Recommended Solutions
Impose specific deadline requirements for idle well cleanup
California should require remediation within one year of a well becoming idle.
Other states like West Virginia and Pennsylvania already have more aggressive idle well plugging policies on the books than California. Both of those states allow operators to idle their wells for one year until they are legally required to plug and remediate them. Similarly, Colorado and North Dakota consider a well “idled” after 12 months and then allow the operator an additional six months to complete plugging.
Mandate clear timelines for plugging current idle wells
A legally mandated timeline to clean up existing idle wells would place California on a fixed, and quicker timeline for remediating the tens of thousands of idle wells littered across the state. California could solve the current ineffectiveness of the Idle Wells Management Plan by requiring 10% of all idle wells to be plugged each year, allowing operators 10 years to clean up their inventory of idle wells.
Increase financial assurance amounts
Oil companies have set aside less than 1% of their overall clean-up costs. In 2023, the legislature passed AB 1167, which requires full bonding when wells are transferred from one company to another. New policy is needed to extend the full bonding requirement to all operators even where no transactions occur.
Amend PRC § 3237 to extend predecessor liability pre-1996 and tighten exclusions
Change is needed to Public Resources Code § 3237 that would allow CalGEM to hold operators liable prior to 1996. This would allow liability to be traced back to all responsible operators.