BILL NUMBER: SB 886 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Pavley
(Principal coauthors: Senators De León and Huff)
(Coauthor: Senator Allen)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Wilk)
JANUARY 20, 2016
An act to add Section 3217 to the Public Resources Code, and to
add Section 713 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to natural
gas, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 886, as introduced, Pavley. Natural gas storage: moratorium.
(1) 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. Existing law requires the State Oil and Gas Supervisor to
supervise 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, so as to prevent damage to life, health, property, and
natural resources, as provided; to permit owners and operators of
wells to utilize all known methods and practices to increase the
ultimate recovery of hydrocarbons; and to perform the supervisor's
duties in a manner that encourages the wise development of oil and
gas resources to best meet oil and gas needs in this state. Under
existing law, a person who fails to comply with certain requirements
relating to the regulation of oil or gas operations is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
This bill would require the supervisor to immediately institute a
moratorium on injections of natural gas into any wells located within
and serving the Aliso Canyon storage facility located in the County
of Los Angeles until specified conditions are met. The bill would
also require the supervisor to prohibit the production of natural gas
by any well originally drilled earlier than 1954 at the Aliso Canyon
storage facility located in the County of Los Angeles until
specified conditions are met, except as specified. Because a
violation of these requirements would be a crime, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission is
authorized to supervise and regulate every public utility in the
state.
This bill would require the commission to determine the
feasibility of minimizing or eliminating use of the Aliso Canyon
natural gas storage facility located in the County of Los Angeles
while still maintaining energy reliability for the region, and to
consult with specified entities in making its determination.
(3) 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.
(4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 3217 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
3217. (a) The supervisor shall immediately institute a moratorium
on injections of natural gas into any wells located within and
serving the Aliso Canyon storage facility located in the County of
Los Angeles until all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The integrity of each well has been quantitatively and
objectively evaluated using state-of-art technology and the risks
posed by well failure have been evaluated.
(A) The age, history, and condition of each well shall be
specifically addressed, with particular emphasis on wells drilled
prior to 2006.
(B) The technical methods and equipment used to evaluate well
integrity and the risks posed by well failure shall be determined by
the supervisor with input from independent experts and the public
through a public process.
(2) Any well posing an enhanced risk of failure has been repaired
to mitigate the enhanced risk or plugged and abandoned.
(3) The supervisor determines that the overall risk from well
failure satisfies the supervisor's duty pursuant to Section 3106 to
prevent damage to life, health, property, and natural resources and
other requirements.
(4) The Public Utilities Commission and the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission concur with the supervisor's
determination in paragraph (3).
(b) The supervisor shall prohibit the production of natural gas by
any well originally drilled earlier than 1954 at the Aliso Canyon
storage facility located in the County of Los Angeles until after the
integrity of and the risks associated with any of these wells have
been evaluated and determinations by the supervisor, with the
concurrence of the commissions, have been made pursuant to the
process described in subdivision (a), except when necessary to do
either of the following:
(1) Respond to the uncontrolled leak of natural gas from the
"Standard Sesnon 25" well (American Petroleum Institute
identification number 03700776).
(2) Maintain regional energy reliability, at the written direction
of the commissions.
SEC. 2. Section 713 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
713. The commission shall determine the feasibility of minimizing
or eliminating use of the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility
located in the County of Los Angeles while still maintaining energy
reliability for the region. The commission shall consult with the
State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, the
Independent System Operator, the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal
Resources in the Department of Conservation, and other relevant
government entities, in making its determination.
SEC. 3. 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.
SEC. 4. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to mitigate, at the earliest possible time, ongoing harm
from the gas leak at the Aliso Canyon storage facility, and to
evaluate the integrity of and the risks associated with older wells
at that facility, it is necessary that this act take effect
immediately.