Bill Text: CA SB1281 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Oil and gas production: water use: reporting.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-09-25 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 561, Statutes of 2014. [SB1281 Detail]

Download: California-2013-SB1281-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 1281	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 21, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Pavley

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act  to amend Section 3227 of, and  to add Section
 3223.5 to   3226.5 to,  the Public
Resources Code, relating to oil and gas.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1281, as amended, Pavley. Oil and gas production: water use
reporting.
   Under existing law, the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal
Resources in the Department of Conservation regulates the drilling,
operation, maintenance, stimulation, and abandonment of oil and gas
wells in the state.  Existing law requires the owner of any well
to file with the State Oil and Gas Supervisor a monthly statement
that provides certain information relating to the well, including
what disposition was made of the water produced from each field.
 Existing law provides that a person who  violates any
prohibition   fails to comply with  specific 
laws relating  to the regulation of oil or gas operations  ,
including failing to furnish a report or record,  is guilty of
a misdemeanor. 
   Under existing law, the State Water Resources Control Board and
the 9 California regional water quality control boards are the
principal state agencies with responsibility for the coordination and
control of water quality in the state and the Department of Water
Resources operates the State Water Project and exercises other
functions relating to the state's water resources.  

   This bill would declare that the use of freshwater in all elements
of the development and production of oil and gas shall be reduced,
by January 1, 2019, to an unspecified percentage of baseline
freshwater use in 2014, and would require the department and the
board, in collaboration with the division, to determine the volume of
that baseline use. The bill would require well and facility owners
or operators to report to the division the volume, source, and use of
all freshwater, recycled water, and treated water, as specified, and
would require the division to make that information publicly
available. 
    This bill would declare that it is the policy of the state
that oil and gas field exploration, development, and production shall
use or treat and use water produced though oil field activities and
recycled water to the extent feasible. The bill would require the
monthly statement to the supervisor to include the source and amount
of fluid or gas injected into each well, as provided, and the source
and amount of water used to generate injected fluid or gas. 
 The bill would also require the statement to include additional
information, including the treatment of water and the use of treated
or recycled water in oil and gas field activities, as provided. 
Because a violation of the bill's reporting requirements by an owner
or operator would be a crime, the 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:

   SECTION 1.    The Legislature finds and declares both
of the following:  
   (a) Existing state policy promotes the use of recycled water in
industry where feasible.  
   (b) Water of previously unsuitable quality may now be used or
treated and used in some oil and gas industry processes due to
technological advancement. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 3226.5 is added to the  
Public Resources Code   , to read:  
   3226.5.  It is the policy of the state that oil and gas field
exploration, development, and production shall use or treat and use
water produced through oil field activities and recycled water to the
extent feasible. The use and reuse of water initially unsuitable for
drinking or irrigation purposes is encouraged. 
   SEC. 3.    Section 3227 of the   Public
Resources Code   is amended to read: 
   3227.  The owner of any 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) 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) The number of wells drilling, producing, injecting, or idle,
that are owned or operated by the person.
   (c) 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)  What disposition was made of the water produced from
each field, and the   The source and the  amount of
fluid or gas injected into each well used for enhanced recovery,
underground storage of hydrocarbons, or waste water disposal ,
including the source and the amount of water used to generate
injected fluid or gas,  and any other information regarding
those wells that the supervisor may require. 
   (e) The treatment of water and the use of treated or recycled
water in oil and gas field activities, including, but not limited to,
exploration, development, and production.  
   (f) The specific disposition of all water used in or generated by
oil and gas field activities, including water produced from each
well. 
   Any 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 request and making a satisfactory showing therefor, a longer
filing period may be established by the supervisor for any particular
owner or operator. 
  SECTION 1.    Section 3223.5 is added to the
Public Resources Code, to read:
   3223.5.  (a) (1) It is the policy of the state to require
conservation of freshwater used, and to promote the use and reuse of
recycled and treated water, in all elements of the development and
production of oil and gas.
   (2) The annual use of freshwater in all elements of the
development and production of oil and gas shall be reduced, on or
before January 1, 2019, to ____ percent of baseline freshwater use in
2014, and this reduction shall be at least maintained thereafter.
   (b) (1) A well and facility owner or operator shall report to the
division the volume and specific source of all freshwater used, the
volume and specific source of all recycled and treated water used and
reused, and how these waters are used in all elements of the
development and production of oil and gas. This shall include all
waters supplied, treated, used, and reused by contractors on behalf
of the well and facility owner or operator.
   (2) The information required pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
reported no later than 30 calendar days after the use or reuse of the
waters. The division shall post the information reported on its
Internet Web site. The information reported shall also be available
for download by the public from the division's Internet Web site in a
spreadsheet or similar format suitable for use in an electronic
database without additional processing. Activities related to wells
designated as confidential pursuant to Section 3234 are not exempt
from the public reporting requirements pursuant to this section.
   (c) The Department of Water Resources and the State Water
Resources Control Board, in collaboration with the division, shall
develop a methodology to determine, and shall determine, the volume
of freshwater used in the baseline 2014 year, as described in
subdivision (a). If data are unavailable, estimates derived from
documented evidence may be used.
   (d) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (1) "Freshwater" means water that is or may be used in the future
as a source of public drinking water.
   (2) "All elements of the development and production of oil and gas"
includes, but is not limited to, site and facility preparation,
construction, operation and maintenance, the drilling and redrilling
of any wells, any well stimulation treatments, any oil and gas
production and recovery, any operation and maintenance of idle wells,
any operation and maintenance of active observation wells, any
enhanced oil and gas recovery operations including injection wells,
any well plugging and abandonment operations and all related
activities. 
   SEC. 2.   SEC. 4.   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.