Amended in Assembly May 24, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 17, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 1, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 669

Introduced by Assembly begin delete Member Stone end delete begin insert Members Stone and Williams end insert

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(Coauthor: Assembly Member Williams)

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February 21, 2013

An act to amend Sections 3108, 3203, and 3227 of begin insert , and to add Sections 3017, 3203.1, 3203.2, and 3203.3 to, end insert the Public Resources Code, relating to oil and gas.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 669, as amended, Stone. Oil and gas: drilling.

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 further requires a person who acquires the right to operate a well or production facility, whether by purchase, transfer, assignment, conveyance, exchange, or other disposition, to meet specific requirements before drilling operations.

This bill would additionally require the operator prior to drilling, redrilling, or deepening operations to submit proof to the supervisor that the applicable regional water quality control board has approved the disposal method and location of wastewater disposal for the well.

Existing law requires the supervisor, on or before the first day of October of each year, to make public a report on specified information. Existing law requires an operator of a well, on or before the end of each month, to file with the supervisor a statement for the last preceding calendar month detailing specified information.

This bill would additionally require the supervisor to include information on the origin and total amount of freshwater used in each county for the production of oil and gas production, the disposal of wastewater from oil and gas production in each county, and the well casing failures in each county. The bill would additionally require the operator of a well to include in the statement information on the origin and total amount of freshwater used in each well or in each oil field if the operator has multiple wells within the oil field, and the disposal of wastewater. begin insert Because a violation of this requirement is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. end insert

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This bill would require the operator of a well, at least 30 days prior to commencing a hydraulic fracturing treatment, as defined, to provide a copy of the approved hydraulic fracturing treatment permit to specified surface property owners. The bill would authorize those property owners to request the applicable regional water quality control board to perform water quality sampling and testing on any water well suitable for drinking or irrigation purposes, as specified. The bill would require a notice of intent to drill, rework, or deepen a well where hydraulic fracturing will occur to include specified information. The bill would require, as a part of a notice of intent to drill, rework, or deepen a well where hydraulic fracturing will occur, the operation of a well to provide to the appropriate water quality control board a groundwater monitoring plan containing specified information for approval under specified circumstances. Because a violation of these requirements is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert .

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

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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

begin insert 3017. end insert   

“Hydraulic fracturing” means the injection of fluids or
gases into an underground geologic formation with the intention
to cause or enhance fractures in the 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.”

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begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 3108 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:

3108.  

(a) On or before the first day of October of each year
the supervisor shall make public, for the benefit of all interested
persons, a report in writing showing:

(1) The total amounts of oil and gas produced in each county
in the state during the previous calendar year.

(2) The total cost of the division for the previous fiscal year.

(3) The total amount delinquent and uncollected from any
assessments or charges levied pursuant to this chapter.

(4) The origin and total amount of freshwater used in each
county for oil and gas production during the previous calendar
year.

(5) The surface and underground destinations and total amount
of disposed wastewater from oil and gas production in each county
during the previous calendar year.

(6) The total number of well casing failures in each county, the
exact location of these wells, the reason for the failures, and at
what point the failures occurred, such as during well completion,
well stimulation, or well production, during the previous calendar
year.

(b) The report shall also include other information as the
supervisor deems advisable.

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

Section 3203 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:

3203.  

(a) The operator of a 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 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 has failed 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 has failed 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 to pay any charges assessed under Article 7
(commencing with Section 3400), the supervisor may deny
approval to 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).

(d) Prior to the approval of the commencement of any drilling,
redrilling, or deepening of a well, the operator shall submit written
proof to the supervisor that begin insert a waste discharge report has been filed
with end insert the applicable regional water quality control board begin delete has
approved end delete begin insert pursuant to Section 13260 of the Water Code for end insert the
disposal begin delete method and location end delete of the wastewater for the well.

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begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

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

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begin insert 3203.1. end insert   

(a) At least 30 days prior to commencing a hydraulic
fracturing treatment, the operator shall provide a copy of the
approved hydraulic fracturing treatment permit to every surface
property owner or authorized agent of the owner whose property
line location is either of the following:

(1) Within a 1,500 foot radius of the wellhead.

(2) Within 500 feet from the horizontal projection of all
subsurface portions of the designated well to the surface.

(b) The operator shall provide the division with a list of entities
and property owners notified pursuant to subdivision (a).

(c) (1) A property owner notified pursuant to subdivision (a)
may request the applicable regional water quality control board
to perform water quality sampling and testing on any water well
suitable for drinking or irrigation purposes and on any surface
water suitable for drinking or irrigation purposes as follows:

(A) Baseline measurements prior to the commencement of the
hydraulic fracturing treatment.

(B) Followup measurements after the hydraulic fracturing
treatment on the same schedule as the pressure testing of the well
casing of the hydraulically fractured well.

(2) The regional water quality control board may contract with
an independent third party that adheres to board-specified
standards and protocols to perform the water sampling and testing.

(3) The regional water quality control board shall retain and
archive sufficient samples collected pursuant to this subdivision
to permit a reasonable number of additional analyses.

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begin insert

begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

end insert

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

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begin insert 3203.2. end insert   

A 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 water to be used.

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begin insert

begin insert SEC. 6. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 3203.3 is added to the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

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begin insert 3203.3. end insert   

(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 approval or
denial by 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 that 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 that has the
potential to contaminate groundwater.

(b) The operator shall submit electronically the water quality
monitoring data to the State Water Resources Control Board’s
geotracker database and any public data registry identified by the
division for disclosure of hydraulic fracturing data.

(c) This section does 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.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete
begin insert SEC. 7. end insert   

Section 3227 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:

3227.  

(a) The owner of a well shall file with the supervisor,
on or before the last day of each month, for the last preceding
calendar month, a statement, in the form designated by the
supervisor, showing all of the following:

(1) The amount of oil and gas produced from each well during
the period indicated, together with the gravity of the oil, the amount
of water produced from each well, estimated in accordance with
methods approved by the supervisor, and the number of days during
which fluid was produced from each well.

(2) The number of wells drilling, producing, injecting, or idle,
that are owned or operated by the person.

(3) What disposition was made of the gas produced from each
field, including the names of persons, if any, to whom the gas was
delivered, and any other information regarding the gas and its
disposition that the supervisor may require.

(4) The amount of fluid or gas injected into each well used for
enhanced recovery, underground storage of hydrocarbons, and any
other information regarding those wells that the supervisor may
require.

(5) The total amount of wastewater generated per well, the
amount of wastewater disposed per disposition type, and the
location of each disposition site.

(6) The origin and total amount of freshwater used in each well
or in each oil field if the operator has multiple wells within the oil
field.

(b) An operator that produces oil by the application of mining
or other unconventional techniques shall file a report with the
supervisor, on or before March 1 of each year, showing the amount
of oil produced by those techniques in the preceding calendar year.

(c) Upon request and making a satisfactory showing therefor,
a longer filing period may be established by the supervisor for any
particular owner or operator.

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begin insert SEC. 8. end insert   

end insert begin insert

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.

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