Our latest post provides updates on environmental and legal developments in Los Angeles and adjacent counties, as well as the Southern San Joaquin Valley. We welcome your comments and contributions. Legislation and Ordinances Implementation of AB 617, CARB’s Community Air Protection Program. AB 617 requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) by October 1, 2018 … Continue Reading
Stoel Rives’ Oil & Gas Team has been monitoring bills introduced by California legislators since the beginning of the 2017-2018 legislative session. Below are the latest updates on the bills our team has been following during the first half of the current legislative session. In addition, we have included new bills introduced during the second … Continue Reading
The California Office of Spill Prevention and Response (“OSPR”), within the Department of Fish and Wildlife, has been tasked with new responsibilities related to oil spill response. Assembly Bill 1197 (“AB 1197”), which was signed into law in October 2017 and goes into effect on January 1, 2018, authorizes spill management teams (“SMTs”) to apply … Continue Reading
February 17, 2017 marked the deadline by which legislators had to introduce bills for the first half of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session. The Stoel Rives’ Oil & Gas Team has been and will continue to monitor bills throughout the current two-year session and will provide periodic updates as to the status of those bills. Below … Continue Reading
The recent wave of climate change legislation in California also included a new and not particularly well-known law aimed at curbing greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions associated with water use. SB 1425 will create a voluntary registry to track the water sector’s energy use and GHG emissions. According to Senator Pavley, the author of SB 1425, … Continue Reading
February 19, 2016 was the deadline for lawmakers to introduce legislation to the 2015-2016 California Legislative Session, and the Legislature’s ever-growing appetite for regulating the energy industry in California shows no signs of being satiated anytime soon. More bills than ever proposing to add new regulations on the oil and gas industry have been introduced. … Continue Reading
Despite the wet start of 2016, many parts of California continue to face severe water shortages. The state has grown ever more tapped with groundwater production wells as Californians seek to utilize aquifers to meet their water needs. However, experts have warned that this modern-day “gold rush” for water from underground aquifers may carry serious … Continue Reading
In a rare bi-partisan effort, Congress passed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (“FAST Act”), which was signed into law by President Obama on December 4. The law makes changes and reforms to many Federal transportation programs, including streamlining the approval processes for new transportation projects. The President of the American Public Works Association, Brian … Continue Reading
October 11, 2015, marked the deadline by which Governor Brown had to act on legislation submitted to him by the legislature in September. In addition to those bills the Governor signed, we note below legislation that has been identified as two-year legislation. Stoel Rives’ Water Law Team has been monitoring water-related legislation, especially given California’s … Continue Reading
September 11, 2015, was the deadline for lawmakers to pass legislation and send to the Governor for signature or veto. Below is a summary of several bills related to oil and gas activities, which Stoel Rives has been monitoring. We note that several bills have been identified as two-year bills and, as such, we will … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
California Assemblymember Das Williams (D-Carpinteria) has introduced an oil and gas bill to ensure that the state comes into compliance with the Class II underground injection (“UIC”) requirements under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (“SDWA”). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”), California is currently out of compliance with certain requirements for some Class II … Continue Reading
The Sacramento Bee has reported that the Legislature’s budget proposal for the high-speed rail project has been finalized. Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic lawmakers have agreed to use 25 percent of future cap-and-trade funds, totaling $250 million, to continue construction of the $68 billion California High-Speed Rail Project (the “Project”). The floor votes for the … Continue Reading
As discussed in our post on May 5, 2014, there are a number of California State Senate and Assembly bills that could impact oil and gas operations this year, if passed. Friday, May 30 was the last day to pass bills out of their house of origin to the opposite house, the Senate or Assembly. … Continue Reading
There are a number of California State Senate and Assembly bills that could impact oil and gas operations this year, if passed. Stoel Rives has a dedicated team of professionals tracking these bills. Below you will find summaries of each piece of oil and gas-related legislation. SENATE BILLS (Status as of May 2, 2014) SB … Continue Reading
Environmental groups will have to wait to challenge hydraulic fracturing activities in the state of California until the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) issues its permanent regulations in 2015. This is according to Alameda County Judge Evelio Grillo, who on January 17, 2014, granted a motion to dismiss a challenge brought by … Continue Reading
On Friday, September 20, 2013, just days after indicating his support for the bill, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 4, which establishes a permitting system for the fracking of new oil and gas wells. The Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) is now officially tasked with developing the permitting program, which … Continue Reading
Just hours after the California Assembly voted to pass the remaining bill on hydraulic fracturing, SB 4, the California Senate voted to concur with the Assembly amendments. The next stop for the bill is the Governor's desk. Governor Brown's administration had previously indicated concern regarding the broad scope of the bill, which was amended in the Assembly to include other well stimulation activities including acid treatment. If the Governor vetos the bill, it can be overriden by a two-thirds vote in both houses, which is a strong possibility given the breakdown of the votes cast to pass the bill.… Continue Reading
Today the California Assembly passed the controversial bill regulating hydraulic fracturing, SB 4. The bill has been criticized by both industry groups and environmental organizations. Industry has argued that the bill is overbroad for including other types of well stimulation techniques, including acid well treatments, and creating a permitting scheme that subjects each decision to stimulate a new well to the California Environmental Quality Act. On the other end of the spectrum, the Center for Biological Diversity claims that only a moratorium on fracking would adequately protect the public and the environment.… Continue Reading
The Assembly Committee on Appropriations failed to reach a decision at yesterday's hearing on SB 4 - the lone surviving bill relating to hydraulic fracturing in the California Legislature. Appropriations delayed a vote on the newly amended SB 4 for another two weeks after hearing extensive testimony on the bill. At the hearing, representatives on both sides of the issue rejected the bill. Industry representatives argued that the bill is too broad for regulating acid injection in addition to fracking. Meanwhile, environmental groups asserted that the bill is too lenient on fracking fluid disclosure requirements.… Continue Reading
My colleague, Mike Mills, had the chance to speak with Colin O'Keefe of LXBN TV today regarding several bills currently under consideration by the California legislature that would impose a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing.… Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality advanced two bills that would increase regulation of hydraulic fracturing. The first of these bills, SB 4, would (1) impose a permit requirement specific to fracking activities and (2) prohibit fracking beginning January 1, 2015, pending the completion of a study on the impact of fracking (see April 11, 2013, post). The second bill, SB 395, would (1) subject the disposal of fracking-related water to underground injection control (UIC) regulations, from which oil and gas operations are currently exempt, and (2) effectively prohibit the disposal of fracking wastewater containing hazardous waste by injection (see April 8, 2013, post).… Continue Reading
Yesterday, the California Assembly Committee on Natural Resources passed three bills that would impose new permitting and disclosure requirements on hydraulic fracturing operations. The Committee passed and referred these three bills, AB 288, AB 7 and AB 669, to the Committee on Appropriations.… Continue Reading
On Monday, Assembly Members amended two bills relating to hydraulic fracturing - one increasing the scope of regulated activities and another allowing trade secret protection of related disclosures. Also this week, Senator Pavley's amended SB 4 passed the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.… Continue Reading
