SB 454: Water quality: oil and gas: exempted aquifer.

Existing federal law prohibits certain oil and gas well activities that affect underground sources of drinking water unless those sources are located in an exempt exempted aquifer. Existing federal law authorizes a state delegated with the responsibility of regulating certain wells to propose that an aquifer or a portion of an aquifer be an exempt exempted aquifer and authorizes the United States Environmental Protection Agency to approve the proposal if the aquifer or a portion of the aquifer meets certain criteria. Under existing federal law, the authority to regulate those wells in California is delegated to the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation.

This bill would prohibit the division from submitting a proposal for an aquifer exemption to the United States Environmental Protection Agency unless the division and the State Water Resources Control Board concur in writing that the aquifer meets specified conditions.