SECTIONS 7051-7062 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 7051-7062

7051. (a) The board of supervisors, boards of trustees, directors
or other governing body of any county or other public or quasi-public
corporation, body or agency authorized to acquire and hold real
property pursuant to the statutory authority under which such county,
corporation, body or agency is created may, under such limitations
and restrictions as are prescribed by law, lease for the production
of oil, gas and other hydrocarbons or for the mining of any other
minerals whatsoever, any land owned by the county or such other
public or quasi-public corporation, body or agency, or include such
land in a community lease embracing adjoining lands, or enter into
compensatory royalty agreements in lieu of making such lease,
whenever, in the judgment of the governing body, the public use of
such property shall not be substantially interfered with thereby. No
land used, owned, dedicated, or acquired by purchase, condemnation,
gift, or otherwise, as a public park, highway, street, walk, or
public playground shall be so leased unless the use of such property
for park, highway, street, walk or public playground purposes shall
not be substantially interfered with thereby; provided, however, that
if in the judgment of the governing body of any such park, highway,
street, walk or public playground, drilling for oil or gas would not
substantially interfere with the use of such property for park,
highway, street, walk or playground purposes, then any such lease on
any such property shall provide that drilling for oil or gas beneath
the surface of such property shall be done by means of slant drilling
from surface locations, outside the outer boundaries of any such
property, or from designated locations inside the outer boundaries of
such property, which inside locations have been approved by the
county parks commission and will not interfere substantially with the
use of such property for such park, highway, street, walk or
playground purposes. No land owned or under the jurisdiction of the
county or such other public or quasi-public corporation, body or
agency lying within 300 feet above the line of high tide, or at any
point below the line of high tide, of the Pacific Ocean, or any arm,
bay, or inlet of the Pacific Ocean shall be leased for the drilling
for and production of petroleum products or other minerals, unless
the use of such property for public purposes shall not be
substantially interfered with thereby; provided, however, that if in
the judgment of the governing body of any such land, drilling for oil
or gas would not substantially interfere with the use of such
property for public purposes, then any such lease on any such
property shall provide that drilling for oil or gas beneath the
surface of such property shall be done by means of slant drilling
from surface locations, outside the outer boundaries of any such
property, or from designated locations inside the outer boundaries of
such property, which inside locations have been approved by the
governing body and will not interfere substantially with the use of
such property for public purposes.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no tide
or submerged lands owned or under the jurisdiction of the county or
such other public or quasi-public corporation, body or agency shall
be leased for the exploration for, drilling for or production of
petroleum products within the boundaries of the areas of the County
of Los Angeles described in subdivision (a) of Section 6871.2 unless
such lands are within one nautical mile of the ordinary high water
mark, the applicable conditions of the Public Resources Code and
requirements of the State Lands Commission have been met, and the
drilling for oil and gas deposits is to be done by means of slant
drilling from an upland site.

7052. Lands may be leased in tracts of such size and shape as the
governing body may determine. Before executing a lease of any such
property, the governing body shall in open meeting, by not less than
a two-thirds vote of its members, adopt a resolution declaring its
intention to lease the property. The resolution shall describe the
property proposed to be leased in such manner as to identify it,
specify the minimum rental and term for which it will be leased, the
form of the lease or agreement, and one variable, biddable factor, on
which bids will be received, and fix a time not less than three
weeks thereafter and place for a public meeting of said governing
body, at which meeting sealed proposals to lease will be received and
considered. The resolution shall, before the date of such meeting,
be published once a week for three successive weeks in one or more
newspapers of general circulation in the county where the property is
situated.
This section shall not apply to the renewal or extension for a
fixed term not exceeding the original term of leases or operating
agreements initially issued for a fixed term.
The State Lands Commission may in its discretion exempt particular
leases or operating agreements from the procedure required by this
section and Section 7053 where by reason of the small size of the
property or drainage, actual or imminent, such procedure would in the
judgment of the State Lands Commission in the particular case be
impractical.

7053. At the time and place fixed in the resolution for the
meeting, all sealed proposals which have been received shall in
public session be opened, examined, and recorded by the governing
body, and the property may be leased to the highest responsible
bidder in the judgment of the governing body. The governing body may,
should it deem such action for the best public interest, at any time
reject any and all bids and withdraw the property from lease.

7054. An order to lease made by the governing body shall authorize
and direct the execution and delivery by the chair or other presiding
officer of a lease to the lessee.

7054.5. No lease or modification thereof or amendment thereto for
the production, extraction, or removal of minerals, oil, gas, or
other hydrocarbons from tide or submerged lands which have been
granted by the State to a public agency in trust wherein the State
has not reserved the minerals, shall be effective or shall be
delivered to the lessee unless and until it has been approved by the
State Lands Commission.
Prior to adopting the resolution provided for by Section 7052, the
governing body may petition the State Lands Commission for approval
of the form of the resolution.
When any public agency mentioned in Section 7056 has the right to
designate drill sites or areas for the production of oil, gas or
other hydrocarbons from tide or submerged lands pursuant to leases,
operating agreements, other agreements, or modifications or
amendments thereof, which are otherwise authorized by law, then such
public agencies must first obtain the approval of the State Lands
Commission before designating such drill sites or areas. Such
designation and approval shall, as far as possible, conform to the
legal requirements, policies and regulations applicable to the
development of state-owned or controlled tide or submerged lands for
the production of oil, gas or other hydrocarbons.

