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Ready or not, California’s new Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (“SGMA”) is here and mine operators should be vigilant in monitoring and actively participating in developments under the law. Previously, the use of groundwater was largely unregulated.  Now local agencies are in the driver’s seat when it comes to addressing a very complex problem: managing groundwater to ensure sustainability.

Earlier this week, environmental consultant Bob Anderson, of Geosyntec and Stoel Rives attorneys Wes Miliband and Tom Henry hosted a webinar about the implications of SGMA for mine operators.  You can view a recording of the webinar here.  Below are a few key take away points for operators as they tackle SGMA.

The Compliance Timeline is Aggressive

SGMA requires the formation of local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (“GSAs”) that must assess conditions in their local water basins and adopt locally-based groundwater sustainability plans (“GSPs”). GSAs have already started to form and will be developed by June 30, 2017.  Operators should investigate the proposed GSAs affecting their sites.  The Department of Water Resources has developed a useful interactive map showing the proposed GSAs.  Operators and the general public have the opportunity to be involved in the formation of GSAs and preparation of GSPs.
Continue Reading Why California’s New Groundwater Management Law is a Game Changer for Mine Operators

June 5, 2015 marked the deadline for lawmakers to pass bills out of their house to the opposite house. Bills that did not pass in their house of origin by that date have effectively died (unless such bill has been identified as a 2-year bill). Below is the status and summary of the oil and gas related bills Stoel Rives is monitoring. Stoel’s Oil & Gas Team will continue to monitor these bills, among other environmental related legislation, throughout the 2015-2016 Legislative Session and provide periodic updates as the bills move through the legislative process.

SENATE BILLS

SB-13 (Pavley): Groundwater

UPDATE: This bill passed the Senate on April 30, 2015, and is pending in the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife.

If passed by the legislature and signed into law, this bill would:

  • specify that the State Water Resources Control Board is authorized to designate a high- or medium-priority basin as a probationary basin;
  • provide a local agency or groundwater sustainability agency 90 or 180 days, as prescribed, to remedy certain deficiencies that caused the board to designate the basin as a probationary basin; and,
  • authorize the State Water Resources Control Board to develop an interim plan for certain probationary basins one year after the designation of the basin as a probationary basin.

In addition, if the Department of Water Resources determines that all or part of a basin or subbasin is not being monitored, this bill would require the Department of Water Resources to determine whether there is sufficient interest in establishing a groundwater sustainability plan.

Finally, SB-13 would eliminate the provisions requiring a local agency or combination of local agencies that elect to be a groundwater sustainability agency for a basin to submit a prescribed notice of intent to the Department of Water Resources.Continue Reading Status of Oil and Gas-related Bills Proposed in California’s 2015-2016 Legislative Session

On April 29th, the California Geological Survey (CGS) released production data from 2012 indicating that the production of construction aggregate (sand, gravel and crushed stone) increased for the first time since 2007 in California.  Construction aggregate production increased by 7.3 percent to 121.3 million tons (valued at $1.162 billion).  Portland cement production also increased by…

Those that “dig in the dirt” are very familiar with the Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT), which was launched in 2003 by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA). Over the years California has enacted several statutes requiring anyone moving dirt to notify a regional notification center of the area of planned disturbance that may impact a subsurface…

Via my colleagues Barbara Craig, Ryan Steen and Sarah Stauffer Curtiss:

On October 28, 2013, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) proposed to list the Bi-State distinct population segment (“Bi-State DPS”) of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) and to designate critical…

California Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 447 on Saturday, September 28, 2013, which modifies the Office of Mine Reclamation’s (OMR) authority to list or delist a mine from its list of “good mines” under Cal. Public Resources Code Section 2717 (more commonly referred to as the AB 3098 List).  Mines on the AB 3098…

On March 1st, the California Geological Survey (CGS) released information forecasting a continuing shortage of permitted aggregate resources (sand, gravel and crushed stone) in California.  According to CGS’s Map Sheet 52 and accompanying report, California only has permitted resources to meet approximately one-third of aggregate demand over the next 50 years. 

Aggregate is essential for…

On December 20, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) released proposed regulations governing hydraulic fracturing. The regulations would require AOGCC approval to conduct fracking activities. For comparison, California recently released a “discussion draft” of potential regulations which would impose certain requirements on fracking operations but would not require additional approval (see California Environmental…

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Here Stoel Rives shares insight and analysis about key mineral law developments. Drawing on a very active natural resources practice, we aim to keep readers informed about the legal aspects of news that impacts exploration and development of all things mineral.