Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER RESOLUTION 19-062 SUPPORTING AB 1328 (HOLDEN) CREATING TRANSPARENCY AROUND THE POLLUTION FROM IDLE AND ABONDONED OIL AND GAS WELLS THAT ARE LOCATED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO HOMES AND BUSINESSES (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
Often private oil and gas companies and the Department of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) cap idle and abandoned oil wells. As they do, the wells are tested for compounds like methane and hydrogen sulfide. Currently the companies are not required to share this information with the public. AB 1328 would require that the air pollution information gained from the testing be made public.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. WAIVE further reading and ADOPT Resolution No. 19-062, “CREATING TRANSPARENCY AROUND THE POLLUTION FROM IDLE AND ABONDONED OIL AND GAS WELLS THAT ARE LOCATED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO HOMES AND BUSINESSES”
2. REQUEST staff forward a copy of the executed Resolution 19-062 to Assemblymembers Chris Holden and Mike Gipson and the members of the California State Assembly Committee on Natural Resources.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
DO NOT support Resolution No. 19-062.
IV. BACKGROUND
Aging oil and gas wells that remain idle, or have been abandoned by operators are a source of pollution in California. AB 1328 will help the public better understand the impacts that unplugged idle and abandoned wells have on the environment. AB 1328 would create transparency around oil and gas operations by requiring that air pollution data, which is already being collected, be made public on DOGGR’s website and submitted to the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Wells that are shown to have major leaks during normal testing may require additional testing, if oil and gas companies are not already doing so. AB 1328 would make the following information available on DOGGR’s website and require those results to be transmitted to CARB:
1. Emissions data being collected on oil and gas wells that are being plugged and abandoned by oil and gas operators pursuant to an idle well management plan,
2. Emissions data being collected about hazardous and/or abandoned wells that are being plugged and abandoned by DOGGR, and
3. Additional information from enhanced flow rate testing for wells where an active major emissions source is discovered.
AB 1328 would also require DOGGR to perform a review of the effectiveness of well plugging operations to eliminate air emissions. AB 1328 has been referred to the California State Assembly Committee on Natural Resources. The Committee is tentatively scheduled to hear the matter on March 25, 2019.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
None.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Resolution No. 19-062. (pgs. 3-4)
Prepared by: Lisa Berglund, Assistant to the City Manager