BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 7
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 15, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 7 (Wieckowski) - As Amended: April 8, 2013
SUBJECT : Oil and gas: hydraulic fracturing.
SUMMARY : (1) Requires the owner or operator of well for which
hydraulic fracturing is utilized to provide the Division of Oil,
Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) information related to the
hydraulic fracturing; and (2) requires DOGGR, to the extent that
the information is not a trade secret, to make the information
available to the public.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates DOGGR within the Department of Conservation.
2)Requires DOGGR to do all of the following:
a) Supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and
abandonment of wells and the operation, maintenance, and
removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities attendant to
oil and gas production, including certain pipelines that
are within an oil and gas field, so as to prevent, as far
as possible, damage to life, health, property, and natural
resources; damage to underground oil and gas deposits from
infiltrating water and other causes; loss of oil, gas, or
reservoir energy, and damage to underground and surface
waters suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes by the
infiltration of, or the addition of, detrimental
substances.
b) Supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and
abandonment of wells so as to permit the owners or
operators of the wells to utilize all methods and practices
known to the oil industry for the purpose of increasing the
ultimate recovery of underground hydrocarbons and which, in
the opinion of DOGGR, are suitable for this purpose in each
proposed case.
3)Declares as a policy of the state that to further the
elimination of waste by increasing the recovery of underground
hydrocarbons, a lease or contract for the exploration and
AB 7
Page 2
extraction of hydrocarbons is deemed to allow, unless
otherwise stated, the lessee or contractor to do what a
prudent operator using reasonable diligence would do, having
in mind the best interests of the lessor, lessee, and the
state in producing and removing hydrocarbons, including, but
not limited to, the injection of air, gas, water, or other
fluids into the productive strata, the application of pressure
heat or other means for the reduction of viscosity of the
hydrocarbons, the supplying of additional motive force, or the
creating of enlarged or new channels for the underground
movement of hydrocarbons into production wells, when these
methods or processes employed have been approved by DOGGR.
4)To best meet oil and gas needs in this state, requires DOGGR
to administer its authority so as to encourage the wise
development of oil and gas resources.
5)Requires the operator of any well, before commencing the work
of drilling the well, to file with DOGGR a written notice of
intention to commence drilling. Drilling shall not commence
until approval is given by DOGGR. If DOGGR 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.
THIS BILL :
1)Defines "Chemical Abstracts Service" as the division of the
American Chemical Society that is the globally recognized
authority for information on chemical substances.
2)Defines "Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number" as the
unique identification number assigned to a chemical by the
Chemical Abstracts Service.
3)Defines "hydraulic fracturing" as a well stimulation treatment
that may include the application of hydraulic fracturing
fluids into an underground geologic formation in order to
create fractures in the formation, thereby causing or
improving the production of oil or gas from a well.
4)Explains that "hydraulic fracturing fluid" includes water or
other carrier fluids that may be mixed with physical and
chemical additives for the purpose of hydraulic fracturing.
The additives may, but are not required to, serve additional
AB 7
Page 3
purposes beyond the transmission of hydraulic pressure to the
geologic formation. Additives may be of any phase and may
include proppants.
5)Defines "proppants" as materials inserted or injected into the
formation that are intended to prevent newly created or
enhanced fractures from closing.
6)Defines "supplier" as an entity performing hydraulic
fracturing or a person supplying an additive or proppant
directly to the operator for use in hydraulic fracturing a
well.
7)If hydraulic fracturing is performed on a well, requires the
owner or operator of the well to provide to DOGGR, or to
arrange with the supplier to provide to DOGGR, and to include
in the well history, all of the following information, except
for information claimed as a trade secret (as described
below):
a) A complete list of the chemical constituents formulated
for use in the hydraulic fracturing fluid that is injected
into the well and each chemical's associated CAS number.
Where the CAS number does not exist, the operator or
supplier may provide another unique identifier where
available;
b) The purpose of each additive contained in the hydraulic
fracturing fluid;
c) The estimated total amount of the additives in the
hydraulic fracturing fluid;
d) The estimated maximum concentration of each chemical
constituent in the additive as disclosed on a material
safety data sheet in the hydraulic fracturing fluid
expressed as a percentage by mass;
e) The estimated maximum concentration of each chemical
constituent disclosed on a material safety data sheet in
the hydraulic fracturing fluid, expressed as a percentage
by mass;
f) The amount and source of any water suitable for
irrigation or domestic purposes used to conduct the
AB 7
Page 4
hydraulic fracturing treatment of the well;
g) The amount and disposition of water and hydraulic
fracturing fluid recovered from each well where hydraulic
fracturing occurred prior to the reporting of the water
produced; and
h) Any radiological components or tracers injected into the
well as part of the hydraulic fracturing process 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.
