California Code of Regulations
Title 14 - Natural Resources
Division 2 - Department of Conservation
Chapter 4 - Development, Regulation, and Conservation of Oil and Gas Resources
Subchapter 2 - Environmental Protection
Article 2 - Definitions
Section 1760 - Definitions

Universal Citation: 14 CA Code of Regs 1760

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024

The following definitions are applicable to this subchapter:

(a) "Active gas pipeline" means an in-service pipeline that carries gas in gaseous or vapor phase and may contain fractional amounts of liquids, solids, and other non-hydrocarbon gases.

(b) "Alteration" of a production facility means any action that changes by more than ten percent the total processing capacity, or storage volume of the production facilities within a given secondary containment. "Alteration" does not include activities such as maintenance, replacement, or minor modification of production facilities, or installation of temporary production facilities.

(c) "Catch basin" means a dry sump that is constructed to protect against unplanned overflow conditions.

(d) "Decommission" means to safely dismantle and remove a production facility and to restore the site where it was located in accordance with Sections 1775 and 1776(f).

(e) "Designated waterways" means any named perennial or ephemeral waterways or any perennial waterways shown as solid blue lines on United States Geological Survey topographic maps and any ephemeral waterways that the Supervisor determines to have a direct impact on perennial waterways.

(f) "Environmentally sensitive" means any of the following:

(1) A production facility within 300 feet of any public recreational area, or a building intended for human occupancy that is not necessary to the operation of the production operation, such as residences, schools, hospitals, and businesses.

(2) A production facility within 200 feet of any officially recognized wildlife preserve or environmentally sensitive habitat that is designated on a United States Geological Survey topographical map, designated waterways, or other surface waters such as lakes, reservoirs, rivers, canals, creeks, or other water bodies that contain water throughout the year.

(3) A production facility within the coastal zone as defined in Section 30103(b) of the Public Resources Code.

(4) Any production facility which the Supervisor determines may be a significant potential threat to life, health, property, or natural resources in the event of a leak, or that has a history of chronic leaks.

(g) "Field" means the general surface area that is underlain or reasonably appears to be underlain by an underground accumulation of crude oil or natural gas, or both. The surface area is delineated by the administrative boundaries shown on maps maintained by the Supervisor.

(h) "Flowline" or "injection line" mean any pipeline that connects a well with a gathering line or header.

(i) "Fluid" means liquid or gas.

(j) "Freshwater" means water that contains 3,000 mg/L TDS or less.

(k) "Gas" means any natural hydrocarbon gas coming from the earth.

(l) "Gathering line" means a pipeline (independent of size) that transports liquid hydrocarbons between any of the following: multiple wells, a testing facility, a treating and production facility, a storage facility, or a custody transfer facility.

(m) "Header" means a chamber from which fluid is distributed to or from smaller pipelines.

(n) "Idle well" means any well that for a period of 24 consecutive months has not either produced oil or natural gas, produced water to be used in production stimulation, or been used for enhanced oil recovery, reservoir pressure management, or injection. For the purpose of determining whether a well is an idle well, production or injection is subject to verification by the Division. An idle well continues to be an idle well until it has been properly abandoned in accordance with Public Resources Code section 3208 or it has been shown to the Division's satisfaction that, since the well became an idle well, the well has for a continuous six-month period either maintained production of oil or natural gas, maintained production of water used in production stimulation, or been used for enhanced oil recovery, reservoir pressure management, or injection. An idle well does not include an active observation well.

(o) "Long-term idle well" means any well that has been an idle well for eight or more years.

(p) "Low-priority idle well" means an idle well for which it has been demonstrated that the well:

(1) Does not penetrate a USDW;

(2) Does not indicate any pressure at the surface and is not open to the atmosphere;

(3) Is not in an area of known geologic hazards, such as subsidence, landslides, or a history of damage to wells in the area from seismicity; and

(4) Is not a critical well, is not in an urban area, and does not have an environmentally sensitive wellhead.

