CHAPTER 4. Geothermal Resources

Heading of Chapter 4 amended by Stats. 1967, Ch. 1398.

§§ 3700–3776 · 94 sections

§ 3700 It is hereby found and determined that the people of the State of California have a direct and primary interest in the development of geothermal resources, and…
§ 3701 For the purposes of this chapter, “geothermal resources” shall mean geothermal resources as defined in Section 6903 of this code.
§ 3702 For the purposes of this chapter, “geothermal resources area” means the same general surface area which is underlaid, or reasonably appears to be underlaid, by…
§ 3703 “Well” means any well for the discovery of geothermal resources or any well on lands producing geothermal resources or reasonably presumed to contain…
§ 3703.1 “Low-temperature geothermal resources” are fluids that have value by virtue of the heat contained therein and have a temperature that is not more than the…
§ 3704 “Department”, in reference to the government of this state, means the Department of Conservation.
§ 3705 “Division,” in reference to the government of this state, means the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation.
§ 3706 “Director” means the Director of Conservation.
§ 3707 “Supervisor” means the State Oil and Gas Supervisor.
§ 3708 “Person” includes any individual, firm, association, corporation, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
§ 3709 “Operator” means any person drilling, maintaining, operating, pumping, or in control of any well.
§ 3710 “Owner” includes “operator” when any well is operated or has been operated or is about to be operated by any person other than the owner.
§ 3711 “Operator” includes “owner” when any well is or has been or is about to be operated by or under the direction of the owner.
§ 3712 This chapter shall be liberally construed to meet its purposes, and the director and the supervisor, acting with the approval of the director, shall have all…
§ 3714 The State Oil and Gas Supervisor shall so supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance and abandonment of geothermal resources wells as to encourage the…
§ 3714.5 The supervisor, pursuant to regulation, shall designate geothermal resources areas and may exclude from the operation of this chapter certain wells within such…
§ 3715 The supervisor shall also supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells so as to permit the owners or operators of such wells to…
§ 3715.5 (a) For the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (commencing with Section 21000), the division shall be the lead agency as defined in Section…
§ 3716 The district deputy in each district shall collect all information regarding the wells in the district necessary for the proper supervision of the wells. The…
§ 3717 Upon request, the supervisor shall notify the Department of Fish and Game and the California regional water quality control board in the area affected of the…
§ 3718 Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as superseding any of the provisions of Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code or Division 6…
§ 3719 The supervisor shall publish any publications, reports, maps, statistical data or other printed matter relating to geothermal resources, for which there may be…
§ 3720 For the purposes of this chapter, the state may be divided into one or more districts, the boundaries of which shall be fixed by the director.
§ 3721 Every owner or operator of any well shall designate an agent, giving his or her address, who resides in this state, to receive and accept all orders, notices,…
§ 3722 The owner or operator of any well shall notify the supervisor or the district deputy, in writing, in such form as the supervisor or the district deputy may…
§ 3723 Every person who acquires the ownership or operation of any well, whether by purchase, transfer, assignment, conveyance, exchange, or otherwise, shall, within…
§ 3723.5 Any person who acquires the ownership or operation of any well or wells, whether by purchase, transfer, assignment, conveyance, exchange, or otherwise, shall,…
§ 3724 The owner or operator of any well, before commencing the original drilling of a well or the redrilling of an abandoned well, shall file with the supervisor or…
§ 3724.1 An owner or operator may submit to the supervisor for approval a written program to drill a shallow well or wells for temperature-gradient monitoring purposes.…
§ 3724.2 If, after study by the supervisor, it is determined that one or all of the wells proposed pursuant to Section 3724.1 require additional supervision, the…
§ 3724.3 Drilling of program wells, as described in Section 3724.1, shall not commence until approval is given by the supervisor or the district deputy. If the…
§ 3724.32 When an operator fails to pay a civil penalty imposed pursuant to Section 3754.5, comply with an order of the supervisor issued pursuant to this chapter, or…
