SECTIONS 3100-3112 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 3100-3112

3100. For the purposes of this chapter, the state is divided into
six districts, the boundaries of which shall be fixed by the
director.

3101. The supervisor shall appoint one chief deputy and at least
one district deputy for each of the districts provided for in this
chapter, and shall prescribe their duties.

3103. The chief deputy shall be a competent engineer or geologist,
registered in the state, and experienced in the development and
production of oil and gas.

3104. Each district deputy shall be a competent engineer or
geologist, preferably registered in the state, and experienced in the
development and production of oil and gas.

3105. An office under the supervision of a district deputy may be
maintained in each district. The office shall be conveniently
accessible to the oil and gas operators in the district.

3106. (a) The supervisor shall so supervise the drilling,
operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells and the operation,
maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities
attendant to oil and gas production, including pipelines not subject
to regulation pursuant to Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 51010)
of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code that are
within an oil and gas field, so as to prevent, as far as possible,
damage to life, health, property, and natural resources; damage to
underground oil and gas deposits from infiltrating water and other
causes; loss of oil, gas, or reservoir energy, and damage to
underground and surface waters suitable for irrigation or domestic
purposes by the infiltration of, or the addition of, detrimental
substances.
(b) The supervisor shall also supervise the drilling, operation,
maintenance, and abandonment of wells so as to permit the owners or
operators of the wells to utilize all methods and practices known to
the oil industry for the purpose of increasing the ultimate recovery
of underground hydrocarbons and which, in the opinion of the
supervisor, are suitable for this purpose in each proposed case. To
further the elimination of waste by increasing the recovery of
underground hydrocarbons, it is hereby declared as a policy of this
state that the grant in an oil and gas lease or contract to a lessee
or operator of the right or power, in substance, to explore for and
remove all hydrocarbons from any lands in the state, in the absence
of an express provision to the contrary contained in the lease or
contract, is deemed to allow the lessee or contractor, or the lessee'
s or contractor's successors or assigns, to do what a prudent
operator using reasonable diligence would do, having in mind the best
interests of the lessor, lessee, and the state in producing and
removing hydrocarbons, including, but not limited to, the injection
of air, gas, water, or other fluids into the productive strata, the
application of pressure heat or other means for the reduction of
viscosity of the hydrocarbons, the supplying of additional motive
force, or the creating of enlarged or new channels for the
underground movement of hydrocarbons into production wells, when
these methods or processes employed have been approved by the
supervisor, except that nothing contained in this section imposes a
legal duty upon the lessee or contractor, or the lessee's or
contractor's successors or assigns, to conduct these operations.
(c) The supervisor may require an operator to implement a
monitoring program, designed to detect releases to the soil and
water, including both groundwater and surface water, for aboveground
oil production tanks and facilities.
(d) To best meet oil and gas needs in this state, the supervisor
shall administer this division so as to encourage the wise
development of oil and gas resources.

3106.5. Acting with the approval of the director, the supervisor
may annually expend, from the amount appropriated to the division, up
to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to support activities at the West
Kern Oil Museum.

3107. A district deputy in each district, designated by the
supervisor, shall collect all necessary information regarding the oil
and gas wells in the district, with a view to determining the
presence of oil and gas sands and the location and extent of strata
bearing water suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes that might
be affected. The district deputy shall prepare maps and other
accessories necessary to determine the presence of oil and gas sands
and the location and extent of strata bearing water suitable for
irrigation or domestic purposes or surface water suitable for those
purposes. This work shall be done with the view to advising the
operators as to the best means of protecting the oil and gas sands
and the water-bearing strata and surface water, and with a view to
aiding the supervisor in ordering tests or repair work at wells. All
this data shall be kept on file in the office of the district deputy
of the respective district.

3108. On or before the first day of October of each year the
supervisor shall make public, for the benefit of all interested
persons, a report in writing showing:
(a) The total amounts of oil and gas produced in each county in
the state during the previous calendar year.
(b) The total cost of the division for the previous fiscal year.
(c) The total amount delinquent and uncollected from any
assessments or charges levied pursuant to this chapter.
The report shall also include such other information as the
supervisor deems advisable.

3109. The supervisor may publish any publications, reports, maps,
or other printed matter relating to oil and gas, for which there may
be public demand. If these publications, reports, maps, or other
printed matter are sold, they shall be sold at cost, and the proceeds
shall be deposited to the credit of the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal
Administrative Fund.

3110. All money paid to the Treasurer pursuant to Article 7
(commencing with Section 3400) shall be deposited to the credit of
the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund, which is hereby
established in the State Treasury, for expenditure as provided in
Section 3401.

3111. (a) All money received in repayment of repair work done as
provided in this chapter shall be returned and credited to the Oil,
Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund for expenditure as provided
in Section 3401.
(b) All miscellaneous revenues from oil and gas wells and from
real and personal property acquired by the supervisor in the course
of carrying out this chapter shall be credited to the Oil, Gas, and
Geothermal Administrative Fund for expenditure as provided in Section
3401.

3112. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code or of law
and except as provided in the State Building Standards Law, Part 2.5
(commencing with Section 18901) of Division 13 of the Health and
Safety Code, on and after January 1, 1980, the supervisor or the
Division of Oil and Gas shall not adopt nor publish a building
standard as defined in Section 18909 of the Health and Safety Code
unless the provisions of Sections 18930, 18933, 18938, 18940, 18943,
18944, and 18945 of the Health and Safety Code are expressly excepted
in the statute under which the authority to adopt rules,
regulations, or orders is delegated. Any building standard adopted in
violation of this section shall have no force or effect. Any
building standard adopted before January 1, 1980, pursuant to this
code and not expressly excepted by statute from such provisions of
the State Building Standards Law shall remain in effect only until
January 1, 1985, or until adopted, amended, or superseded by
provisions published in the State Building Standards Code, whichever
occurs sooner.