(q) "Pipeline" means a tube, usually cylindrical, with a cross sectional area greater than 0.8 square inches (1 inch nominal diameter), through which crude oil, liquid hydrocarbons, combustible gases, and/or produced water flows from one point to another within the administrative boundaries of an oil or gas field. Pipelines under the State Fire Marshall jurisdiction, as specified by the Elder Pipeline Safety Act of 1981 (commencing with § 51010 of the Government Code, and the regulations promulgated thereunder) are exempt from this definition.

(r) "Production facility" means any equipment attendant to oil and gas production or injection operations including, but not limited to, tanks, flowlines, headers, gathering lines, wellheads, heater treaters, pumps, valves, compressors, injection equipment, production safety systems, separators, manifolds, and pipelines that are not under the jurisdiction of the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Section 51010 of the Government Code, excluding fire suppression equipment.

(s) "Out-of-Service" means any production facility that become incapable of containing fluid safely or cannot be shown to operate as designed.

(t) "In-Service" means any production facility that is capable of containing fluid safely and can be shown to operate as designed.

(u) "Secondary containment" means an engineered impoundment, such as a catch basin, which can include natural topographical features, that is designed to capture fluid released from a production facility.

(v) "Sensitive area" means any of the following:

(1) An area containing a building intended for human occupancy, such as a residence, school, hospital, or business that is located within 300 feet of an active gas pipeline and that is not necessary to the operation of the pipeline.

(2) An area determined by the supervisor to present a significant potential threat to life, health, property, or natural resources in the event of a leak from an active gas pipeline.

(3) An area determined by the supervisor to have an active gas pipeline that has a history of chronic leaks.

(w) "Sump" means an open pit or excavation serving as a receptacle for collecting and/or storing fluids such as mud, hydrocarbons, or waste waters attendant to oil or gas field drilling or producing operations.

(1) "Drilling sump" means a sump used in conjunction with well drilling operations.

(2) "Evaporation sump" means a sump containing fresh or saline water which can properly be used to store such waters for evaporation.

(3) "Operations sump" means a sump used in conjunction with an abandonment or rework operation.

(x) "Underground source of drinking water" or "USDW" means an aquifer or its portion which has not been approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as an exempted aquifer pursuant to the Code of Federal Regulations, title 40, section 144.7, and which:

(1) Supplies a public water system, as defined in Health and Safety Code section 116275; or

(2) Contains a sufficient quantity of groundwater to supply a public water system, as defined in Health and Safety Code section 116275; and
(A) Currently supplies drinking water for human consumption; or

(B) Contains fewer than 10,000 mg/L TDS.

(y) "Urban area" means a cohesive area of at least twenty-five business establishments, residences, or combination thereof, the perimeter of which is 300 feet beyond the outer limits of the outermost structures.

(z) "Urban pipeline" means that portion of any pipeline within an urban area as defined in this section.

(aa) "Waste water" means produced water that after being separated from the produced oil may be of such quality that discharge requirements need to be set by a California Regional Water Quality Control Board.

1. Amendment filed 10-21-82; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 82, No. 43).
2. Amendment of subsection (f) and NOTE filed 8-4-95; operative 9-3-95 (Register 95, No. 31).
3. New subsections (b), (d)-(f), (h) and (k) and subsection relettering filed 7-22-98; operative 8-21-98 (Register 98, No. 30).
4. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (a) filed 2-16-2000 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2000, No. 7).
5. Change without regulatory effect amending subsections (b) and (d)(4) filed 12-26-2006 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2006, No. 52).
6. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 12-30-2010; operative 1-29-2011 (Register 2010, No. 53).
7. New subsections (a), (i), (j) and (r)-(r)(3), subsection relettering and amendment of NOTE filed 6-7-2018; operative 10-1-2018 (Register 2018, No. 23).
8. New subsections (j), (n)-(p)(4) and (x)-(x)(2)(B), subsection relettering and amendment of NOTE filed 3-20-2019; operative 4-1-2019 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2019, No. 12).

Note: Authority cited: Sections 3013, 3270 and 3782, Public Resources Code. Reference: Sections 3008, 3010, 3106, 3270 and 3782, Public Resources Code.

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