7055. Any money accruing from leases under this chapter shall be
paid into the general fund of the county or other public or quasi
public corporation, body or agency for the use of the county or other
public or quasi public corporation, body or agency, as the case may
be.

7056. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all counties
and to such public or quasi-public corporations, bodies and agencies
as are not otherwise authorized by law to lease for the production of
oil, gas and other hydrocarbons, or for the mining of other
minerals, lands owned by such public or quasi-public corporation,
body or agency, including, without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, such of the following districts as are not otherwise
authorized by law to lease land for such purposes, to wit: mosquito
abatement districts, pest abatement districts, county sanitation
districts, sanitary districts, local health districts, public
cemetery districts, fire protection districts, park and recreation
districts, placer mining districts, soil conservation districts,
harbor and port districts, veterans memorial districts, school
districts, airport districts, conservancy districts, flood control
districts, drainage districts, irrigation districts, reclamation
districts, levee districts, water districts, overflow districts,
storm water districts and county power pumping districts; provided,
however, that notwithstanding any other provisions of law authorizing
the execution of such leases, the governing body of any district
mentioned in this section may lease lands belonging to such district
for the production of oil, gas and other minerals upon complying with
the provisions of this chapter.

7056.5. The provisions of Sections 7051 to 7056, inclusive, shall
apply to operating agreements and all other types of agreements
entered into by the agencies mentioned in Section 7056 for the
purposes described in Section 7051.
This section does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory
of, the pre-existing law.

7057. The property of any city may be leased for the purpose of
producing or effecting the production of minerals, oil, gas or other
hydrocarbon substances for a period not to exceed 35 years unless
such property shall have been dedicated or acquired as a park,
highway, street, walk or public playground, in which event such
property may be leased for such purposes provided that the use of
such property for park, highway, street, walk or public playground
purposes shall not be substantially interfered with thereby; provided
however, that if in the judgment of the governing body of any such
park, highway, street, walk or public playground, drilling for oil or
gas would not substantially interfere with the use of such property
for park, highway, street, walk or playground purposes, then any such
lease on any such property shall provide that drilling for oil or
gas beneath the surface of such property shall be done by means of
slant drilling from surface locations outside the outer boundaries of
any such property, or from designated locations inside the outer
boundaries of such property, which inside locations will not
interfere substantially with the use of such property for such park,
highway, street, walk or playground purposes. Such governing body
shall prescribe such terms and conditions in such lease to the end
that any drilling and producing operations will interfere as little
as is possible with the use of the property for such park, highway,
street, walk or playground purposes.
The amendment of this section made at the 1959 Regular Session of
the Legislature does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory
of, the preexisting law.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no tide or
submerged lands owned or under the jurisdiction of any city shall be
leased for the exploration for, drilling for or production of
petroleum products within the boundaries of the areas of the County
of Los Angeles described in subdivision (a) of Section 6871.2 unless
such lands are within one nautical mile of the ordinary high water
mark, the applicable conditions of the Public Resources Code and
requirements of the State Lands Commission have been met, and the
drilling for oil and gas deposits is to be done by means of slant
drilling from an upland site.

7058. Any city, county, city and county, or district, in the
interest of increasing the ultimate recovery of oil or gas, or of the
protection of oil or gas from unreasonable waste, or of the possible
arresting or amelioration of land subsidence, may enter into unit or
co-operative agreements with respect to all or any part or parts of
land owned, possessed, controlled, held in trust by, or otherwise
under the jurisdiction of, such city, county, city and county or
district, for the purpose of bringing about the co-operative
development and operation of all or a part or parts of the oil and
gas field in which such lands are located, or for the purpose of
bringing about the development or operation of all or a part or parts
of such field as a unit, or for the purpose of fixing the time,
location, and manner of drilling and operating of wells for the
production of oil or gas, or providing for the return or injection of
gas, water or other substances into the subsurface of the earth for
the purpose of storage or the repressuring of such oil or gas field.
If any such unit or co-operative agreement includes tide and
submerged lands which have been granted to a city, county, or city
and county by a grant which does not reserve to the State the right
to produce oil and gas therefrom, then the agreement shall comply
with the requirements of Section 6879 of this code, and shall bind
the State only if approved by the State Lands Commission pursuant to
the provisions of Section 6879. Subject to the foregoing, and
notwithstanding any competitive bidding requirements or restrictions
on term contained in this chapter, or any other statute, including
but not limited to Section 718 of the Civil Code, Sections 37383 and
37384 of the Government Code and Chapter 29 of the 1956 Statutes,
First Extraordinary Session, any such city, county, city and county,
or district may negotiate and execute all agreements necessary to
effectuate, implement or modify any such unit or co-operative
agreement, including the power to bind and commit lands, including
tide and submerged lands, or any interest in lands, to the
co-operative or unit agreement for the full term thereof,
irrespective of whether the term thereof is for a period extending
over the life of the field or for any other indefinite period, and
irrespective of the termination date of any lease, contract or other
agreement then in effect as to such lands. The power of any such
city, county, city and county, or district to enter into unit or
co-operative agreements shall include the power to do such other acts
or things and to incur such other commitments and obligations as are
customary in unit or co-operative agreements.
This section shall apply to any city, county, city and county, or
district, irrespective of whether they are authorized by this chapter
or any other statute to lease or develop lands for the production of
oil, gas, and other hydrocarbon substances.

