2023 California Code › Public Resources Code - PRC › DIVISION 3 - OIL AND GAS › CHAPTER 1 - Oil and Gas Conservation › ARTICLE 4.6 - Health Protection Zones › Section 3281.

3281. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, commencing January 1, 2023, the division shall not approve any notice of intention under Section 3203 within a health protection zone, except for approvals of notices of intention necessary for any of the following purposes:
(1) To prevent or respond to a threat to public health, safety, or the environment.
(2) To comply with a court order finding that denying approval would amount to a taking of property, or a court order otherwise requiring approval of a notice of intention.
(3) To plug and abandon or reabandon a well, including an intercept well necessary to plug and abandon or reabandon a well.
(b) An operator who submits a notice of intention under Section 3203, except for notices of intention described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), shall submit a sensitive receptor inventory and map pursuant to Section 3285 of the area within the 3,200-foot radius of the wellhead or proposed wellhead location to the division with the notice of intention or a statement certifying that the operator has confirmed, and the division has verified, that there are no sensitive receptors located within 3,200 feet of the wellhead location. The operator shall submit the sensitive receptor inventory and map in a format that complies with all requirements of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–336) and its implementing regulations for online viewing. If the inventory or map includes any personally identifiable information, the operator shall submit a second version with the personally identifiable information redacted. Inventories and maps with no personally identifiable information shall be made available to the public in compliance with Section 3234. No new production facilities shall be constructed or operated in a health protection zone unless associated with a notice of intention approved pursuant to subdivision (a) or as determined by the division to be necessary to protect public health and safety.
(c) If a notice of intention is approved pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), the approval shall require the operator of the oil or gas well to provide an individual indemnity bond sufficient to pay the full cost of properly plugging and abandoning the operator’s well or wells, and decommissioning any attendant production facilities in the health protection zone. The division shall determine the amount of the individual indemnity bond in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 3205.3. The bond shall be executed by the operator, as principal, and by an authorized surety company, as surety, and shall be in substantially the same language and upon the same conditions as provided in Section 3204, except as to the difference in the amount. The operator’s blanket indemnity bond authorized pursuant to Section 3205 shall not be used to satisfy this subdivision.
(d) Underground gas storage wells and attendant production facilities are not subject to this article.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 365, Sec. 2. (SB 1137) Effective date (January 1, 2023) suspended pursuant to referendum petition. Effective only if Ch. 365 is approved as a referendum measure at the November 5, 2024, election.)