July: A Hot Month for California Oil and Gas Policy

By Andrew Grinberg, California Oil and Gas Program Manager - follow Andrew on Twitter: @AndrewBGrinberg This is the first in an ongoing series this July on California oil and gas issues. As the drought rages on, fueled by our changing climate, the fight for independence from polluting fossil fuels is more important than ever. This month is just getting started, but July is already packed with important milestones as California grapples with how to protect its dwindling water supply and polluted communities from the oil and gas industry. Coming off important victories in the budget, we are continuing to protect the Golden State from Big Oil. Over the coming weeks we will highlight a number of important developments on statewide oil and gas policy. First, a quick overview... Back in 2013 when we helped strengthen and pass Senate Bill 4 (Fran Pavley), which required the State to regulate fracking, acidizing and all forms of well stimulation, we knew that July 2015 would be a busy month. Many of the bill's requirements are going into effect right now.

• Permanent regulations on well stimulation. Starting July 1, if an oil or gas company wants to frack a well, they must apply for and receive a permit, follow a number of new transparency requirements, and adhere to stricter rules on chemical and waste handling, in addition to other requirements.
• On July 1 the State certified the statewide environmental impact report (EIR).
• Groundwater monitoring criteria will be finalized and adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board on July 7.
• The independent scientific study on well stimulation will be completed and released the second week of July. The first chapter was released in January by the California Council on Science and Technology.

Beyond SB 4, the state is moving other important policies along too.

• The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is developing regulations to address greenhouse gas and health harming air emissions that leak from oil production facilities.
• The Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) has proposed a timeline for addressing some 2,500 illegally permitted injection wells and is taking comments through July 13. We are calling for an immediate shutdown of these illegal wells, rather than the slow compliance schedule that DOGGR has proposed.
• SB 248, a bill by Senator Pavley which would help reform the Underground Injection Control (UIC) program, to make sure oil and gas injection wells don't harm groundwater, heads to the Assembly. It narrowly passed the Senate in June. Along with a number of major newspapers, we strongly support this bill.
• A package of bills, some in response to the May 19 oil spill in Santa Barbara which deals with coastal and offshore oil drilling, pipeline safety and oil spill response is moving through the Legislature

As you can see, there's a lot keep tabs on. We'll be busily weighing in on all of these issues and working to make sure we protect our water and communities from Big Oil. Keep coming back to "We All Live Downstream" as we take a closer look these issues over the coming weeks.