8)Authorizes the owner or operator of a well to request in
writing that the hydraulic fracturing information required by
this bill be considered confidential information pursuant to
the laws that allow exploratory well records to be
confidential.
9)Until January 1, 2017, authorizes the owner or operator of a
well to request in writing that the hydraulic fracturing
information required by this bill be considered confidential
for nonexploratory wells where hydraulic fracturing is used to
complete or rework a well.
10)Authorizes the owner, operator, or supplier who provides
information to DOGGR in accordance with this bill may, at the
time of submission, submit to DOGGR a claim in writing that
some or all of the information is protected trade secret
information as defined in the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Title
5 (commencing with Section 3426) of Part 1 of Division 4 of
the Civil Code).
11)Requires the written trade secret claim submitted to DOGGR
state the reasons for the trade secret information and provide
specific supporting documentation.
12)Requires the owner, operator, or supplier who provides
information to DOGGR and who claims trade secret protection to
submit two versions of the information required by the bill.
The first version shall be labeled "Confidential Information -
Do Not Disclose" and shall include all the information
required pursuant to the bill. The second version shall be
labeled "Public Information - This Information shall be
Disclosed to the Public," provide an explanation of the basis
AB 7
Page 5
for the claim of trade secrecy, and include all of the
information required under the bill, except that the specific
name of any constituent that is claimed as trade secret
information shall be replaced with the chemical family
associated with the trade secret constituent, the
corresponding CAS number shall be replaced with the phrase
"Trade Secret Information," and all other trade secret
information shall be redacted.
13)Requires the information contained in the "Public
Information" version of the hydraulic fracturing information
to be made available to the public on fracfocus.org or upon
request by a member of the public.
14)Requires DOGGR to keep the "Confidential Information" version
of the hydraulic fracturing information confidential until the
person claiming trade secret protection waives its claim or
the claim of trade secret protection is determined to be
invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction.
15)If the person claiming trade secret protection is a supplier,
requires the supplier to only provide the well owner or
operator with the Confidential Information" version of the
hydraulic information so the owner or operator may include the
information required in the history of the drilling of the
well.
16)Authorizes DOGGR upon its own initiative, to determine
whether any or all of the information claimed as a trade
secret pursuant has been properly claimed as trade secret
information. If DOGGR determines that the information is not
trade secret, DOGGR shall provide written notification of the
determination to the person who furnished the information
within 45 days. The written notification shall be sent by
certified mail.
17)Upon receipt of a request for public information, requires
DOGGR to determine whether any or all of the information
claimed as a trade secret has been properly claimed as trade
secret information. If DOGGR determines that the information
is not trade secret, the DOGGR shall provide written
notification of the determination to the person who furnished
the information within 45 days. The written notification shall
be sent by certified mail.
AB 7
Page 6
18)Requires the person who provided the trade secret information
to have 30 days from the date of receipt of a written
notification of the determination by DOGGR that the
information is not trade secret to provide additional written
justification of the grounds on which trade secret protection
is claimed. The additional written justification shall be
submitted by certified mail. The additional written
justification is not a public record, and shall be disclosed
by DOGGR only to state employees with a clear need to know the
information to reassess the trade secrecy determination.
19)Requires DOGGR to make a final determination on whether the
additional written justification satisfies a claim for trade
secret protection within 45 days of the date of receipt of the
additional written justification. If DOGGR makes a final
determination that the information is not protected as a trade
secret, DOGGR, within 45 days, shall send a copy of the final
determination to the person who provided the additional
written justification, specifying a date, not sooner than 30
days from the date of the mailing of the final determination,
when the information claimed to be trade secret information
shall be made available to the public. The notice of the final
determination shall be sent by certified mail.
20)If DOGGR makes a final determination that the information is
protected as a trade secret, requires DOGGR, within 45 days,
to send a copy of the final determination, including
information stating that the determination may be challenged
in court, to the person who provided the additional written
justification and to any person who requested the information.
