BILL NUMBER: SB 711 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 25, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 1, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 14, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Rubio
(Coauthor: Senator Calderon)
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to add Section 3016 to to amend
Sections 3008, 3205.2, and 3227 of, and to add Section 3011 to,
the Public Resources Code, relating to public resources.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 711, as amended, Rubio. Public resources: oil and gas:
underground injection of gas.
Existing law establishes the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal
Resources in the Department of Conservation and provides the division
with the authority to regulate oil and gas wells and production
facilities. Existing law defines "well" to mean, among other
things, a well drilled for the purpose of disposing of waste fluids
from an oil or gas field. Existing law requires a person engaging in
the operation of a class II commercial wastewater disposal well to
file an indemnity bond with the State Oil and Gas Supervisor.
This bill would revise this definition of "well" to mean a well
used for the purposes of disposing of waste fluids brought to the
surface in connection with conventional oil or gas production and may
be commingled with wastewater from gas plants that are an integral
part of production operations, unless those wastewaters are
classified as hazardous waste at the time of injection.
Existing law requires an operator of a well to file with the
supervisor a report containing, among other things, information on
the disposition of the water produced from an oil or gas field, the
amount of fluid injected into a well used for enhanced recovery, and
wastewater disposal.
This bill would require a person engaging in the operation of a
class II commercial waste fluid disposal well to file with the
supervisor an indemnity bond. The bill would require an operator of a
well to file with the supervisor a report containing information on
the disposal of fluid and the composition of fluid in an oil or gas
field, and additionally require the report to include the composition
of fluid injected into a well.
This bill would authorize the division to permit the underground
injection of a gas, as defined, including the constituents associated
with the gas that are produced in downhole in connection with
exploration, development, or production operations for the purposes
of disposal.
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. (a) The Legislature finds and declares
both of the following:
(1) The federal Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300h et
seq.) was enacted to protect underground sources of drinking water
from contamination caused by underground injection of waste and other
substances. The federal regulations implementing the federal act
refer to wells that inject fluid associated with oil and gas
production operations as class II injection wells (40 C.F.R. Sec.
146.5 (b)). In California, wells used to inject fluids associated
with oil and gas production operations are regulated by the Division
of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) under Chapter 1
(commencing with Section 3000) of Division 3 of the Public Resources
Code. In 1982, DOGGR entered into a primacy agreement with the United
States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to Section 1425 of
the federal act providing DOGGR with primacy in regulation of class
II injection wells in California.
(2) Clarification is needed to confirm the extent of the state's
regulatory authority over wells used to dispose of waste fluids,
including gas, from an oil or gas field.
(b) In enacting this measure, it is the intent of the Legislature
to establish the policy of the state as all of the following:
(1) This measure is to be interpreted and implemented consistent
with the United States Environmental Protection Agency's
interpretation regarding fluids that are authorized to be injected
into class II injection wells in the federal regulations and the
guidance documents.
(2) The use of the term "conventional" in Section 3008 of the
Public Resources Code should be interpreted, consistent with the
United States Environmental Protection Agency's interpretation and
guidance documents, to include all forms of primary, secondary, and
tertiary oil or natural gas production.
(3) The use of the phrase "wastewater from gas plants" in Section
3008 of the Public Resources Code should be interpreted, consistent
with the United States Environmental Protection Agency's
interpretation and guidance documents, to include any form of waste
fluid intrinsically derived from the process of removing produced
water, gas, or other constituents from the product stream as part of
primary field operations, if these fluids are not regulated as
hazardous waste at the time of injection.
(c) It is further the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this
measure:
(1) To ensure that DOGGR's authority to regulate waste fluid
disposal wells is consistent and coextensive with what is allowed for
a class II injection well under the federal act.
(2) To validate all previous approvals granted by DOGGR for
conducting class II waste fluid disposal operations consistent with
Section 146.5(b)(1) of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations
and that those operations should be regulated by DOGGR pursuant to
Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 3000) of Division 3 of the Public
Resources Code.
SEC. 2. Section 3008 of the Public
Resources Code is amended to read:
3008. (a) "Well" means any an oil or
gas well or well for the discovery of oil or gas; any
a well on lands producing or reasonably presumed
to contain oil or gas; any a well
drilled used for the purpose of
injecting fluids or gas for stimulating oil or gas
recovery, repressuring or pressure maintenance of oil or gas
reservoirs, or disposing of waste fluids from an oil or gas
field; any brought to the surface in connection with
conventional oil or gas production and that may be commingled with
wastewater from gas plants that are an integral part of production
operation, unless those wastewaters are classified as hazardous waste
at the time of injection; a well used to inject or withdraw
gas from an underground storage facility; or any
a well drilled within or adjacent to an oil or gas pool
for the purpose of obtaining water to be used in production
stimulation or repressuring operations.
