ARTICLE 4.2. Hazardous Wells and Facilities [3250. - 3258.]

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC 4.2.
in effect

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 3250. Section 3250.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that hazardous and certain idle-deserted oil and gas wells and hazardous and deserted facilities, as defined in this article, are public nuisances and that it is essential, in order to protect life, health, and natural resources that those oil and gas wells and facilities be abandoned, reabandoned, produced, or otherwise remedied to mitigate, minimize, or eliminate their danger to life, health, and natural resources. The Legislature further finds and declares that, although the abatement of such public nuisances could be accomplished by means of an exercise of the regulatory power of the state, such regulatory abatement would result in unfairness and financial hardship for certain landowners, while also resulting in benefits to the public. The Legislature, therefore, finds and declares that the expenditure of funds to abate such nuisances as provided in this article is for a public purpose and finds and declares it to be the policy of this state that the cost of carrying out such abatement be charged to this state’s producers of oil and gas as provided in Article 7 (commencing with Section 3400).

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 3251. Section 3251.

For the purposes of this article, the following definitions apply: (a) “Deserted facility” means a production facility determined by the supervisor to be deserted under Section 3237 and for which there is no operator responsible for its decommissioning under Section 3237. (b) “Decommission” has the same meaning and requirements, as applicable, as the definition established in Section 1760 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. (c) “Hazardous facility” means a production facility determined by the supervisor to be a potential danger to life, health, or natural resources and for which there is no operator determined by the supervisor to be responsible for its decommissioning under Section 3237. (d) “Hazardous well” means an oil and gas well determined by the supervisor to be a potential danger to life, health, or natural resources and for which there is no operator determined by the supervisor to be responsible for its plugging and abandonment under Section 3237. (e) “Idle-deserted well” means an oil and gas well determined by the supervisor to be deserted under Section 3237 and for which there is no operator responsible for its plugging and abandonment under Section 3237.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 3251.5. Section 3251.5.

(a) Notwithstanding Section 3251, a well shall be deemed a hazardous well if it has been determined by the supervisor to pose a present danger to life, health, or natural resources and has been abandoned in accordance with the requirements of the division in effect at the time of the abandonment 15 or more years before the date of the supervisor’s determination that it poses such a danger. (b) Reabandonment initiated by the supervisor shall not be affected by the timeline established in this section.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 3252. Section 3252.

As used in this article, “natural resources” includes land, water, air, minerals, vegetation, wildlife, historical or aesthetic sites, or any other natural resource which, irrespective of ownership, contributes to the health, safety, welfare, or enjoyment of a substantial number of persons, or to the substantial balance of an ecological community.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 3253. Section 3253.

If any provisions of this article or the application thereof in any circumstances or to any person or public agency is held invalid, the remainder of this article or the application thereof in other circumstances or to other persons or public agencies shall not be affected thereby.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 3255. Section 3255.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, the supervisor may order to be carried out, or may undertake, any of the following operations, as applicable, on any property in the vicinity of which, or on which, is located any well or facility that the supervisor determines to be a hazardous well, an idle-deserted well, a hazardous facility, or a deserted facility: (1) Any inspection or tests necessary to determine what action, if any, would be appropriate to effectuate the purpose of this article. (2) The abandonment of the well. (3) The reabandonment of the well. (4) The redrilling and production of an existing well for purposes of remedying, mitigating, minimizing, or eliminating danger to life, health, and natural resources. (5) The drilling and production of a well for purposes of remedying, mitigating, minimizing, or eliminating danger to life, health, and natural resources. (6) The decommissioning of hazardous or deserted facilities. (7) Any other remedy or oilfield operation calculated to effectuate the purpose of this article. (b) If, pursuant to this article, the supervisor orders that any operation be carried out with respect to a hazardous well, an idle-deserted well, a hazardous facility, or a deserted facility and that operation will, by virtue of the physical occupation or destruction of all or any part of the property or the extraction of oil or gas from the property, substantially interfere with the enjoyment of the property, the supervisor may acquire, as provided in Section 3256, a minimal interest in the property as is necessary to carry out the operation. No acquisition may be made pursuant to this subdivision unless the supervisor finds and determines that the public benefits to be derived therefrom in remedying, mitigating, minimizing, or eliminating danger to life, health, and natural resources will exceed the cost of the acquisition, irrespective of the manner in which the acquisition is to be funded. (c) An order of the supervisor to carry out any of the operations listed in subdivision (a) may be appealed by the owner of the property pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 3350), except that in the case of an emergency no stay of the supervisor’s order shall accompany the appeal.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 3256. Section 3256.