The notice of the final determination shall be sent by
certified mail.
21)Requires a person claiming trade secret protection to be
deemed to have waived his or her claim for trade secret
protection if, on the date when the final notice states that
the information shall be made available to the public, he or
she has not filed an action in a court of competent
jurisdiction for a declaratory judgment or injunction
prohibiting disclosure of the information by DOGGR after a
final determination.
22)Authorizes a person claiming trade secret protection to, at
any time, waive a claim of trade secret protection by
submitting a voluntary waiver of the claim to DOGGR in
AB 7
Page 7
writing.
23)Authorizes DOGGR to disclose information claimed as trade
secret information to an officer or employee of the county,
city, state, or federal government who has a clear need for
the trade secret information for an enforcement action or
emergency response. The information provided shall be clearly
labeled as "Confidential trade secret information." An
officer or employee who receives the information shall
maintain the confidentiality of the information and shall
destroy all copies received once the need for the information
has ended.
24)States that nothing in this bill is intended to change or
supersede the disclosure of information pursuant to the
California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 (Part 1
(commencing with Section 6300), Division 5, Labor Code), the
requirements of Article 1 (commencing with Section 25500) of
Chapter 6.95 concerning hazardous material release response
plans and inventories, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality
Control Act (Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000), Water
Code), or any other state or federal act allowing the
disclosure of chemical information.
25)Within 60 days after the date of cessation of hydraulic
fracturing, requires the owner or operator to file with DOGGR
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. Upon a showing
of hardship, DOGGR may extend the time within which to comply
with this reporting requirement for a period not to exceed 60
additional days.
26)Requires DOGGR to post the hydraulic information provided
pursuant to this bill and that is not claimed as a trade
secret to existing Internet maps on the division's Internet
Web site, and shall make that information available to the
public in a way that the information is associated with each
specific well where chemicals are injected for purposes of
hydraulic fracturing.
27)For purposes of complying with the posting requirements in
this bill, authorizes DOGGR to use an existing public Internet
Web site administered by the Ground Water Protection Council
or the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (i.e.
AB 7
Page 8
fracfocus.org) if both of the following are met: (1)the
information is transmitted and posted to the public Internet
Web site in a form and manner approved by DOGGR and includes
the information required by this bill, except for trade secret
information; and (2) there is an electronic link from the
wells represented on DOGGRs existing internet maps that allows
members of the public to view the information about specific
wells based on their location.
28)On or before January 1, 2014, and annually thereafter,
requires DOGGR to prepare and transmit to the Legislature a
comprehensive report regarding hydraulic fracturing in oil and
gas exploration and production in California, using the
information provided pursuant to this bill. Where the
information involves trade secret protection, DOGGR shall only
use information that is not confidential to complete the
report. The report shall additionally include, but is not
limited to, the following relevant information: (1) the
disposition of water used in the treatments; and (2)
aggregated data detailing the volumes of each chemical used in
hydraulic fracturing treatments in the state, in each county,
and by each company, during the preceding year. The
requirement for submitting this report is inoperative seven
years after the date the first report is due.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Background on Hydraulic Fracturing. According to the Western
States Petroleum Association (WSPA), hydraulic fracturing
(a.k.a. fracking) is one energy production technique used to
obtain oil and natural gas in areas where those energy
supplies are trapped in rock (i.e. shale) or sand formations.
Once an oil or natural gas well is drilled and properly lined
with steel casing, fluids are pumped down to an isolated
portion of the well at pressures high enough to cause cracks
in shale formations below the earth's surface. These cracks
or fractures allow oil and natural gas to flow more freely.
Often, a propping agent such as sand is pumped into the well
to keep fractures open.
In many instances, the fluids used in hydraulic fracturing are
water-based. There are some formations, however, that are not
fractured effectively by water-based fluids because clay or
AB 7
Page 9
other substances in the rock absorb water. For these
formations, complex mixtures with a multitude of chemical
additives may be used to thicken or thin the fluids, improve
the flow of the fluid, or even kill bacteria that can reduce
fracturing performance.
In 2005, Congress enacted what is colloquially referred to as
the "Halliburton Loophole," which exempts hydraulic fracturing
(except when involving the injection of diesel fuels) from the
federal Safe Drinking Water Act. As a result of this action,
the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) lacks the
authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing activities that do
not use diesel fuel as an additive.
