Stoel Rives’ Oil & Gas Team has been monitoring bills introduced by California legislators since the beginning of the 2019-2020 Legislative Session. Below is the latest update on a list of bills, summarized pursuant to the...more
3/3/2020
/ Energy Reform ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Legislative Process ,
Natural Resources ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Policy Drafting ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Underground Injection Wells ,
Water Resources Control Board
Nearly two months ago, on November 19, 2019, the Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) announced a moratorium on approvals of new oil extraction wells that use a high-pressure...more
On July 27, 2018 the California Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) issued two notices of proposed rulemaking action applicable to oil and gas operations in the state. DOGGR released updated underground...more
On March 7, 2018, the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR,” or “Division”) published a notice to operators (“NTO”) regarding updated guidelines for oilfield water quality data. The NTO outlines...more
On February 1, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the district court’s decision, finding that the County of Maui violated the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) when it discharged treated effluent into...more
A reported in a prior blog post, the Western States Petroleum Association (“WSPA”) sued the California Department of Conservation and the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (jointly, the “Department”) in Kern...more
On January 21, 2017 the California Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) issued a Notice of Pre-rulemaking Public Comment Period for the development of updates to the regulations...more
As an update to our prior blog post, on January 17, 2017, the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) released a letter sent to notify the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) of...more
On January 19, 2017, three oil industry trade groups filed suit against the California Department of Conservation and the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) (jointly “Department”) in Kern County Superior...more
As an update to our prior blog post, on January 17, 2017, the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) released a letter sent to notify the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) of...more
December 31, 2016 marked a deadline for oilfield operators to comply with the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources’ (“DOGGR”) Aquifer Exemption and Compliance Schedule Regulations. Operators were required to either...more
As reported in a previous blog post, Earthjustice, on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity (“CBD”), filed a lawsuit against the California Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) in May 2015. The...more
8/23/2016
/ Center for Biological Diversity ,
CEQA ,
DOGGR ,
EarthJustice ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Mandamus Petitions ,
Oil & Gas ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Underground Injection Wells ,
Wastewater
June 3, 2016 was the final deadline for oil- and gas-related bills introduced in the 2015-2016 legislative session to move through their house of origin. Below is a summary of those bills, many of which relate to natural gas...more
6/10/2016
/ Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Public Utilities Commission ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Underground Injection Wells
On Monday, November 2, the Sierra Club issued a Notice of Intent to Sue (“Notice”) four oil companies, alleging ongoing violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”). Specifically, the Notice states that...more
A lawsuit seeking an immediate halt to oil and gas wastewater injection at 2,500 wells across California took a positive turn for energy producers last week as Superior Court Judge George C. Hernandez denied plaintiffs’...more
7/28/2015
/ DOGGR ,
Drinking Water ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fracking ,
Imminent Harm ,
NPRM ,
Oil & Gas ,
Underground Injection Wells ,
Wastewater ,
Water
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 bill has been identified...more
On Thursday, May 7, 2015, two environmental groups filed a lawsuit seeking an immediate halt to oil and gas wastewater injection at 2,500 wells across California.
The suit, filed by the Sierra Club and the Center for...more
On March 20, Senator Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) wrote a letter to Governor Jerry Brown requesting that his administration immediately shut down approximately 2,500 underground injection wells. The letter was signed by...more
On Thursday, April 2, the California Department of Conservation (“DOC”) published a notice of proposed emergency rulemaking for the state’s Class II Underground Injection Control (“UIC”) program. The purpose of the...more
On Tuesday, March 10, California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Matthew Rodriquez and California Natural Resources Agency (“CNRA”) Secretary John Laird testified before a joint State Senate committee hearing. At...more
On Tuesday, March 3, twelve underground injection control (“UIC”) wells in California’s Central Valley, specifically in Kern County, were shut down in order to protect subsurface drinking water from potential contamination. ...more
February 27, 2015 was the deadline for lawmakers to introduce legislation to the 2015-2016 California Legislative Session and several bills related to oil and gas activities were introduced. Below is a summary of those...more
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...more
On Friday, February 6, California’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) published a letter to the US Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) addressing issues with California’s Class II Oil and Gas...more
Today saw two significant developments for oil and gas operators utilizing well stimulation treatments in California.
Pursuant to SB 4, the Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources...more