By: Kristy Monji-Chung
Oil and gas production is regulated in California by many agencies, and in 2019 Governor Newsom ordered one of these agencies, the State Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management Division better known as CalGEM, to draft regulations to strengthen public health protection for communities near oil and gas production operations. On October 21, 2021, these draft regulations were released for public comment and NV5 would like to help you understand these rules whether you are part of the regulated industry or located within a community near oil and gas production. The proposed draft rules involve highly technical assessments and require comprehensive program development to ensure compliance is achieved and public health is protected. Here is what you should know:
Three key definitions are important to this rule:
- “Setback exclusion area” means all land within 3,200 feet of a sensitive receptor
- “Setback mitigation area” means all land within 3,200 feet of a sensitive receptor.
- “Sensitive receptor” means any residence including private homes, condominiums, apartments, and living quarters; education resources such as preschools and kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) schools; daycare centers; any building housing a business that is open to the public; and health care facilities such as hospitals or retirement and nursing homes. A sensitive receptor includes long–term care hospitals, hospices, prisons, and dormitories, or similar live-in housing.
The reason why these definitions are important is that the draft regulations would prohibit new oil wells and facilities within the 3,200 feet exclusion area and require significant new requirements for existing operations within this same setback area. When assessing operational impacts to your operation, it is important to distinguish the rule requirements for “exclusion areas” from “mitigation areas.” The definition of sensitive receptors is important because the proposed regulations require advanced and comprehensive emissions detection programs including continuous in-field detection within 2 feet of wells and production facilities, and fence line detection systems to identify chemical constituents that have the potential to travel to these sensitive receptors.
- One example of a significant new regulatory program requirement includes water quality baseline sampling and testing. Before commencing any work that requires a Notice of Intention such as drilling of a new well, the operator would be required to contact owners and tenants located within a 1500 foot radius of the wellhead or within 500 feet of the surface representation of the horizontal path of the subsurface parts of the well in writing with a record of delivery and offer to sample and test water wells or surface water on their property before and after drilling. There is much more required pursuant to this Section 1766 Baseline Water Sampling and Testing portion of the regulation, but you should know that significant baseline data collection, mapping, and community outreach will be necessary to ensure water testing requirements are met. For this rule overall, mapping capabilities are extremely important to identify the exclusion areas and mitigation areas from each well, production facilities, emission sources, and location of sensitive receptors.
- The released regulations are “proposed draft regulations”and are intended to solicit public comments. The proposed regulation spans 22 sections and imposes significant and specific technical requirements upon the regulated facilities. Public comment on these draft regulations can be submitted through December 21, 2021, to calemregulations@conservation.ca.gov. A public workshop will be held on December 1, 2021, at 5:00 pm to receive additional public comments. The regulated industry, community organizations, and the general public are encouraged to participate in these outreach efforts which will shape important iterations of the final regulations to come.
NV5 is closely following these regulations and can help affected facilities with tailored setback mapping assessments, rule interpretation, and operational impact evaluations, and assist with agency engagement and public comments during this rulemaking process. NV5 has advanced surveying and GIS capabilities to assist with mapping assessments and technical reports. If you would like further information, please contact Kristy Monji-Chung, Senior EHS Consultant, at 626.567.2383.