Around the same time that Congress exempted hydraulic
fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act, the country
experienced a boom in the production of shale oil and gas.
From 2007 to 2011, shale oil production increased more than
fivefold, from about 39 million barrels to about 217 million
barrels, and shale gas production increased approximately
fourfold, from 1.6 trillion cubic feet to 7.2 trillion cubic
feet. This increase in production was driven primarily by
technological advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic
fracturing that made more shale oil and gas development
economically viable.
But with this boom comes various issues with regard to
environmental health and safety, which has caused enormous
public anxiety. Cases of environmental contamination
attributed to hydraulic fracturing have been reported in
Wyoming, Texas, Colorado, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
Consequently, governments at all levels across the country are
looking to regulate the practice and address these concerns.
2)What are the environmental risks associated with hydraulic
fracturing? According to a recent report from the US
Government Accountability Office (GAO), which is a
independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress,
"[d]eveloping oil and gas resources?poses inherent
environmental and public health risks, but the extent of risks
associated with shale oil and gas development is unknown, in
part, because the studies we reviewed do not generally take
into account potential long-term, cumulative effects." The
GAO's report categorizes the environmental risks into the
following categories: air quality, water quantity, water
AB 7
Page 10
quality, and land and wildlife.
With regard to air quality, the risks are "generally the
result of engine exhaust from increased truck traffic,
emissions from diesel-powered pumps used to power equipment,
intentional flaring or venting of gas for operational reasons,
and unintentional emissions of pollutants from faulty
equipment." The GAO report also explains how silica sand, a
proppant commonly used in hydraulic fracturing, and storing
fracturing fluids and produced waters in impoundments can
cause air quality issues. Silica sand, if not properly
handled, can become airborne, lodge into a person's lungs, and
cause silicosis, which is an incurable lung disease.
Impoundments (i.e. ponds) containing fracturing fluids and
produced waters (i.e. the water produced when oil and gas are
extracted from the ground) pose a risk because the evaporation
of the fluids has the potential to release contaminants into
the atmosphere.
With regard to water quantity, water is used for well drilling
operations to make drilling mud as well as to cool and
lubricate the drill bits. Water is also the primary component
of hydraulic fracturing fluids. According to the GAO, "the
amount of water used for shale gas development is small in
comparison to other water uses, such as agriculture and other
industrial purposes. However, the cumulative effects of using
surface water or ground water at multiple oil and gas
development sites can be significant at the local level,
particularly in areas experiencing drought conditions." It
should be noted that the oil and gas industry and DOGGR both
assert that the amount of water used for hydraulic fracturing
in California is a fraction of what is used in other states.
This assertion is based on information voluntarily provided by
oil and gas operators. It is not clear whether this
information is representative of all hydraulic fracturing in
the state. Additionally, with the potential for a hydraulic
fracturing boom in the Monterey Shale (which is explained in
more detail below), it would be too speculative to determine
the type and amount of hydraulic fracturing that will take
place in the future and how much water will be needed.
With regard to water quality, the GAO explains that shale oil
and gas development pose risks from contamination of surface
water and ground water as a result of spills and releases of
hydraulic fracturing chemicals, produced water, and drill
AB 7
Page 11
cuttings. Spills and releases of these materials can occur as
a result of tank ruptures, blowouts, equipment or impoundment
failures, overfills, vandalism, accidents, ground fires, or
operational errors.
The potential for the spill and release of chemicals involved
in hydraulic fracturing has received a great amount of public
attention. According to a recent congressional report,
between 2005 and 2009, oil and gas companies throughout the
United States used hydraulic fracturing products containing 29
chemicals that are (1) known or possible human carcinogens,
(2) regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act for their risk
to human health, or (3) listed as hazardous air pollutants
under the Clean Air Act. As for produced water, it can carry
a range of contaminants, including hydraulic fracturing
chemicals, salts, metals, oil, grease, dissolved organics, and
naturally occurring radioactive materials. Drill cuttings
(i.e. the broken bits of solid material removed from drilling)
may contain naturally occurring radioactive materials.
