Oil and gas: notice of intention to abandon well: study of fugitive emissions from idle, idle-deserted, and abandoned wells.

Under existing law, the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation regulates the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state. Existing law requires the owner or operator of a well to file a written notice of intention to commence well abandonment with, and prohibits any abandonment until approval is given by, the State Oil and Gas Supervisor or district deputy. Under existing law, the notice is deemed approved if the supervisor or district deputy fails to respond to the notice in writing within 10 working days from receipt and is deemed canceled if operations have not commenced within one year of receipt. This bill would extend the time period to commence abandonment operations from one year to 24 months before the notice is deemed canceled. Under existing law, any owner or operator of a well, or employee thereof, who refuses to permit the supervisor or the district deputy, or their inspector, to inspect a well, or who willfully hinders or delays the enforcement of provisions relating to the regulation of oil or gas operations, is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would require the division, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, to initiate a study to be conducted by independent experts of fugitive emissions from idle, idle-deserted, and abandoned wells in the state, as provided. The bill would require oil and gas operators with wells selected for purposes of sampling under these provisions to (1) make reasonable efforts to permit access to the wells to the division and the independent experts contracted to undertake the study if adequate notice is provided to the operator to ensure appropriate safety precautions are taken at the well site, and (2) submit to the division a certification stating that no action was taken to reduce emissions from the sampling site within 72 hours of the sampling taking place so as to reduce the value of measurements taken. Because a violation of these requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2022, to post all results of testing conducted pursuant to the study on the department's internet website in a machine-readable format. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2021, to produce and post an interim progress report describing the status of the study on the department's internet website. The bill would require the independent experts contracted to undertake the study, on or before July 1, 2022, to complete a written document that includes an executive summary of the findings, a description of the results, the findings, and an estimate of hydrocarbon emissions from the state's idle, idle-deserted, and abandoned wells, and would require, before public release, the written document to be provided for peer review and comments, to the operators whose wells were included in the sample, and to a group of independent experts and nongovernmental organizations selected by the division. The bill would require the division, on or before January 1, 2023, to make the results of the study, as per the required written document, available on its internet website. 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.