American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2016 - 91

ConventionCoverage: California Independent Petroleum Association
of $100 million or more to undergo a
congressional review before its enactment.
The REINS Act has passed the House in
the past three congressional sessions, but
has not moved out of the Senate, he said.
"I believe we already have entered

what can only be described as the postconstitutional period of American history,"
McClintock concluded. "The question no
longer is whether we can prevent the disintegration of our constitutional architecture;
it already is disintegrating before our eyes.

The question now is whether we still have
the time and the will to restore it. I believe
that there are enough remnants of the
Constitution still functioning to allow us
to do so. But those powers must be summoned and reasserted now."
❒

State Emphasizing Water Regulations
NAPA, CA.-California's operators
produce nine to 15 barrels of water for
every one of oil, so they must expect the
state's regulatory emphasis to reflect that
ratio, maintained Robert Gore, the California Independent Petroleum Association's water adviser.
During CIPA's annual convention,
Gore participated in a panel discussion
on the state's water policies with Jonathan
Bishop, chief deputy director at the State
Water Resources Control Board. Reflecting
on the importance of water to California,
Gore pointed out the Division of Oil,
Gas and Geothermal Resources' newest
supervisor, Ken Harris, worked for the
Central Coast Regional Water Quality
Control Board before moving to his new
post.
The state's water regulators are unveiling a regional monitoring program
likely to affect oil and gas activities, observed Gore, a senior adviser with The
Gualco Group.
"Now is not the best time to get involved with your county groundwater
sustainability agency," Gore said. "Water
politics are arcane, Byzantine, lethal and
difficult to master. Once the groundwater
sustainability regulations form, agencies
have to roll out a plan. That is when you
want to engage, because our goal is to
minimize or completely eliminate local
agencies' impact on your business."
Governor Jerry Brown signed three
bills making up the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in September
2014. According to his office, the act requires local agencies to establish new
governance structures-groundwater sustainability agencies-before developing
plans to protect groundwater basins designated as medium or high priority.
"A central feature of these bills is the
recognition that groundwater management
in California is best accomplished locally,"
Brown said in his signing statement.
"Local agencies now will have the power
to assess the conditions of their local
groundwater basins, and take the necessary

steps to bring those basins in a state of
chronic long-term overdraft into balance."
California's executive and legislative
branches are showing increased interest
in regulating oil and gas activities, especially over water issues such as underground injection and surface disposal,
Bishop assessed. One key concern is ensuring that all underground injection is
into permitted, exempted aquifers-those
with no current or future beneficial use,
and capable of containing all injected
fluids.
That focus on water comes from three
emerging major issues, Bishop said:
* The statewide drought sparked discussions on how the resource was managed
and protected, which encouraged heightened conservation.
* A focus on the human right to safe
drinking water has led to several bills
targeting well stimulation.
* There are national concerns associated with well stimulation activities.

Gore noted that there was no merit to
those concerns, and added he was working
with CIPA to collect members' issues
and experiences with the new regulatory
regime to guide recommendations for
implementing those plans.
Produced Water
"As we move forward, you, I, and
DOGGR will be working together on
oil-field produced water. How it gets disposed of will have to be regulated by
both DOGGR and the water boards. That
is the way the legislation has been enacted;
that is the way the governor's administration has asked us to work it. So, we
are trying our best to get up to speed
with what you do and what your needs
are," Bishop said.
California is moving to basinwide
water regulation, with injection regulation
scheduled to be in place by February,
Bishop said. Operators looking to reduce
water disposal costs under the new rules

Jonathan Bishop (left), chief deputy director for the California State Water Resources
Control Board, and Robert Gore, water advocate for the California Independent Petroleum
Association, answer questions during their panel discussion on state water policy during
CIPA's annual convention.

JULY 2016 91

American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2016

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