Amended in Assembly May 5, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1490


Introduced by Assembly Member Rendon

February 27, 2015


An act to add Sections 3162 and 3163 to the Public Resources Code, relating to oil and gas.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1490, as amended, Rendon. Oil and gas: well stimulation treatments: seismic activities.

Existing law requires the State Oil and Gas Supervisor to regulate oil and gas wells and tanks and facilities attendant to oil and gas production. Existing law requires the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources to adopt regulations governing the use of well stimulation treatments, including hydraulic fracturing. Under existing regulations, after the occurrence of an earthquake of magnitude 2.7 or higher, a well operator is prohibited from performing hydraulic fracturing on a well within a specified radius until the division completes certain evaluations and is satisfied that hydraulic fracturing within that radius does not create a heightened risk of seismic activity. Under existing law, a violation of requirements relating to oil and gas wells is a crime.

This bill would prohibit a well operator from conducting a well stimulation treatment following the occurrence of an earthquake of magnitudebegin delete 2.0end deletebegin insert 2.5end insert or higher on a well that is within a radius ofbegin delete an unspecified distanceend deletebegin insert 10 milesend insert from the epicenter of the earthquake until the division completes a certain evaluation and is satisfied that the well stimulation treatment does not create a heightened risk of seismic activity. The bill would also prohibit wastewater disposal wells and all well stimulation treatments within 10 miles of a recently active fault, as defined. Because a violation of these prohibitions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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.

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

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

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

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SECTION 1.  

Section 3162 is added to the Public Resources
2Code
, to read:

3

3162.  

A well operator shall not conduct a well stimulation
4treatment following an occurrence of an earthquake of magnitude
5begin delete 2.0end deletebegin insert 2.5end insert or higher, as determined by the United States Geological
6Survey, on a well that is within a radius ofbegin delete ____end deletebegin insert 10 milesend insert from the
7epicenter of the earthquake, as determined by the United States
8Geological Survey, until the division completes an evaluation on
9whether there is a causal connection between the well stimulation
10treatment and the earthquake and is satisfied that the well
11stimulation treatment does not create a heightened risk of seismic
12activity.

13

SEC. 2.  

Section 3163 is added to the Public Resources Code,
14to read:

15

3163.  

(a) Notwithstanding Sections 3160 and 3161, or any
16other law, wastewater disposal wells and all well stimulation
17treatments, including hydraulic fracturing, within 10 miles of a
18recently active fault are prohibited in this state.

19(b) For purposes of this section, “recently active fault” means
20a fault that has been active in the past 200 years.

21

SEC. 3.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
22Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
23the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
24district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
25infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
26for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
27the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
P3    1the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
2Constitution.



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