Prior to the adoption of a fieldwide repressuring plan and general specifications of the work to be done thereunder, as provided in Section 3319, the supervisor, upon the application of any city, county, city and county, any part of which is in a subsidence area, or any contractor or lessee for the production of oil or gas therefor, or any person having a working interest therein, who has submitted therewith an engineering report and plan for pressure restoration or pressure maintenance of a particular pool or pools, or portion thereof underlying a certain described area or portion of such field, designed for the purpose of arresting or ameliorating subsidence therein, prepared by a petroleum engineer licensed by the State, shall hold a public hearing to consider the need for repressuring operations in such pool or pools, or portion thereof, in order to arrest or ameliorate subsidence. Applications relating generally to the same described area or portions of such field may be ordered consolidated by the supervisor for such public hearing thereon.

The procedure and method prescribed in Section 3319, with reference to the determination of amount, assessment, payment and refunding of costs, in conjunction with the holding of the hearing therein provided, are hereby incorporated with reference to the determination of amount, assessment, payment and refunding of costs as a condition precedent to the holding of the hearing herein provided.

If, after a public hearing and from the evidence adduced therefrom, and from such engineering studies as he may have ordered made and which have been presented and considered at such hearing, the supervisor finds that repressuring operations of such pool or pools or portions thereof will tend to arrest or ameliorate subsidence, he shall by order adopt a repressuring plan and specifications of the work to be done thereunder in such pool or pools or portions thereof, if in his judgment such plan and specifications are necessary and will not substantially reduce the maximum economic quantity of oil or gas ultimately recoverable from such pool or pools under prudent and proper operations.

Any such repressuring plan and specifications adopted in furtherance thereof shall be designed to most effectively arrest or ameliorate subsidence with respect to those affected land areas overlying or immediately adjacent to such pool or pools, or portions thereof. The supervisor may amend such repressuring plan and specifications in the same manner as herein provided for the initial adoption of said repressuring plan and specifications.

Any order of the supervisor adopting a repressuring plan and specifications of the work to be done thereunder with respect to a particular pool, or pools, or portions thereof, shall be expressly conditioned so as to provide that such plan and specifications shall be subject to amendment or modification if, after the holding of a public hearing thereon, it be determined that such amendment or modification is necessary in order to conform such plan and specifications with the subsequently adopted fieldwide repressuring plan and general specifications as provided for in Section 3319.

(Added by Stats. 1958, 1st Ex. Sess., Ch. 73.)