7058.5. Before a lease or any operating agreement or other type of
agreement for the production of oil, gas, or other hydrocarbons is
entered into after the effective date of this section, the governing
body of a city shall in open meeting adopt a resolution declaring its
intention to take such action. The resolution shall describe the
property involved in such manner as to identify it, specify the
minimum rental, royalty, or other consideration, and the term of the
lease or agreement, the form of the lease or agreement, and one
variable, biddable factor, on which bids will be received, and fix a
time not less than 30 days thereafter and place for a public meeting
of said governing body, at which meeting sealed proposals to lease or
contract will be received and considered. The resolution shall,
before the date of such meeting, be published once a week for four
successive weeks in one or more newspapers of general circulation in
the city where the property is situated, or, if there is no newspaper
of general circulation in such city, in one or more newspapers of
general circulation in the county where the property is situated.
This section shall not apply to the renewal of leases or operating
agreements issued for a fixed term; provided, that such renewals
shall be subject to State Lands Commission approval as provided in
Section 7060.
As used in this section, governing body of a city means the city
council, or other city board or agency having jurisdiction by charter
or law over the property involved.

7059. At the time and place fixed in the resolution for the
meeting, all sealed proposals which have been received shall in
public session be opened, examined, and recorded by the governing
body of the city, and the property shall be leased to, or the
agreement shall be made and entered into with, the highest
responsible bidder in the judgment of the governing body. The
governing body may, however, should it deem such action for the best
public interest, at any time reject any and all bids and withdraw the
property from lease or contract.
As used in this section, governing body of a city means the city
council, or other city board or agency having jurisdiction by charter
or law over the property involved.

7060. (a) No such lease or agreement shall be effective unless
prior to adopting the resolution provided for by Section 7058.5 the
city shall have petitioned the State Lands Commission for approval of
the proposed resolution, and the proposed resolution shall have been
approved by the State Lands Commission.
(b) No city shall consent to the modification or amendment of any
such lease or agreement without the advance consent of the State
Lands Commission to such modification or amendment.

7061. The provisions of Sections 7058.5 to 7059, inclusive, shall
be applicable to all general-law cities and shall be applicable to
general-law and chartered cities with respect to tide or submerged
lands granted in trust to such cities by the State where mineral
rights have not been reserved to the State. Section 7060 shall be
applicable to both general-law and chartered cities only with respect
to tide or submerged lands granted in trust to such cities by the
State, where mineral rights have not been reserved to the State. The
provisions of Sections 7058.5 to 7060, inclusive, shall not apply to
activities regulated by Chapter 29 of the Statutes of the 1956 First
Extraordinary Session.
The State Lands Commission may in its discretion exempt particular
leases or operating agreements from the procedure required by
Sections 7058.5 and 7059 where by reason of the small size of the
property or drainage, actual or imminent, such procedure would in the
judgment of the State Lands Commission in the particular case be
impractical.

7061.1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 7058, no city,
county, city and county, or district may enter into a unit or
cooperative agreement pursuant to that section under which
exploration for, drilling for, or production of petroleum products is
proposed with respect to any part or parts of an oil and gas field
located in tide or submerged lands which are within the boundaries of
the areas of the county of Los Angeles described in subdivision (a)
of Section 6871.2 unless such lands are within one nautical mile of
the ordinary high water mark, the applicable conditions of the Public
Resources Code and requirements of the State Lands Commission have
been met, and the drilling for oil and gas deposits is to be done by
means of slant drilling from an upland site.

7062. (a) On or before October 1st of each year, each city shall
cause to be made and filed with the State Lands Commission a detailed
statement of all revenue and expenditures thereof from any operating
agreement or other type of lease or agreement for the production of
oil, gas, or other hydrocarbons, including obligations incurred but
not yet paid. Said statement shall cover the fiscal year preceding
its submission and shall show the project or operation for which each
such expenditure or obligation is made or incurred.
(b) In addition to the other powers and duties specifically
delegated to it, the State Lands Commission shall have authority to
examine financial and operating records of any city relating to the
production and sale of oil, gas, and other hydrocarbons under any
operating agreement or other type of lease or agreement for the
production of oil, gas, or other hydrocarbons and to conduct such
other investigations and studies as it may deem necessary in
connection therewith.
The provisions of this section shall be applicable only with
respect to tide or submerged lands granted in trust to cities by the
State. The provisions of this section shall not apply to activities
regulated by Chapter 29 of the Statutes of the 1956 First
Extraordinary Session.