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June 5, 2015 marked the deadline for lawmakers to pass bills out of their house to the opposite house. Bills that did not pass in their house of origin by that date have effectively died (unless such a bill has been identified as a 2-year bill). Stoel Rives’ Water Law Team has been monitoring water-related legislation, especially given California’s historic drought. Our Water Law Team will continue to monitor these bills, among many others, including environmental-related legislation, throughout the 2015-2016 Legislative Session. We will provide periodic updates as these bills move through the legislative process. Below is the status and summary of some of the bills Stoel Rives is monitoring.

SUPPLY AND GROUNDWATER

AB-307 (Mathis): Graywater: groundwater recharge
STATUS: This bill is a 2-year bill and currently pending referral in the Assembly.

If passed by the legislature and signed into law, AB-307 would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to explicitly permit the usage of residential, commercial and industrial graywater for the recharge of a groundwater basin or aquifer.

AB-453 (Bigelow): Groundwater Management
STATUS: AB-453 passed the Assembly on April 16, 2015 and currently is scheduled for hearing on June 23, 2015 before the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water.

If passed by the legislature and chaptered, this bill would authorize, until a groundwater sustainability plan is adopted, a local agency to amend an existing groundwater management plan in furtherance of, and consistent with, the groundwater management plan’s objectives.
Continue Reading Update on California Water Legislation Regarding Groundwater, Recycled Water and More

On Tuesday, May 19, 2015, the State Water Resources Control Board (“Water Board”) held a Public Workshop regarding the proposed Draft Model Criteria for Groundwater Monitoring (“Model Criteria”). In this meeting, the Water Board heard comments from stakeholders who voiced their support or concern regarding the Model Criteria.

Dr. Steven Bohlen, the State Oil & Gas Supervisor, on behalf of the Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) provided the Water Board with a variety of statistics regarding well stimulation operations that have occurred since DOGGR’s Interim Regulations went into effect on January 1, 2014. Dr. Bohlen reported that over 1,500 Interim Well Stimulation Treatment Notices have been received by DOGGR since January 1, 2014. Additionally, 809 well stimulation operations have been conducted and 22 monitoring plans have been approved. Furthermore, about 200 acre feet of water has been used for well stimulation operations.Continue Reading Industry and Environmental Groups Make Pitch to Water Board Regarding Draft Model Criteria for Groundwater Monitoring

On April 29, 2015, the State Water Resources Control Board (“Water Board”) issued a Notice of Opportunity for Public Comment and Notice of Public Workshop regarding the proposed Draft Model Criteria for Groundwater Monitoring (“Model Criteria”) for areas of oil and gas well stimulation. Senate Bill 4 requires groundwater monitoring for all oil and gas wells that receive stimulation treatments.

The Model Criteria will be used by (1) the Water Board to implement a regional groundwater monitoring program, and (2) oil and gas operators and Water Board staff in the development of groundwater monitoring near well stimulation activities. These Model Criteria outline the methods to be used for sampling, testing, and reporting the water quality associated with oil and gas well stimulation activities.

The groundwater monitoring data will be used to initially establish baseline condition prior to well stimulation. Thereafter, Water Board staff will evaluate data and test results to determine changes in water quality and whether additional monitoring requirements or corrective actions are necessary.Continue Reading Water Board Issues Proposed Draft Model Criteria for Groundwater Monitoring

Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Michigan v. EPA, a Clean Air Act case involving hazardous air pollutant regulations, with implications for fossil fuel-fired power plant owners and operators in California and across the country.  Below you’ll find guest blogger Tom Wood‘s insight into the case and the arguments:

On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments from a large group of states challenging EPA’s approach in developing the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS) rule. The MATS rule imposes stringent hazardous air pollutant (HAP) standards on coal-fired and oil-fired power plants. The rule is expected to cost the industry nearly $10 billion per year to comply. 21 states and a variety of impacted industries argued to the court that EPA had not appropriately accounted for cost in determining whether to regulate hazardous air pollutants from these power plants.