§ 3724.35 The supervisor may adopt regulations governing intermediate and deep wells drilled for temperature-gradient monitoring purposes. The regulations may specify…
§ 3724.4 The proposal, and all other data submitted as required by Sections 3724.1, 3724.2, and 3724.3, shall be maintained in a confidential status as provided for in…
§ 3724.5 To provide funds for the supervision of geothermal resource wells, the supervisor shall establish an annual well fee, and penalties for late payment, to be…
§ 3724.6 The permit application fees established in Sections 3724 and 3724.1 shall be made payable by the operator to the Department of Conservation, and the annual…
§ 3725 Every person who engages in the drilling, redrilling, deepening, maintaining, or abandoning of any well, except a low-temperature geothermal well, shall file…
§ 3725.5 Any person who engages in the drilling, redrilling, deepening, maintaining, or abandoning of any low-temperature well, as defined in Section 3703.1, shall file…
§ 3726 Any person who engages in the drilling, redrilling, deepening, maintaining, or abandoning of one or more wells at any time, may file with the supervisor one…
§ 3728 Any individual or blanket indemnity bond issued in compliance with this chapter may, with the consent of the supervisor, be terminated and canceled and the…
§ 3728.5 In lieu of the bond required by Sections 3723.5, 3725, 3725.5, and 3726, a deposit may, with the written approval of the supervisor, be given pursuant to…
§ 3729 For the purposes of Section 3728, a well is properly abandoned when it has been shown to the satisfaction of the supervisor that all proper steps have been…
§ 3730 The owner or operator of any well shall keep, or cause to be kept, a careful and accurate log, core record, and history of the drilling of the well.
§ 3731 The log shall show the character and depth of the formation passed through or encountered in the drilling of the well, the amount, size and weight of casing…
§ 3732 The core record shall show the depth, character, and fluid content of cores obtained, so far as determined.
§ 3733 The history shall show the location and amount of sidetracked casings, tools, or other material, the depth and quantity of cement in cement plugs, the shots of…
§ 3734 The log shall be kept in the local office of the owner or operator and, together with the tour reports of the owner or operator, shall be subject, during…
§ 3735 Upon the completion or abandonment of any well or upon the suspension of operations upon any well, true copies of the log, core record, history, and, if made,…
§ 3736 The owner or operator of any well, or his local agent, shall file with the supervisor a copy of the log, history, and core record, or any portion thereof, at…
§ 3737 A well is completed, for the purposes of this chapter, 30 days after it has commenced to produce a geothermal resource unless drilling operations are resumed…
§ 3739 Any person engaged in operating any wells wherein high pressures are known to exist, and any person drilling for geothermal resources in any district where the…
§ 3740 The owner or operator of any well on lands producing or reasonably presumed to contain geothermal resources shall properly case it with watertight and adequate…
§ 3741 The supervisor shall require such tests or remedial work as in his judgment are necessary to prevent damage to life, health, property, and natural resources,…
§ 3742.2 Any person having drilled a well or wells on state, federal or private lands which are producing or, according to the supervisor, are capable of producing…
§ 3743 (a) An order of the supervisor or a district deputy issued pursuant to this chapter shall provide a clear and concise recitation of the acts or omissions with…
§ 3744 (a) Within 30 days from the date of service of an order made pursuant to Section 3743, or if there has been an appeal from the order to the director, within 30…
§ 3745 The owner of any well producing geothermal resources or injecting fluids associated with geothermal operations shall file with the supervisor, on or before the…
§ 3746 Before abandoning any well in accordance with methods approved by the supervisor or the district deputy, and under his direction, the owner or operator shall…
§ 3747 Before any work is commenced to abandon any well, the owner or operator shall give written notice to the supervisor or the district deputy of the owner’s or…
§ 3748 The supervisor, or the district deputy, shall before the proposed date of commencing work to abandon such well, furnish to the owner or operator either: (a) A…
§ 3749 If the supervisor or the district deputy fails to give the owner or operator a written report or request within the specified time, such failure shall be…
§ 3750 Within 60 days after the completion of abandonment of any well, the owner or operator of the well shall make, in such form as the supervisor or the district…
§ 3751 No person, whether as principal, agent, servant, employee, or otherwise, shall remove the casing or any portion thereof, from any well without first giving…
