California Public Resources Code CHAPTER 4 - Geothermal Resources

• Section 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...
• Section 3701.
  For the purposes of this chapter, “geothermal resources” shall mean geothermal resources as defined in Section 6903 of this code.(Amended by Stats. 1967, Ch. 1398.)
• Section 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...
• Section 3703.
  “Well” means any well for the discovery of geothermal resources or any well on lands producing geothermal resources or reasonably presumed to contain geothermal resources,...
• Section 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...
• Section 3704.
  “Department”, in reference to the government of this state, means the Department of Conservation.(Added by Stats. 1965, Ch. 1483.)
• Section 3705.
  “Division,” in reference to the government of this state, means the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation.(Amended by Stats....
• Section 3706.
  “Director” means the Director of Conservation.(Added by Stats. 1965, Ch. 1483.)
• Section 3707.
  “Supervisor” means the State Oil and Gas Supervisor.(Added by Stats. 1965, Ch. 1483.)
• Section 3708.
  “Person” includes any individual, firm, association, corporation, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.(Added by Stats. 1965, Ch. 1483.)
• Section 3709.
  “Operator” means any person drilling, maintaining, operating, pumping, or in control of any well.(Added by Stats. 1965, Ch. 1483.)
• Section 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.(Added...
• Section 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.(Added by...
• Section 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...
• Section 3714.
  The State Oil and Gas Supervisor shall so supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance and abandonment of geothermal resources wells as to encourage the greatest ultimate...
• Section 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 geothermal resources...
• Section 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...
• Section 3715.5.
  For the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (commencing with Section 21000), the division shall be the lead agency as defined in Section 21067...
• 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 3719.
  The supervisor shall publish any publications, reports, maps, statistical data or other printed matter relating to geothermal resources, for which there may be public demand....
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 3723.
  Every person who acquires the ownership or operation of any well, whether by purchase, transfer, assignment, conveyance, exchange, or otherwise, shall, within 30 days after...
• Section 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, within 30...
• Section 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...
• Section 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....
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 3724.35.
  The supervisor may adopt regulations governing intermediate and deep wells drilled for temperature-gradient monitoring purposes. The regulations may specify the content of any written program...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 3725.
  Every person who engages in the drilling, redrilling, deepening, maintaining, or abandoning of any well, except a low-temperature geothermal well, shall file with the supervisor...
• Section 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 with the...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 3732.
  The core record shall show the depth, character, and fluid content of cores obtained, so far as determined.(Added by Stats. 1965, Ch. 1483.)
• Section 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...
• Section 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,...
• Section 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,...
• Section 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,...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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,...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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 30th...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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 written...
• Section 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 this...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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)...
• Section 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...
• Section 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 other...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 3757.2.
  For the purpose of developing low-temperature geothermal resources, the supervisor may approve the exemption of any low-temperature geothermal well from Sections 3721, 3722, 3723, 3723.5,...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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.(Amended...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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 review...
• Section 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 (commencing...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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.(Amended...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 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...
• Section 3774.
  The Attorney General, as provided in Section 3102 of the Public Resources Code, shall commence and prosecute any such action to final judgment.(Added by Stats....
• Section 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...
• Section 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...

Last modified: October 22, 2018