BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 669
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 669 (Stone and Williams)
As Amended May 24, 2013
Majority vote
NATURAL RESOURCES 6-3 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Chesbro, Garcia, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Muratsuchi, Skinner, | |Bradford, |
| |Stone, Williams | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Hall, |
| | | |Ammiano, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Grove, Bigelow, Patterson |Nays:|Harkey, Bigelow, |
| | | |Donnelly, Linder, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires an oil and gas operator conducting hydraulic
fracturing to include water quality and quantity information to
the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) as
part of the permit process and provide 30 days' notice to
neighboring property owners prior to the commencement of
hydraulic fracturing. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires that prior to the approval of the commencement of any
drilling, redrilling, or deepening of a well, the well
operator submit written proof to DOGGR that a waste discharge
report has been filed with the applicable regional water
quality control board for the disposal of wastewater for the
well.
2)Requires, at least 30 days prior to commencing a hydraulic
fracturing treatment, the well operator to provide a copy of
the approved hydraulic fracturing treatment permit to every
surface property owner whose property line is located either
within a 1,500 foot radius of the wellhead or within 500 feet
from the horizontal projection. A property owner notified may
request the applicable regional water quality control board to
perform water sampling and testing on any well or surface
water suitable for drinking or irrigation. The sampling can
be for baseline measurements prior to the commencement of the
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hydraulic fracturing and for follow up measurements after the
hydraulic fracturing treatment.
3)Requires all of the following as part of the notice of intent
to drill, rework, or deepen a well where hydraulic fracturing
will occur:
a) A description of the estimated quantity of water planned
to be used in the hydraulic fracturing process;
b) Information on the source of water to be used; and
c) A groundwater monitoring plan for approval or denial of
the appropriate regional water quality control board.
4)Requires DOGGR to include in its annual public report
additional information related to freshwater used for oil and
gas production, disposed wastewater from oil and gas
production, and well casing failures.
5)For the monthly statements that an owner of an oil and gas
well files with DOGGR, requires the owner to include
additional information related to produced wastewater and
freshwater used for oil and gas production.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires DOGGR to 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.
2)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
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, increased costs to the State Water Resources Control
Board and regional boards in the $2-$3 million range for
one-time and ongoing evaluations, monitoring, tracking and
permitting.
Increased costs to DOGGR in the $400,000 to $500,000 range for
the first year; ongoing costs in the $700,000 to $800,000 range.
COMMENTS :
Background . Hydraulic fracturing (also known as 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
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.
Federal Exemption Followed by Fracking Increase . In 2005,
Congress exempted hydraulic fracturing (except when involving
the injection of diesel fuels) from the federal Safe Drinking
Water Act. As a result of this action, the United States (US)
Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) lacks the authority to
regulate hydraulic fracturing activities that do not use diesel
fuel as an additive. Since 2007, shale oil production has
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increased from about 39 barrels to 217 million barrels and shale
gas production increased from 1.6 trillion cubic feet to 7.2
trillion cubic feet.
Potential Environmental Risks . The United States Government
Accountability Office (GAO) categorizes the potential
environmental risks of fracking into the following categories:
a) air quality; b) water quality and quantity; c) land and
wildlife.
Air quality risks are generally a result of engine exhaust from
increased traffic and equipment emissions with a risk of
unintentional emissions of pollutants from faulty equipment.
Water Quality risks result from spills or releases of fracking
fluids from tank ruptures, or operational errors or underground
migration. Fracturing chemicals may contaminate surface or
groundwater under these conditions. Water is the primary
component of fracking fluids. The cumulative effects of using
surface water or groundwater should be regulated to prevent
significant local effects.
With regard to land and wildlife, the GAO raises concerns about
vegetation clearing, road construction, pipelines and storage
tanks, unintentional oil or toxic chemical spills and the
resulting impact on wildlife and habitat
DOGGRs Fracking Regulations . DOGGR has the statutory
responsibility to regulate fracking, but to date has not done
so. In December 2012, DOGGR released a pre-rulemaking
discussion draft of fracking regulations to help inform the next
regulatory draft.
Once released, the proposed regulations will be vetted through a
year-long formal rulemaking process. In the meantime, DOGGR is
conducting workshops throughout the state. Numerous groups are
concerned that fracking activity is continuing absent formally
adopted safeguards and regulations.
Others are concerned that DOGGR may not be conducting adequate
environmental review through the CEQA process to fully determine
significant environmental effects.
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Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0001006