§ 3752 (a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, all the well records, including production records, of an owner or operator that are filed pursuant to…
§ 3753 Upon receipt by the supervisor or by a district deputy of a written complaint, alleging a condition in violation of this chapter, specifically setting forth…
§ 3754 Any owner or operator, or employee thereof, who refuses to permit the supervisor or the district deputy, or his or her inspector, to inspect a well or…
§ 3754.5 (a) Any person who violates this chapter or any regulation implementing this chapter is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000)…
§ 3755 The supervisor or his deputy may order the abandonment of any well that has been deserted whether or not any damage is occurring or threatened by reason of…
§ 3756 Whenever the supervisor finds that it is in the interest of the protection of geothermal resources from unreasonable waste, the lessors, lessees, operators, or…
§ 3757 Any well hereafter drilled for the discovery and production of geothermal resources, which is located within 100 feet of an outer boundary of the parcel of…
§ 3757.1 Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, where a parcel of land contains one acre or more and all or substantially all of the surface is…
§ 3757.2 For the purpose of developing low-temperature geothermal resources, the supervisor may approve the exemption of any low-temperature geothermal well from…
§ 3758 Where several contiguous parcels of land in one or different ownerships are operated as a single geothermal resources lease or operating unit, the term “outer…
§ 3759 For the purpose of this chapter, an alley which intersects or lies within any block or other subdivision unit is not a public street or road.
§ 3760 Each day in which the drilling of any well is carried on, or on which it is permitted to produce geothermal resources in violation of this chapter is a…
§ 3761 The provisions regarding the location of geothermal resources wells do not apply to any wells producing geothermal resources on the effective date of this act.
§ 3762 (a) The operator of a well to whom the supervisor or district deputy has issued an order pursuant to this chapter may file a notice of appeal to the director…
§ 3763 (a) A hearing shall be provided in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code only in…
§ 3764 (a) A hearing conducted by the director shall adhere to the following: (1) When an order is not issued as an emergency order, within 30 days from the date of…
§ 3765 (a) Within 30 days after the close of a hearing conducted by the director, the director shall issue a written decision affirming, setting aside, or modifying…
§ 3766 (a) Following a hearing conducted by the director pursuant to Sections 3764 and 3765 or subdivision (b) of Section 3762, the operator may obtain judicial…
§ 3767 When an operator seeks judicial review of a decision of the director, including a decision following a hearing conducted in accordance with Chapter 5…
§ 3768 If the operator does not appeal an order, if the operator does not timely seek judicial review of a decision affirming or modifying an order within the time…
§ 3769 In any proceeding instituted by the supervisor for the purpose of enforcing or carrying out the provisions of this chapter, or for the purpose of holding an…
§ 3770 Witnesses shall be entitled to receive the fees and mileage fixed by law in civil causes, payable from the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund.
§ 3771 In case of the failure or neglect on the part of any person to comply with any order of the supervisor or the director, or any subpoena, or upon the refusal of…
§ 3772 (a) If any person fails to pay any charge or penalty imposed under this chapter at the time that it becomes due and payable, the amount thereof, including…
§ 3772.2 A warrant may be issued by the Controller or his or her duly authorized representative for the collection of any charges, interests and penalty and for the…
§ 3772.4 The sheriff shall receive, upon the completion of his or her services pursuant to a warrant, and the Controller is authorized to pay to him or her the same…
§ 3772.6 In the event that the lien of the charges, penalties or interest attaches to real property from which geothermal energy is extracted and more than one parcel…
§ 3773 The Controller shall, on or before the 90th day following the delinquency of any charge, bring an action in the name of the people of the state, in the county…
§ 3774 The Attorney General shall commence and prosecute any such action to final judgment.
§ 3775 In such actions the record of charges, or a copy of so much thereof as is applicable, duly certified by the Controller, showing unpaid charges against any…
§ 3776 Payment of the penalties and charges, or the amount of the judgment recovered in the action, shall be made to the State Treasurer, and shall be returned and…