The potential for underground migration is also a potential
risk to water quality. The GAO explains that "[u]nderground
migration can occur as a result of improper casing and
cementing of the wellbore as well as the intersection of
induced fractures with natural fractures, faults, or
improperly plugged dry or abandoned wells. Moreover, there
are concerns that induced fractures can grow over time and
intersect with drinking water aquifers." It should be noted
that the oil and gas industry has provided information
claiming that hydraulic fracturing typically occurs thousands
of feet below the earth's surface and that the well casing for
these wells extends below an impervious layer of rock "that
would prevent any migration of fluids up into the drinking
water supply." Assuming that the industry is correct, there
is still the problem with well casing failures. A 2000
Society of Petroleum Engineers article regarding an oil field
in Kern County explained that "the well failure rate, although
lower than that experienced in the 1980s, is still
economically significant at 2 to 6% of active wells per year."
In Pennsylvania, poor cementing around a well casing allowed
methane to contaminate the water wells of 19 families.
Morever, little data exists on (1) fracture growth in shale
formations following multistage hydraulic fracturing over an
extended time period, (2) the frequency with which
refracturing of horizontal wells may occur, (3) the effect of
AB 7
Page 12
refracturing on fracture growth over time, and (4) the
likelihood of adverse effects on drinking water aquifers from
a large number of hydraulically fractured wells in close
proximity to each other.
With regard to land and wildlife, the GAO explains that
"clearing land of vegetation and leveling the site to allow
access to the resource, as well as construction of roads,
pipelines, storage tanks, and other infrastructure needed to
extract and transport the resource can fragment
habitats?[which] increases disturbances?, provides pathways
for predators, and helps spread nonnative plant species."
Noise, the presence of new infrastructure, and spills of oil,
gas, or other toxic chemicals are other risks that can
negatively affect wildlife and habitat.
There is also the issue of earthquakes and hydraulic
fracturing. According to the GAO report, well injections,
especially the injection of produced water, have been
connected to seismicity.
Ideally, the environmental risks referenced above would be
analyzed by the lead agency under the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA). However, according to the complaint in a
recent lawsuit filed against DOGGR by a number of
environmental groups, the agency has been "approving permits
for oil and gas wells after exempting such projects from
environmental review or? issuing boilerplate negative
declarations finding no significant impacts from these
activities."
3)Hydraulic Fracturing in California. According to the oil and
gas industry, hydraulic fracturing has been used in California
for decades. The industry claims that over 90% of hydraulic
fracturing occurs in Kern County, in areas with no potable
water, no surrounding population, and no other significant
business interests. However, reports from various sources
suggest that hydraulic fracturing in California will likely
increase significantly in the upcoming years, spreading to
areas throughout the state.
A recent report from the University of Southern California
(USC) explains that "California boasts perhaps the largest
deep-shale reserves in the world. Those reserves exist within
the Monterey Shale Formation, a 1,750 square mile swath of
AB 7
Page 13
mostly underground shale rock that runs lengthwise through the
center of the state, with the major portion in the San Joaquin
Basin." The US Energy Department estimates that the Monterey
Shale contains more than 15 billion barrels of oil, accounting
for approximately two-thirds of the shale-oil reserve in the
United States. Additionally, according to a 2008 paper
published by the Society of Petroleum Engineers, "it is
believed that hydraulic fracturing has a significant potential
in many Northern California gas reservoirs."
DOGGR, although having statutory authority to regulate
hydraulic fracturing, has not yet developed regulations to
address the activity. As explained below, the agency is
currently focused on developing regulations that require oil
and gas operators to take certain protective measure and
provide information about hydraulic fracturing operations.
Additionally, as referenced above, DOGGR may not be conducting
adequate environmental review through the CEQA process to
determine if there are significant impacts of hydraulic
fracturing.
4)DOGGR's Draft Regulations. On December 28, 2012, DOGGR
released a pre-rulemaking discussion draft of regulations on
hydraulic fracturing. The proposed regulations attempt to
impose requirements on operators aimed to improve transparency
and safety. Specifically, the proposed regulations would
require an operator to: (1) submit information to DOGGR at
least 10 days prior to beginning hydraulic fracturing
operations and notify DOGGR at least 24 hours prior to
commencing hydraulic fracturing operations (advance disclosure
of hydraulic fracturing chemicals is not required); (2) prior
to operations, test the structural integrity of wells and
casings to prevent fluid migration; (3) store and handle
hydraulic fracturing fluids in a specified manner; (4) monitor
a specified set of parameters during hydraulic fracturing
operations and, in case a breach occurs, terminate operations
and immediately notify DOGGR about the breach; (5) after the
conclusion of operations, monitor wells for up to 30 days and
maintain data for a period of 5 years; and (6) disclose data
to a Chemical Disclosure Registry (such as FracFocus.org) that
is not a trade secret, unless a health professional submits a
written statement of need stating that the trade secret
information will be used for diagnosis or treatment of an
individual exposed to hazardous hydraulic fracturing chemicals
and the health professional also executes a confidentiality
AB 7
Page 14
agreement.
