(a) By June 1, 2018, the division shall review, evaluate, and update its regulations pertaining to idle wells. The update shall include idle well testing and management requirements that, at a minimum, include all of the following:
(1) Appropriate testing, as determined by the supervisor, to determine whether the fluid level is above the base of an underground source of drinking water.
(2) Appropriate testing, as determined by the supervisor, to verify the mechanical integrity of the well.
(3) Appropriate remediation, as determined by the supervisor, of idle wells if there is an indication of a lack of mechanical integrity.
(4) For a well that has been an idle well for 15 years or more, an engineering analysis demonstrating to the division’s satisfaction that it is viable to return the idle well to operation in the future.
(b) If the operator demonstrates to the division’s satisfaction that the well is not within one-half mile of an underground source of drinking water, testing required under the regulations implementing this section shall not be required until at least two years after the well becomes an idle well. This subdivision shall not be construed to prohibit or limit any other testing required under this chapter.
(c) At the discretion of the supervisor, the regulations implementing this section may provide an option for temporary or partial well abandonment in lieu of compliance with the requirements of the regulations implementing this section.
(d) If the operator does not remediate an idle well as required by the regulations implementing this section, or the operator does not demonstrate that an idle well is economically viable as required by the regulations implementing this section, then the operator shall plug and abandon the idle well in accordance with Section 3208.
(e) Failure to file to comply with the requirements of the regulations implementing this section shall be conclusive evidence of desertion of the well, permitting the supervisor to order the well abandoned pursuant to Section 3237.
(f) For purposes of this section, an “underground source of drinking water” has the same meaning as in the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300f).
(Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 272, Sec. 11. (AB 2729) Effective January 1, 2017.)
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