June 3, 2016 was the final deadline for oil- and gas-related bills introduced in the 2015-2016 legislative session to move through their house of origin. Below is a summary of those bills, many of which relate to natural gas storage following the Aliso Canyon natural gas well leak. Stoel Rives is monitoring these bills and will provide updates as the bills move through the legislative process.
Continue Reading Updated Status of Oil- and Gas-Related Bills Proposed in California’s 2015-2016 Legislative Session
Laws / Regulations
The Other Shoe Just Dropped on Methane Emissions from the Oil and Gas Industry
By Mike Mills on
Posted in Oil and Gas, Regulations
Not to be outdone by its federal counter-parts, the California Air Resources Board (“ARB”) released Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Facilities (“proposed rule”) for methane emissions on Tuesday, May 31, following a slew of recent federal regulations targeting reduction of methane emissions. Cal. Code Regs. tit. 14, §§ 95665-95676 (proposed). The federal Bureau of Land Management released proposed regulations for reducing waste and methane emissions in oil and gas operations in January 2016. Then, in May 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also began regulating methane when it released final regulations to curb emissions of methane and volatile organic compounds from additional new, modified, and reconstructed sources in the oil and gas industry.
While methane is the current emissions target for regulators’ greenhouse gas reduction efforts, the oil and gas sector is the industry target. The proposed rule is part of California’s plan to reduce emissions from short-lived climate pollutants, including methane emissions, by 40-45% by 2025. This follows the Obama Administration’s similar methane emissions reduction goal.Continue Reading The Other Shoe Just Dropped on Methane Emissions from the Oil and Gas Industry
Clean Up Green Up—Supplemental Use Districts—more regulation for three LA City Neighborhoods
By Mike Mills & Ivan Tether on
Posted in Air Quality, Regulations
On June 4, 2016, the City of Los Angeles rolls out its much-discussed Clean Up Green Up (CUGU) pilot program for three communities: Boyle Heights, Wilmington and Pacoima. Ordinance 184246, approved by Mayor Garcetti on April 22, 2016, adds new rules to the City’s Planning and Zoning Code and Building Code. CUGU is controversial. Communities and their advocates say that the cumulative environmental impacts from multiple businesses in these neighborhoods expose residents to higher levels of pollution than other City neighborhoods. They also say the program is designed to help neighborhood businesses obtain permits and comply with regulations. Businesses and their advocates assert that the program has abandoned promises for meaningful incentives and assistance to local businesses. They also say that the program will discourage business improvement because major improvements or additions bring down the new regulations on the heads of existing businesses.
Continue Reading Clean Up Green Up—Supplemental Use Districts—more regulation for three LA City Neighborhoods
California Proposes Emergency Regulation to Ease the Prop 65 Warning Burden on Canned and Bottled Food and Beverage Products
By Melissa A. Jones on
Posted in Proposition 65
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (“OEHHA”) added Bisphenol A (“BPA”) to the Proposition 65 (“Prop 65”) list as a chemical known to cause reproductive toxicity, on May 11, 2015. Prop 65 provides companies with a one year grace period before having to comply with newly listed chemicals, meaning that as of May 11,…
California Water Webinar Series on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA)
By Wes Miliband on
Earlier this week, environmental consultant Susanne Heim of Panorama Environmental and Stoel Rives water lawyer Wes Miliband hosted the second part of the California Water Webinar series about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
In this webinar, Susanne and Wes covered implications of the recently adopted emergency regulations to amend groundwater basin boundaries, as well…
Updates to CEQA Guidelines for Transportation Impacts Analysis Under SB 743
By Juliet H. Cho on
On January 20, 2016, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (“OPR”) released a revised draft of thresholds for measuring transportation impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). These draft thresholds are designed to promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (“GHG”) pursuant to its mandate under Senate Bill 743 (Steinberg, 2013). The initial draft was released for review in August 2014.
