Article 4.4 - Regulation of Production Facilities

California Public Resources Code — §§ 3270-3270.6

Sections (7)

Added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 562, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 2009.

(a)The division shall, by regulation, prescribe minimum facility maintenance standards for all production facilities in the state. The regulations shall include, but are not limited to, standards for all of the following:

(1)Leak detection.

(2)Corrosion prevention and testing.

(3)Tank inspection and cleaning.

(4)Valve and gauge maintenance, and secondary containment maintenance.

(5)Other facility or equipment maintenance that the supervisor deems important for the proper operation of production facilities and that the supervisor determines are necessary to prevent damage to life, health, property, and natural resources; damage to underground oil and gas deposits from infiltrating water and other causes; loss of oil, gas, or reservoir energy; and damage to underground and surface waters suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes by the infiltration of, or the addition of, detrimental substances.

(b)An operator who constructs, acquires, maintains, or alters an oil well or a production facility shall comply with the standards prescribed pursuant to subdivision (a).

(c)In a form and at a time prescribed by the division in regulation, an operator shall notify the supervisor of the construction, alteration, or decommissioning of a production facility.

(d)An operator shall maintain at the production facility’s local office records of maintenance and repair operations, tests, and inspections, and shall provide the supervisor with access to these records at all times during normal business hours and with copies of the records immediately, upon request.

§ 3270.1

Added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 562, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 2009.

Within three months of its acquisition of a production facility or at the time of the initial production at its production facility, the facility operator shall file with the division a spill contingency plan.

§ 3270.2

Added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 562, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 2009.

The division shall inspect production facilities to ensure compliance with the standards prescribed in the regulations promulgated pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 3270.

§ 3270.3

Added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 562, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 2009.

In addition to any other remedy provided by law, the supervisor, upon his or her determination or that of the district deputy that a production facility is being operated in violation of the standards prescribed in subdivision (a) of Section 3270, may issue a cease and desist order to a production facility operator requiring the operator to cease operation until the operator demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the supervisor, that the violation has been corrected.

§ 3270.4

Added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 562, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 2009.

(a)In addition to the bonding requirements under Article 4 (commencing with Section 3200), for an operator with a history of violating this chapter or that has outstanding liabilities to the state associated with a well or production facility, the supervisor may require a life-of-well or life-of-production facility bond in an amount adequate to ensure all of the following:

(1)The proper plugging and abandonment of each well.

(2)The safe decommissioning of each production facility.

(3)The financing of spill response and incident cleanup.

(b)Upon the failure of an operator to properly plug and abandon a well, decommission a production facility, or perform the appropriate spill response and incident cleanup, the supervisor may levy on the bond to obtain money to pay the cost of the work.

(c)The supervisor may release a life-of-production facility bond upon the satisfactory decommissioning of a production facility, or when an operator has provided another valid life-of-production facility bond.

(d)The supervisor may release a life-of-well bond upon the satisfactory plugging and abandonment of all wells covered by the bond or when an operator has provided another valid life-of-well bond.

(e)Whenever an operator sells, assigns, transfers, conveys, exchanges, or otherwise disposes to another operator a well or production facility that is covered by a life-of-well bond or a life-of-production facility bond, the new operator shall replace the life-of-well or life-of-production bond, as applicable, and maintain the new bond for five years before it may be released by the supervisor.

(f)In lieu of the indemnity bond required by this section, the supervisor may accept a deposit given pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 995.710) of Chapter 2 of Title 14 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, excluding a deposit of money, bearer bonds, or bearer notes.

(g)The supervisor shall adopt regulations specifying the content, including the conditions, of the bond or other security instrument required by this section.

§ 3270.5

Added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 601, Sec. 3. (AB 1420) Effective January 1, 2016.

(a)(1) By January 1, 2018, the division shall review and evaluate, and update as appropriate, its existing regulations regarding all active

gas pipelines

that are four inches or less in diameter, located

in sensitive areas, and 10 years old or older. The division shall make a written finding of its review and evaluation of these pipelines.

(2)In its review and evaluation, the division shall consider existing

pipeline integrity, pipeline leak detection, and other pipeline assessment requirements imposed by other regulators to determine which of these forms of assessment meet the division’s needs.

(3)The regulations shall ensure the integrity and operation of these active gas pipelines pursuant to Sections 3106 and 3270.

(b)(1) By January 1, 2018, an operator of an active gas pipeline in a sensitive area shall submit to the division, as part of

compliance with pipeline management plan requirements pursuant to Section 1774.2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, an up-to-date and accurate map identifying the location of the pipeline and other up-to-date and accurate locational information of the pipeline as determined and in a format specified by the division.

(2)The division shall perform random periodic spot check inspections to ensure that the information submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) is accurately reported.

(3)The division shall maintain a list of active gas pipelines in sensitive areas.

(c)For purposes of this section, the following

terms are defined as follows:

(1)“Active gas pipeline” means an inservice gas pipeline regardless of diameter that is within the division’s jurisdiction.

(2)“Sensitive area” means any of the following:

(A)An area containing a building intended for human occupancy, such as a residence, school, hospital, or business, that is located within 300 feet of an active gas pipeline and that is not necessary to the operation of the pipeline.

(B)An area determined by the supervisor to present significant potential threat to life, health, property, or natural resources in the event of a leak from an active gas pipeline.

(C)An area determined by the supervisor to have an active gas pipeline that has a history of chronic leaks.

(d)This section does not affect or limit the authority of the supervisor pursuant to Section 3106, 3270, or any other section of this code, or any regulation implementing those sections.

§ 3270.6

Added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 601, Sec. 4. (AB 1420) Effective January 1, 2016.

Upon the discovery of a leak from an active gas pipeline that is within a sensitive area, as defined in Section 3270.5, the owner or operator of the pipeline shall promptly notify the division and the local health officer, or his or her designee, of the jurisdiction in which the leak is located.