These proposed regulations will be vetted through a year-long
formal rulemaking process beginning the summer or fall of
2013. In the meantime, DOGGR has conducted a public workshop
in Los Angeles and Sacramento about the proposed regulations,
with more planned in California cities like Bakersfield and
Santa Maria through July 2013.
5)Should the state require advance notice? This bill does not
require disclosure prior to the actual hydraulic fracturing
operations. As such, DOGGR will not know what chemicals are
injected into the ground until the chemicals (or at least some
of the chemical) are irretrievably released into the
environment. Some states, such as Arkansas, Wyoming, West
Virginia, Indiana, and Montana, require some form of advance
disclosure of chemicals. At least some of these states
provide that if there are any changes to the hydraulic
fracturing plan after notice is given, the operator is
required to immediately notify the regulatory agency.
When the author's previous bill on this issue (AB 591) was
heard by this committee, it contained language that would have
required this advance disclosure. Specifically, AB 591
required "[a] complete list of the chemicals, if any, that
will be injected into the well for hydraulic fracturing or
other production enhancement methods in the exploration or
production process or processes." Additionally, the bill
stated that "[i]f any of the information required pursuant to
paragraph (1) changes over the course of the exploration and
production process, the operator shall immediately notify
[DOGGR]." The author and committee may wish to consider
amendments that incorporate the advanced notice provisions
contained in AB 591.
6)What do we expect DOGGR to do with the information? Should
the Legislature be content with DOGGR collecting hydraulic
fracturing information pursuant to this bill and reporting to
the Legislature once a year? Or should DOGGR be more
proactive and actually use the information to assess whether
certain hydraulic fracturing practices threaten the public and
environment? To best protect the public and environment, the
author and committee may wish to consider amendments that
require DOGGR to develop regulations by January 1, 2015 that
better regulate hydraulic fracturing operations. Such
AB 7
Page 15
regulations should require, among other things, a process to
review the chemicals proposed for use; a list restricting or
prohibiting the use of certain toxic chemicals; and
restrictions or prohibitions on hydraulic fracturing in areas
that are extremely vulnerable to the potential harms of
hydraulic fracturing.
7)Should DOGGR provide public disclosure on its own website?
This bill allows DOGGR to post the hydraulic fracturing
information it receives from a well owner or operator to
fracfocus.org, which is a public website administered by the
Ground Water Protection Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas
Compact Commission. Several states utilize this website for
their public disclosure requirements. One major problem with
fracfocus.org is that the disclosure information is in
individual PDF files, which makes it difficult to search and
aggregate data into spreadsheets. Another major problem is
with fracfocus.org's "terms and conditions of use" create
unreasonable restrictions for the collection and use of the
information posted on the website. Most noteworthy is the
restriction that states the following: "[e]xcept for a single
copy made for personal use only, you may not copy, reproduce,
modify, republish, upload, post, transmit, or distribute any
documents or information from this site in any form or by any
means without prior written permission from us or the specific
content provider, and you are solely responsible for obtaining
permission before reusing any copyrighted material that is
available on this site. Any unauthorized use of the materials
appearing on this site may violate copyright, trademark, and
other applicable laws and could result in criminal or civil
penalties."
The author and committee may wish to consider amendments that
require DOGGR to develop its own website by July 1, 2015 that
allows the public to search and aggregate hydraulic fracturing
data, as well as transfer the data to a commonly used
spreadsheet program. Additionally, the website should allow
the public to use the information freely, without any use
restrictions.
8)Report to the Legislature. This bill requires DOGGR to
provide a comprehensive annual report to the Legislature on
hydraulic fracturing using the data it collects as a result of
this bill. These reports will include other relevant
information, including information on the disposition of water
AB 7
Page 16
used and aggregated data detailing the volumes of each
chemical used. The author and committee may wish to consider
amendments that require the report to include other important
items of information, such as data on well failures and
spills.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092