Natural gas storage wells: well stimulation treatments: chemical composition: leaks: regulation.

(1) 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 an operator proposing to perform a well stimulation treatment on a well to apply to the State Oil and Gas Supervisor or a district deputy for a permit to perform the well stimulation treatment and imposes other requirements and conditions on the use of well stimulation treatments. Under existing law, a person who fails to comply with this and other requirements relating to the regulation of oil or gas operations is guilty of a misdemeanor. Existing law does not apply these provisions to well stimulation treatments that are used for routine maintenance of wells associated with underground storage facilities where natural gas is injected into and withdrawn from depleted or partially depleted oil or gas reservoirs. This bill would delete the exclusion of well stimulation treatments that are used for routine maintenance of wells associated with underground storage facilities where natural gas is injected into and withdrawn from depleted or partially depleted oil or gas reservoirs from the applicability of the provisions described above. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires the operator of a gas storage well, as defined, to submit a risk management plan to identify and plan for mitigation of all threats and hazards and potential threats and hazards associated with gas storage well operation in order to ensure internal and external mechanical integrity of a well, including site-specific information, as specified. Existing law provides that a person who fails to comply with these requirements and other laws relating to the regulation of oil or gas operations is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would require the operator of a gas storage well to provide to the division (A) a complete chemical inventory of the materials, of any phase, that may be emitted from the gas storage well in the event of a reportable leak described in (3) below, as specified, and (B) , in the event of a reportable leak, the composition of well kill fluids within 5 days of their use in a leaking gas storage well and any updates to the provided information described in (A) to ensure that it is current. If an operator subject to these provisions is unable to obtain information about a chemical from the chemical's supplier for any reason, including, but not limited to, assertion by the chemical supplier of trade secret protections, the bill would authorize the division to require the supplier to furnish that information to the division. Because a violation of these requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. In the event of a reportable leak, the bill would require the division to post the information related to the reportable leak received pursuant to these provisions on its internet website. The bill would require, in response to the independent root cause analysis of the 2015 well leak at the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility prepared by Blade Energy Partners dated May 16, 2019, and ordered by the supervisor and the Public Utilities Commission, the division, on or before July 1, 2021, to review and, if necessary, revise its natural gas storage well policy and regulations to address the root causes identified. (3) Existing law requires the division to determine by regulation what constitutes a reportable leak from a gas storage well and the timeframe for reporting those leaks, as specified. Until the regulations are in effect, existing law requires the operator to notify the division immediately of a leak of any size from a gas storage well, and requires the division to post information about a reported leak that cannot be controlled within 48 hours on its internet website, as prescribed. This bill would require the division, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, to review and, if necessary, revise the regulations developed pursuant to those provisions no less than once every 10 years. (4) 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.