BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 682
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Date of Hearing: July 7, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Bob Wieckowski, Chair
SB 682 (Rubio) - As Amended: June 28, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 35-0 (Not relevant)
SUBJECT : Underground injection of hazardous gas.
SUMMARY : Provides for the permitting of underground injection
wells by the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources
(DOGGR) in the Department of Conservation. Specifically, this
bill :
1. Provides that DOGGR has the authority to permit the
underground injection and disposal of a gas, including the
constituents stripped from gas produced in connection with
gas exploration, development, or production operations.
2. Provides that the injected gas, including a constituent
stripped from gas, is exempt from regulation as a
California hazardous or extremely hazardous waste if it
satisfies all of the following:
a. The gas is produced from a down hole in
connection with exploration, development, or
production operations; and
b. The gas is separated from the production
stream as a part of the primary field operations; and
c. The gas and gas byproducts are managed in a
closed-loop system.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW:
1)Requires, under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) the
US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to set minimum
federal requirements for all below ground injection processes.
The Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program falls under
the SDWA, and the SDWA allows states to seek approval from EPA
to run one or more of the UIC programs.
2)Allows, under the SDWA, states to have their own
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(non-approved) programs that overlap with the UIC.
EXISTING STATE LAW:
1)Requires, under Chapter 6.5 of the Health and Safety Code the
Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) to establish
standards and regulations for the management of hazardous
wastes to protect against hazards to public health, domestic
livestock, wildlife and the environment.
2)Establishes DOGGR within California's Department of
Conservation and grants its Supervisor broad authority over
activities related to the recovery of oil and gas.
3)Authorizes Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs) to
regulate evaporation ponds that are near or above usable
groundwater (Water Code �13260 et seq.).
Prohibits the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) from
seeking enforce authority pursuant to the UIC program.
FISCAL EFFECT : Not known.
COMMENTS :
Need for the bill. According to the author, "The practice of
re-injecting produced natural gas has historically been
permitted through and an agreement between the California
Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) and the
United State Environmental Protection Agency since 1983.
Recently, DOGGR suggested that clarification is needed in the
codes to make clear their authority to permit the re-injection
of gas as they have done for decades and as is done in all other
oil and gas producing states. In the absence of such clarity
DOGGR has halted the issuance of all permits relating to this
practice. As a result of the moratorium on permits, producers
are unable to bring new oil recovery projects that use the
re-injection process online which has negative economic impact
on the state with the loss of potential tax revenue and lost
jobs."
The use of injection wells . Through underground injection,
wastes and other fluids are deposited in porous rock formations,
called injection zones, below drinking water sources. Ideally,
an injection zone is sealed above and below by unbroken,
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impermeable rock strata and is large enough to keep the injected
fluids from reaching pressures great enough to fracture the
confining rock layers.
Regulation of Injection wells: According to the Department of
Conservation, over 25,000 oilfield injection wells are operating
in the state. Injection wells are permitted with the goal of
increasing oil or gas recovery and to safely dispose of the salt
and fresh water produced with oil and natural gas.
Injection wells are classified by the U.S. EPA into classes
according to the type of fluid they inject and where the fluid
is injected. Specially, Class II wells inject fluids associated
with oil and natural gas production operations. Most of the
injected fluid is brine that is produced when oil and gas are
extracted.
In California, all Class II injection wells are regulated by the
DOGGR under provisions of the state Public Resources Code and
the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Class II injection wells
fall under DOGGR's UIC program, which is monitored and audited
by the U.S. EPA. In 1983, the DOGGR received U.S. EPA primary
authority, primacy, to regulate Class II wells. The main
features of the UIC program include permitting, inspection,
enforcement, mechanical integrity testing, plugging and
abandonment oversight, data management, and public outreach.
Injection wells for disposal of waste : Current state and
federal regulations allow nonhazardous fluids produced from oil
or gas wells and several other nonhazardous fluids associated
with the production process to be injected into a Class II well.
These other fluids include diatomaceous earth-filter backwash,
thermally enhanced oil recovery cogeneration plant fluid,
water-softener regeneration brine, air scrubber waste, drilling
mud filtrate, naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM),
slurrified crude-oil, saturated soils, and tank bottoms.
This bill concerns the disposal of gas byproducts that are
classified as hazardous waste within the State of California
hazardous waste law by re-injecting it into oil or gas wells.
According to the US EPA the gas by-products may include wastes
such as amines, amine filters, amine filter media, backwash,
precipitated amine sludge, ironsponge, and hydrogen sulfide
scrubber liquid and sludge which may be toxic.
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Related legislation . AB 591 (Wieckowski) requires those who
carry out the hydraulic fracturing of a well to provide a
complete list of the chemical constituents used in the hydraulic
fracturing fluid. This bill is awaiting action in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
Dual-referral. The Assembly Rules Committee has referred this
bill to the Assembly Natural Resources Committee as well as the
Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials (ESTM)
Committee. If this legislation is approved by the ESTM
Committee, it will be referred to the Assembly Natural Resources
Committee.
Issues: This bill is a work in progress. The content of this
bill was amended in total on June 28th and is attempting to
address the complex regulatory process at DOGGR. While the
current federal and state law allows state standards for
hazardous waste to be established by the DTSC as well as the
State Water Quality Control Board, SB 682 provides a broad
exemption for hazardous materials created as a byproduct of oil
and gas projection.
Recommended Amendments: Given the complex multi-jurisdiction
regulatory responsibility for toxic gas byproducts and the need
to assure the ongoing safety of oil and gas product, the
Committee would like to limit this bill to one that provides
general direction to DOGGR while maintaining the authority of
related agencies to insure proper regulation of groundwater and
hazardous waste management.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support:
California Independent Petroleum Association (Sponsor)
Western States Petroleum Association
Independent Oil Producers Agency
Opposition:
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
SB 682
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