June 20, 2011, by
Meyers Nave
On June 1, 2011, the California Assembly passed Assembly Bill 591, which, if ultimately passed by the State Senate and signed by the Governor, would impose a number of new public disclosure requirements on operators conducting hydraulic fracturing operations in California. Among other things, AB 591 would (1) require the operator to list the chemical constituents in the fracturing fluid; (2) require well histories to include information regarding (a) the amount and source of water used in the exploration or production from the well; (b) the radiological components or tracers injected into the well, and (c) a complete list of the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing. The information would be submitted to the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) and would then be added to existing Internet maps on the DOGGR’s Web site and made available to the public.