In considering the Supreme Court case, it is important to understand that Congress established a different regulatory approach for power plants than for other industries. EPA regulates HAPs emitted from other industries by determining Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) and requiring that it be implemented within a relatively short time frame (typically 3 years). After MACT is established, EPA is supposed to perform a residual risk determination and consider whether the risk after implementing MACT justifies additional requirements.
Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standard

The High-Speed Rail Authority (“HSRA”) issued a progress report for the High-Speed Rail Project (the “Project”) last week, describing the HSRA’s challenges and successes to date.

One of the highlights of the report was the HSRA’s January groundbreaking in Fresno for the first segment of the Project’s 520-mile route. The report also discusses the progress…

February 27, 2015 was the deadline for lawmakers to introduce legislation to the 2015-2016 California Legislative Session and several bills related to oil and gas activities were introduced.  Below is a summary of those bills. Stoel Rives is monitoring these bills and will provide periodic updates as the bills move through the legislative process.

SENATE BILLS

SB-13 (Pavley):  Groundwater

This bill would specify that the State Water Resources Control Board is authorized to designate a high- or medium-priority basin as a probationary basin. This bill would provide a local agency or groundwater sustainability agency 90 or 180 days, as prescribed, to remedy certain deficiencies that caused the board to designate the basin as a probationary basin. This bill would authorize the State Water Resources Control Board to develop an interim plan for certain probationary basins one year after the designation of the basin as a probationary basin.Continue Reading Status of Oil and Gas-related Bills Proposed in California’s 2015-2016 Legislative Session

A new oil and gas reporting bill, Senate Bill 1281, sponsored by State Senator Fran Pavley, was signed by Governor Brown on September 25, 2014.  The California Department of Conservation – Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) issued a Notice to Operators containing important information on the new law’s reporting mandates on December 8, 2014.

Under Senate Bill 1281, Section 3226.3 was added to the Public Resources Code and requires the State Oil and Gas Supervisor to provide an annual inventory report of all unlined oil and gas field sumps to the State Water Resources Control Board and Regional Water Quality Control Boards.

Section 3227 of the Public Resources Code was also amended to require operators of wells to provide a monthly and quarterly statement disclosing the following information:

  • The source and volume of water produced from each oil field
  • The water used to generate or make up the composition of any injected fluid or gas
  • The volume of untreated water suitable for domestic or irrigation purposes
  • The treatment of water and use of treated or recycled water in activities, such as exploration, development, and production
  • The disposition method of all water used in or generated by oil and gas field activities – including water produced from each well reported
    • Also the identity of any temporary onsite storage of water and the ultimate specific use, disposal method or method of recycling, or reuse of the water

For each reporting requirement, if water is commingled, it must be assigned proportionately to each well.

DOGGR has provided an interim water reporting form on its website for use until February 2015, at which time a final version of the form will be made available.
Continue Reading New Water Reporting Requirements for Oil and Gas Operators

SB 1096 (Jackson), which sought to foreclose the possibility of oil drilling in state waters from wells that could be drilled at Vandenberg Air Force Base, was defeated in the Assembly on Tuesday.  Pursuant to the Legislature’s summary of the bill, the California Coastal Sanctuary Act of 1994 authorizes the California State Lands Commission (SLC)…

On June 13, 2014, the Department of Conservation (“Department”)  issued a public notice and posted the latest version of the proposed regulations for the use of well stimulation in oil and gas production (“Revised Proposed Regulations”).  These are revisions to the permanent regulations that will go into effect on January 1, 2015.  The Revised Proposed Regulations include the following, significant changes:Continue Reading Department of Conservation Issues Revised, Proposed Well Stimulation Treatment Regulations

Governor Brown released a summary of his proposed 2014-2015 budget this week, including details on proposed environmental protection and natural resources spending.  The Governor’s budget provides $3.6 billion in funding for the California Environmental Protection Agency, including $3.1 billion in State funds and $54 million from the General Fund.  Proposed funding of CalEPA programs include:

  •  $850 million

…

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