California now has its own hydraulic fracturing requirements. Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed Senate Bill 4 into law Sept. 20. Regulations go into effect Jan. 1, 2014, and become final a year later.
They require oil and gas producers to obtain permits for acid well stimulation treatments as well as fracing before starting work. Producers also will have to notify nearby residents, publicly disclose chemicals they use, measure groundwater and air quality, and contribute to an independent scientific study.
It quickly became clear that the new law's implementation will be very important in several ways.
"While SB 4's requirements went significantly farther than the petroleum industry felt was necessary, we now have an environmental platform on which California can look toward the opportunity to responsibly develop the enormous potential energy resource contained in the Monterey shale formation," said Western States Petroleum Association Pres. Catherine Reheis-Boyd.
"There remains a great deal of work to clarify and implement the requirements of SB 4," she said, adding, "WSPA and our members stand ready to work with the [Brown] administration, Department of Conservation, and other stakeholders to ensure SB 4 is implemented effectively and fairly."
Environmental organizations were disappointed. The Natural Resources Defense Council withdrew its support of SB 4 after the measure "took on end-of-session amendments that compromised the bill's original intent." It urged Brown to declare a moratorium on fracing.
The governor apparently isn't going to do that. He reportedly would rather make changes with clarifying amendments, and plans to work with SB 4's sponsor, Sen. Fran Pavely (D-Agoura Hills), in the next year.
Phase-in period
"Considering we've been doing this for 60 years without incident, there is sort of a phasing-in period," California Independent Producers Association Chief Executive Rock Zierman told OGJ on Sept. 23. "Starting Jan. 1, we have to abide all the requirements for disclosure and monitoring. For about a year-and-a-half, we'll do it through a notice instead of a permit. That will change once the regulations are done."
Zierman said there are several important points to remember about what's happening in California. One is that Brown and the legislature overwhelmingly rejected demands for a moratorium. "It's ironic that a lot of people who berate others for not being scientific about climate change throw science out the window when it comes to fracing," he observed.
Another is that work to tap Monterey shale resources will come in Kern County as producers return to get deposits they had to leave behind. A third is that the law goes beyond fracing. "If it's implemented correctly, California could have the most comprehensive well stimulation regulations in the country," Zierman said.