OPR’s revised draft is fundamentally similar to its initial draft. In particular, under both drafts, the focus of a project’s transportation impacts analysis under revised Guidelines would shift from analyzing the project’s potential to increase traffic delays to the project’s effects on GHG emissions by focusing on vehicle miles traveled (“VMT”). The CEQA Guidelines have always focused a project’s potential transportation impacts analysis on the project’s potential to increase traffic delays by analyzing the project’s level of service (“LOS”). …
Continue Reading Updates to CEQA Guidelines for Transportation Impacts Analysis Under SB 743
Stricter Underground Gas Storage Regs are in the Works
By Mike Mills on
Posted in Oil and Gas, Regulations
On January 15, 2016, the Department of Conservation gave notice of an interim rulemaking package to regulate underground natural gas storage facilities. The proposed rulemaking comes in response to the continuing gas leak at an underground gas storage facility in Aliso Canyon.
Governor Brown called for the new regulations in his emergency proclamation, which…
Environmental Challenge Blasts Kern County Oil and Gas Rules
By Mike Mills on
On Thursday, December 10, environmental organizations filed a complaint against Kern County in California Superior Court alleging that the County violated the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) by preparing a “grossly inadequate” Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) for its new oil and gas rules. The Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (jointly “the Sierra Club”), along with several other local organizations, take issue with the programmatic approach of the EIR, and urge a well-by-well environmental analysis. This lawsuit comes as no surprise to the County. Environmental groups have a long history of opposing oil and gas development in Kern County, which produces over 70% of all the oil in California.
This lawsuit comes in reaction to a Kern County zoning ordinance amendment which harnessed broad local support. On November 9, 2015, the Kern County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved amendments to Title 19 of the Kern County Zoning Ordinance which provides a streamline permitting process for oil and gas operations. Notably, the new ordinance encourages oil and gas producers to work with surface owners to agree on a development plan, promoting cooperation and transparency. The amendments also required the County to conduct an extensive environmental analysis pursuant to CEQA. The Board of Supervisors certified the Final EIR after holding multiple public Scoping Meetings and reviewing various mitigation measures.Continue Reading Environmental Challenge Blasts Kern County Oil and Gas Rules
Kern County Acts to Streamline Oil & Gas Permitting
By Mike Mills on
In a process that took nearly three years to complete, on Monday, November 9, the Kern County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a significant change to its oil and gas regulations.
The change affects Title 19 of the Kern County Zoning Ordinance and provides a streamline permitting process for oil and gas operations. The…
Environmental Justice Lawsuit Accuses L.A. of Discriminatory Oil Permitting
By Mike Mills on
On Friday, November 6, three environmental organizations filed suit against the City of Los Angeles in California Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles. The three groups, Youth for Environmental Justice, the Center for Biological Diversity and the South Central Youth Leadership Coalition, allege that the “City of Los Angeles has for years employed a pattern or practice of rubber stamping oil-drilling applications in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”).” Verified Complaint and Petition for Writ of Mandate, at 2. By categorically exempting oil-drilling projects from CEQA, the Complaint states that L.A. has permitted a disproportionately high number of drilling operations in low-income communities and neighborhoods where people of color reside. According to the environmental groups, this is a racially discriminatory practice because the City of L.A. exhibits a pattern of “developing and approving weaker conditions for drill sites in communities where a vast majority of the residents identify as Latino and black.” Id. at 26.
The Complaint focuses especially on the risks of drilling operations on children. “Because they breathe at a higher rate, and drink more water and consume more food in proportion to their body size, children receive higher doses of toxins and contaminants than adults.” Id. at 12-13. Further, in contrast to the public outcry over fracking, the environmental groups note that the emissions from oil and gas development in L.A. are associated with “traditional drilling,” not necessarily hydraulic fracturing. The Complaint also addresses the alleged risks of acidizing and gravel packing techniques, though.
Continue Reading Environmental Justice Lawsuit Accuses L.A. of Discriminatory Oil Permitting