(a) The division is hereby authorized to accept, and hold for and in the name of the state, by gift, exchange, purchase, negotiation, or eminent domain proceedings, any and all property or appurtenances of every kind and description thereto, including land, leases, easements, rights-of-way, oil, gas, or other mineral rights as the supervisor determines to be required and necessary to carry out operations to effect the purpose of this article. (b) When the division cannot acquire any such necessary property or interest therein by agreement with the owner, any such property or interest therein authorized to be acquired under this article shall be acquired pursuant to provisions of the Property Acquisition Law (Part 11 (commencing with Section 15850) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code); except that, notwithstanding any provision thereof, the division, in the name of and for the state, may take immediate possession and use of any property required to carry out operations to effect the purpose of this article after eminent domain proceedings are first commenced according to law in a court of competent jurisdiction, and thereupon giving such security as the court in which the proceedings are pending directs to secure to the owner of the property sought to be taken immediate compensation for the taking and any damage incident thereto, including damages sustained by reason of an adjudication that there is no necessity for taking the property.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 3257. Section 3257.

To effect the purpose of this article, the division is authorized to enter into agreements with any person, public agency, corporation, or other entity for the management or operation of property acquired or for the conduct of any operation ordered pursuant to this article.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 3258. Section 3258.

(a) The division shall not make expenditures from the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund pursuant to this article that exceed the following sum any one fiscal year: (1) Three million dollars ($3,000,000), commencing on July 1, 2018, for the 2018–19 fiscal year, and continuing for three fiscal years thereafter. (2) Commencing with the 2022–23 fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter, five million dollars ($5,000,000). On a one-time basis, the division may also expend each of the following amounts: (A) For the 2024–25 fiscal year, seven million five hundred thousand dollars ($7,500,000), as a match to the dedicated General Fund appropriation for the 2022–23 fiscal year for the purposes of plugging and abandoning wells, decommissioning facilities, and site remediation pursuant to this article. (B) For the 2026–27 fiscal year, seven million five hundred thousand dollars ($7,500,000), only if there is a dedicated appropriation from a fund other than the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund for the 2026–27 fiscal year for the purposes of plugging and abandoning wells, decommissioning facilities, and site remediation pursuant to this article. (b) (1) The expenditure limits of subdivision (a) also apply to expenditures by the division from the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund pursuant to Section 3226, unless the division obtains a lien against real or personal property of the operator. If the division obtains a lien against real or personal property of greater value than the amount of the expenditure, then the amount of the expenditure shall not count against the expenditure limit of subdivision (a). If the division obtains a lien against real or personal property of lesser value than the amount of the expenditure, then only the difference between the amount of the expenditure and the value of the property counts against the expenditure limit of subdivision (a). Any moneys recovered by the division pursuant to Section 3226 shall be deposited in the Oil and Gas Environmental Remediation Account, unless the moneys are recovered against expenditures that have been or will be made from the Hazardous and Idle-Deserted Well Abatement Fund. (2) (A) Commencing with the 2023–24 fiscal year, in any fiscal year that the division makes expenditures that are less than the amount appropriated in the annual state Budget Act or any other law related to the expenditures described in subdivision (a), the Controller shall transfer from the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund to the Oil and Gas Environmental Remediation Account, established pursuant to Section 3261, an amount equal to the difference between what was appropriated and what was encumbered pursuant to this article by the division for that fiscal year, unless there is more than two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) in the account. (B) Upon the order of the Department of Finance, the Controller shall transfer the unencumbered amount from the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund to the Oil and Gas Environmental Remediation Account. (c) Moneys expended pursuant to this article shall be used exclusively for plugging and abandoning hazardous or idle-deserted wells, decommissioning hazardous or deserted facilities, or otherwise remediating well sites of hazardous or idle-deserted wells. (d) The division shall develop criteria for determining the priority of plugging and abandoning hazardous or idle-deserted wells and decommissioning hazardous or deserted facilities to be remediated pursuant to this article and performing work pursuant to Section 3226. The criteria shall consider the information required to be reported pursuant to subdivision (e). The Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) does not apply to the development of criteria by the division pursuant to this subdivision. (e) (1) (A) On April 1, 2021, the department shall report to the Legislature on the number of hazardous wells, idle-deserted wells, deserted facilities, and hazardous facilities remaining, the estimated costs of abandoning and decommissioning those wells and facilities, and a timeline for future abandonment and decommissioning of those wells and facilities with a specific schedule of goals. By April 1, 2022, the department shall report to the Legislature the location of the applicable wells and facilities, including the county in which they are located, if the information is not otherwise included in the April 1, 2021, report described in this paragraph. (B) As part of the report required in subparagraph (A), the department shall provide recommendations to the Legislature for improving and optimizing the involvement of local agencies in the process of plugging and abandoning wells and decommissioning facilities. In drafting these recommendations, the department shall consider factors unique to each of the division’s districts, and shall consult with local agencies in developing recommendations. (C) In collecting the information for the report required in subparagraph (A), the division shall conduct field inspections of hazardous wells, idle-deserted wells, deserted facilities, and hazardous facilities and include information in the report from the field inspections that can be used to prioritize those wells and facilities in the specific schedule of goals. (2) On October 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, the department shall provide to the Legislature an update on the report required in paragraph (1) that describes the total costs, average costs per well and facility, the number of wells plugged and abandoned, the number of facilities decommissioned, the total number of projects completed, and any additional wells and facilities identified by the department requiring abandonment or decommissioning. The update shall include the location, including the county, of applicable wells, facilities, and projects identified in the report. (3) The report and update to the report required to be submitted under this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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