(b) "Prospect well" or "exploratory well" means any
a well drilled to extend a field or explore a
new, potentially productive reservoir.
(c) "Active observation well" means a well being used for the sole
purpose of gathering reservoir data, such as pressure or temperature
in a reservoir being currently produced or injected by the operator,
and the data is gathered at least once every three years.
(d) "Idle well" means any a well
that has not produced oil or natural gas or has not been used for
injection for six consecutive months of continuous operation during
the last five or more years. An idle well does not include an active
observation well.
(e) "Long-term idle well" means any a
well that has not produced oil or natural gas or has not been
used for injection for six consecutive months of continuous operation
during the last 10 or more years. A long-term idle well does not
include an active observation well.
(f) "Monitoring well" means a well used for the purposes of
measuring reservoir pressures and temperatures; tracking subsurface
fluid movement; or determining the physical, chemical, biological, or
radiological properties of subsurface fluid.
SEC. 3. Section 3011 is added to the
Public Resources Code , to read:
3011. "Fluid" means a material or substance that flows or moves
whether in a semisolid, liquid, sludge, gas, or other form or state
and includes both hydrocarbon and nonhydrocarbon gases.
SEC. 4. Section 3205.2 of the Public
Resources Code is amended to read:
3205.2. (a) Notwithstanding Section 3204, any
a person who engages in the operation of a class II
commercial wastewater waste fluid
disposal well, as defined in subdivision (d), shall file an indemnity
bond with the supervisor for fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for
each well so used. The bond shall cover all operations of drilling,
redrilling, deepening, altering casing, maintaining, or abandoning
the well and attendant facilities. The bond shall be executed by the
person as the principal, and by an authorized surety company as the
surety, and, except for differences in the amount, shall be in
substantially the same language and upon the same conditions as
provided in Section 3204.
(b) A blanket bond submitted under subdivision (a) or (c) of
Section 3205 may be used in lieu of the bond required in subdivision
(a), except that the termination and cancellation shall be in
accordance with subdivision (c) of this section.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 3207, any a
bond issued in compliance with this section may be terminated
and canceled and the surety relieved of all obligations
thereunder under the bond when the well is
properly abandoned or another valid bond has been substituted
therefor for the bond .
(d) A class II commercial wastewater waste
fluid disposal well is a well that is used to dispose of
oilfield wastewater waste fluid for a
fee and that is regulated by the division pursuant to this chapter
and Subpart F (commencing with Section 147.250) of Part 147 of Title
40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
SEC. 5. Section 3227 of the Public
Resources Code is amended to read:
3227. (a) The owner of any
a well shall file with the supervisor, on or
before the last day of each month, for the last preceding calendar
month, a statement, in the form designated by the supervisor, showing
all of the following:
(a)
(1) The amount of oil and gas produced from each well
during the period indicated, together with the gravity of the oil,
the amount of water produced from each well, estimated in accordance
with methods approved by the supervisor, and the number of days
during which fluid was produced from each well.
(b)
(2) The number of wells drilling, producing, injecting,
or idle, that are owned or operated by the person.
(c)
(3) What disposition was made of the gas produced from
each field, including the names of persons, if any, to whom the gas
was delivered, and any other information regarding
the gas and its disposition that the supervisor may require.
(d)
(4) What disposition was made of the water
fluid produced from each field, and the
composition and amount of fluid or gas injected into each well
used for enhanced recovery, underground storage of hydrocarbons, or
waste water fluid disposal and
any other information regarding those wells that the
supervisor may require.
Any
(b) An operator that produces oil
by the application of mining or other unconventional techniques
shall file a report with the supervisor, on or before March 1 of each
year, showing the amount of oil produced by those techniques in the
preceding calendar year.
Upon
(c) Upon request and making a
satisfactory showing therefor for the request
, a longer filing period may be established by the supervisor
for any particular owner or operator.
SECTION 1. Section 3016 is added to the Public
Resources Code, to read:
3016. The division shall have the authority to permit the
underground injection of gas, as defined in Section 3007, including
the constituents associated with the gas that are produced from
downhole in connection with exploration, development, or production
operations for the purposes of disposal.