Cal. PRC § 30262 — California Code / Code prc / Division 20 / Chapter 3 / Article 7 / Section 30262
Section 30262
Status: in_force

(a) New or expanded oil and gas development shall not be considered a coastal-dependent industrial facility for the purposes of Section 30260, and may be permitted only if found to be consistent with all applicable provisions of this division and if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The development is performed safely and consistent with the geologic conditions of the well site.

(2) Activities related to that development are consolidated, to the maximum extent feasible and legally permissible, unless consolidation will have adverse environmental consequences and will not significantly reduce the number of producing wells, support facilities, or sites required to produce the reservoir economically and with minimal environmental impacts.

(3) The development will not cause or contribute to subsidence hazards unless it is determined that adequate measures will be undertaken to prevent damage from that subsidence.

(4) All oilfield brines are reinjected into oil-producing zones unless the Geologic Energy Management Division of the Department of Conservation determines to do so would adversely affect production of the reservoirs and unless injection into other subsurface zones will reduce environmental risks. Exceptions to reinjections will be granted consistent with the California Ocean Plan of the State Water Resources Control Board and where adequate provision is made for the elimination of petroleum odors and water quality problems.

(5) (A) All oil produced offshore California shall be transported onshore by pipeline only. The pipelines used to transport this oil shall utilize the best achievable technology to ensure maximum protection of public health and safety and of the integrity and productivity of terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

(B) Once oil produced offshore California is onshore, it shall be transported to processing and refining facilities by pipeline that uses the best available technology pursuant to Section 51013.1 of the Government Code.

(C) The following guidelines shall be used when applying subparagraphs (A) and (B):

(i) “Best achievable technology,” means the technology that provides the greatest degree of protection taking into consideration both of the following:

(I) Processes that are being developed, or could feasibly be developed, anywhere in the world, given overall reasonable expenditures on research and development.

(II) Processes that are currently in use anywhere in the world. This clause is not intended to create any conflicting or duplicative regulation of pipelines, including those governing the transportation of oil produced from onshore reserves.

(ii) “Oil” refers to crude oil before it is refined into products, including gasoline, bunker fuel, lubricants, and asphalt. Crude oil that is upgraded in quality through residue reduction or other means shall be transported as provided in subparagraphs (A) and (B).

(iii) Subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall apply only to new or expanded oil extraction operations. “New extraction operations” means production of offshore oil from leases that did not exist or had never produced oil, as of January 1, 2003, or from platforms, drilling islands, subsea completions, or onshore drilling sites, that did not exist as of January 1, 2003. “Expanded oil extraction” means an increase in the geographic extent of existing leases or units, including lease boundary adjustments, an increase in the number of well heads, reactivation of a facility idled, inactive, or out of service for more than five years, or an increase in oil extraction from the use of hydraulic fracturing, extended reach drilling, acidization, or other unconventional technologies, on or after January 1, 2003.

(6) If a state of emergency is declared by the Governor for an emergency that disrupts the transportation of oil by pipeline, oil may be transported by a waterborne vessel, if authorized by permit, in the same manner as required by emergency permits that are issued pursuant to Section 30624.

(7) In addition to all other measures that will maximize the protection of marine habitat and environmental quality, when an offshore well is abandoned, the best achievable technology shall be used.

(b) (1) Repair and maintenance of an existing oil and gas facility may be permitted in accordance with Section 30260 only if it does not result in expansion of capacity of the oil and gas facility, and if all applicable conditions of subdivision (a) are met.

(2) Repair, reactivation, and maintenance of an oil and gas facility, including an oil pipeline, that has been idled, inactive, or out of service for five years or more shall be considered a new or expanded development requiring a new coastal development permit consistent with this section.

(3) Development associated with the repair, reactivation, or maintenance of an oil pipeline that has been idled, inactive, or out of service for five years or more requires a new coastal development permit consistent with this section.

(4) The commission or local government with a certified local coastal program shall review and approve, modify, condition, or deny the permit based on the requirements of this section.

(c) Where appropriate, monitoring programs to record land surface and near-shore ocean floor movements shall be initiated in locations of new large-scale fluid extraction on land or near shore before operations begin and shall continue until surface conditions have stabilized. Costs of monitoring and mitigation programs shall be borne by liquid and gas extraction operators.

(d) This section does not affect the activities of any state agency that is responsible for regulating the extraction, production, or transport of oil and gas.