Amended in Senate April 21, 2015

Amended in Senate April 6, 2015

Senate Bill No. 454

Introduced by Senator Allen

February 25, 2015

An act to add Section 3113 to the Public Resources Code, relating to water quality.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 454, as amended, Allen. Water quality: oil and gas: exempt aquifer.

Existing federal law prohibits certain oil and gas well activities that affect underground sources of drinking water unless those sources are located in an exempt aquifer. Existing federal law authorizes a state delegated with the responsibility of regulating certain wells to propose that an aquifer or a portion of an aquifer be an exempt aquifer and authorizes the United States Environmental Protection Agency to approve the proposal if the aquifer or a portion of the aquifer meets certain criteria. Under existing federal law, the authority to regulate those wells in California is delegated to the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation.

This bill would prohibit the division from submitting a proposal for an aquifer exemption to the United States Environmental Protection Agency unless the division and the State Water Resources Control Board concur in writing that the aquifer meets specified conditions.

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.  

Section 3113 is added to the Public Resources
Code, to read:

3113.  

The division shall not submit a proposal for an aquifer
exemption to the United States Environmental Protection Agency
under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300f
et seq.) and regulations implementing that act unless the division
and the State Water Resources Control Board concur in writing
that the aquifer meets either of the following conditions:

(a) The division determines that the aquifer is hydrocarbon
bearing, as described in Section 146.4(b)(1) of Title 40 of the Code
of Federal Regulations, and begin delete either end delete begin insert both end insert of the following additional
determinations begin delete is end delete begin insert are end insert made:

(1) The division and the State Water Resources Control Board
determine that the intended injection zone is geologically and
hydrogeologically isolated from any begin insert other end insert zone containing waters
that may have a beneficial use.

(2) The State Water Resources Control Board determines begin insert either
that the intended injection zone does not contain waters with
potential beneficial uses or end insert that the intended injection zone contains
waters with potential beneficial uses and the fluids to be injected
into the zone will not impact those beneficial uses.

(b) The division begin delete determines end delete begin insert and the State Water Resources
Control Board concur end insert that the aquifer is nonhydrocarbon bearing
and the aquifer meets all of the following conditions:

(1) The aquifer meets the criteria in Section 146.4(a) to (c),
inclusive, of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(2) The total dissolved solids content of the water in the aquifer
is greater than 3,000 milligrams per liter.

(3) The begin delete division and the State Water Resources Control Board
determine that the end delete intended injection zone is geologically and
hydrogeologically isolated from any begin insert other end insert zone containing waters
that may have a beneficial use.

(4) The State Water Resources Control Board determines in
writing to the division and posts on the board’s Internet Web site
in a public and readily accessible location that the injection of
fluids into the aquifer would not contaminate a source of water
that currently has, or could in the future have, a beneficial begin delete use,
subject to the following: end delete begin insert use. end insert

begin delete

(A) For an aquifer situated at a depth or location that makes
recovery of the water currently technologically impractical or an
aquifer that is so contaminated that it would be economically or
technologically impractical to render that water fit for human
consumption or other beneficial use, the board shall consider and
make a written determination regarding the potential for future
technology to make the aquifer viable as a water source.

(B) The board shall consider and make a written determination
regarding the state’s need to identify and develop new sources of
water and how that need might affect the viability of a currently
contaminated aquifer.

end delete

(5) If the aquifer contains water that is currently or potentially
limited in its beneficial use due to existing contamination, the State
Water Resources Control Board determines that the injection of
fluids into the aquifer would not impair the limited current or
potential beneficial use of the waters.