraulic fracturing on behalf of an
owner or operator at a well shall provide to that owner or operator a
complete list of the chemical constituents used in the hydraulic
fracturing fluid and each chemical's associated chemical
abstract service Chemical Abstracts Service
(CAS) numbers, for the purposes of accurately and completely
maintaining the well's log, history, and core record, and ensuring
compliance with the disclosure requirements of this article.
(c) A person carrying out hydraulic fracturing on behalf of an
owner or operator at a well shall provide to that owner or operator
the amount and disposition of water and hydraulic fracturing fluid
recovered from each well prior to the reporting of the water produced
pursuant to Section 3227, for the purposes of accurately and
completely maintaining the well's log, history, and core record, and
ensuring compliance with the disclosure requirements of this article.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. Section 3213 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
3213. (a) The history of the drilling of the well shall show all
of the following:
(1) 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.
(2) The amount and source of water used in the exploration of or
production from the well, which shall be updated annually.
(3) Any radiological components or tracers injected into the well
and a description of the recovery method, if any, for those
components or tracers, the recovery rate, and the disposal method for
recovered components or tracers.
(b) If hydraulic fracturing was used at the well, the history of
the drilling of the well shall also include a complete list
of the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing. This list shall
include the names of all of the chemicals used and their chemical
abstract service (CAS) numbers. both of the following:
(1) A complete list of the chemicals used in the hydraulic
fracturing. This list shall include the names of all of the chemicals
used and their Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) numbers.
(2) The amount and disposition of water and hydraulic fracturing
fluid recovered from each well prior to the reporting of the water
produced pursuant to Section 3227.
SEC. 4. SEC. 5. Section 3215 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
3215. (a) Within 60 days after the date of cessation of drilling,
rework, hydraulic fracturing, or abandonment operations,
or the date of suspension of operations, the owner or operator shall
file with the district deputy, in the form approved by the
supervisor, true copies of the log, core record, and history of work
performed, and, if made, true and reproducible copies of all
electrical, physical, or chemical logs, tests, or surveys. Upon a
showing of hardship, the supervisor may extend the time within which
to comply with this section for a period not to exceed 60 additional
days.
(b) The owner or operator shall also submit to the supervisor
information provided in the history pursuant to paragraph
(1) of subdivision (b) of Section 3213 and the supervisor
shall add this information to existing Internet maps on the division'
s Internet Web site, and make the information available to the public
in such a way that the list of chemicals is associated with each
specific well where those chemicals were injected.
(c) On or before January 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, the
supervisor shall prepare and transmit to the Legislature a
comprehensive report on hydraulic fracturing in the exploration and
production of oil and gas resources in California using the data
provided pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 3213. The report also
shall include relevant additional information, as necessary,
including, but not limited to, the disposition of water used in the
process.
(d) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.