Florida Senate - 2016                                     SB 318
       
       
        
       By Senator Richter
       
       
       
       
       
       23-00190B-16                                           2016318__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the regulation of oil and gas
    3         resources; amending s. 377.06, F.S.; preempting the
    4         regulation of all matters relating to the exploration,
    5         development, production, processing, storage, and
    6         transportation of oil and gas; declaring existing
    7         ordinances and regulations relating thereto void;
    8         providing an exception for certain zoning ordinances;
    9         amending s. 377.19, F.S.; applying the definitions of
   10         certain terms to additional sections of ch. 377, F.S.;
   11         revising the definition of the term “division”;
   12         conforming a cross-reference; defining the term “high
   13         pressure well stimulation”; amending s. 377.22, F.S.;
   14         revising the rulemaking authority of the Department of
   15         Environmental Protection; amending s. 377.24, F.S.;
   16         requiring that a permit be obtained before the
   17         performance of a high-pressure well stimulation;
   18         specifying that a permit may authorize single or
   19         multiple activities; deleting provisions that prohibit
   20         the Division of Water Resource Management from
   21         granting permits to drill gas or oil wells within the
   22         limits of a municipality without approval of the
   23         governing authority of the municipality; prohibiting
   24         the department from approving permits for high
   25         pressure well stimulation until certain rules are
   26         adopted; amending s. 377.241, F.S.; requiring the
   27         Division of Water Resource Management to give
   28         consideration to and be guided by certain additional
   29         criteria when issuing permits; amending s. 377.242,
   30         F.S.; authorizing the department to issue permits for
   31         the performance of a high-pressure well stimulation;
   32         revising permit requirements that permitholders agree
   33         not to prevent division inspections; amending s.
   34         377.2425, F.S.; requiring an applicant or operator to
   35         provide surety that performance of a high-pressure
   36         well stimulation will be conducted in a safe and
   37         environmentally compatible manner; creating s.
   38         377.2436, F.S.; requiring the department to conduct a
   39         study on high-pressure well stimulation; providing
   40         study criteria; requiring the study to be submitted to
   41         the Governor and Legislature and posted on the
   42         department website; amending s. 377.37, F.S.;
   43         increasing the maximum amount of a civil penalty;
   44         creating s. 377.45, F.S.; requiring the department to
   45         designate the national chemical disclosure registry as
   46         the state’s registry; requiring service providers,
   47         vendors, and well owners or operators to report
   48         certain information to the department; requiring the
   49         department to report certain information to the
   50         national chemical registry; providing applicability;
   51         requiring the department to adopt rules; amending ss.
   52         377.07, 377.10, 377.243, and 377.244, F.S.; making
   53         technical changes; conforming provisions to changes
   54         made by the act; providing an appropriation; providing
   55         an effective date.
   56          
   57  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   58  
   59         Section 1. Section 377.06, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   60  read:
   61         377.06 Public policy of state concerning natural resources
   62  of oil and gas; preemption.—
   63         (1) It is hereby declared the public policy of this state
   64  to conserve and control the natural resources of oil and gas in
   65  this state, and the products made from oil and gas in this
   66  state; to prevent waste of natural resources; to provide for the
   67  protection and adjustment of the correlative rights of the
   68  owners of the land in which the natural resources lie, of the
   69  owners and producers of oil and gas resources and the products
   70  made from oil and gas, and of others interested in these
   71  resources and products; and to safeguard the health, property,
   72  and public welfare of the residents of this state and other
   73  interested persons and for all purposes indicated by the
   74  provisions in this section.
   75         (2)Further, It is the public policy of this state declared
   76  that underground storage of natural gas is in the public
   77  interest because underground storage promotes conservation of
   78  natural gas,; makes gas more readily available to the domestic,
   79  commercial, and industrial consumers of this state,; and allows
   80  the accumulation of large quantities of gas in reserve for
   81  orderly withdrawal during emergencies or periods of peak demand.
   82  It is not the intention of this section to limit, restrict, or
   83  modify in any way the provisions of this law.
   84         (3) The Legislature declares that all matters relating to
   85  the regulation of the exploration, development, production,
   86  processing, storage, and transportation of oil and gas are
   87  preempted to the state, to the exclusion of all existing and
   88  future ordinances or regulations relating thereto adopted by any
   89  county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the
   90  state. Any such existing ordinance or regulation is void. A
   91  county or municipality may, however, enforce an existing zoning
   92  ordinance adopted before January 1, 2015, if the ordinance is
   93  otherwise valid.
   94         Section 2. Section 377.19, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   95  read:
   96         377.19 Definitions.—As used in ss. 377.06, 377.07, and
   97  377.10-377.45 377.10-377.40, the term:
   98         (1) “Completion date” means the day, month, and year that a
   99  new productive well, a previously shut-in well, or a temporarily
  100  abandoned well is completed, repaired, or recompleted and the
  101  operator begins producing oil or gas in commercial quantities.
  102         (2) “Department” means the Department of Environmental
  103  Protection.
  104         (3) “Division” means the Division of Water Resource
  105  Management of the Department of Environmental Protection.
  106         (4) “Field” means the general area that is underlaid, or
  107  appears to be underlaid, by at least one pool. The term includes
  108  the underground reservoir, or reservoirs, containing oil or gas,
  109  or both. The terms “field” and “pool” mean the same thing if
  110  only one underground reservoir is involved; however, the term
  111  “field,” unlike the term “pool,” may relate to two or more
  112  pools.
  113         (5) “Gas” means all natural gas, including casinghead gas,
  114  and all other hydrocarbons not defined as oil in subsection (16)
  115  (15).
  116         (6) “High-pressure well stimulation” means all stages of a
  117  well intervention performed by injecting fluids into a rock
  118  formation at high pressure that exceeds the fracture gradient of
  119  the rock formation in order to propagate fractures in such
  120  formation to increase production at an oil or gas well by
  121  improving the flow of hydrocarbons from the formation into the
  122  wellbore. The term does not include well stimulation or
  123  conventional workover procedures that may incidentally fracture
  124  the formation near the wellbore.
  125         (7)(6) “Horizontal well” means a well completed with the
  126  wellbore in a horizontal or nearly horizontal orientation within
  127  10 degrees of horizontal within the producing formation.
  128         (8)(7) “Illegal gas” means gas that has been produced
  129  within the state from any well or wells in excess of the amount
  130  allowed by any rule, regulation, or order of the division, as
  131  distinguished from gas produced within the State of Florida from
  132  a well not producing in excess of the amount so allowed, which
  133  is “legal gas.”
  134         (9)(8) “Illegal oil” means oil that has been produced
  135  within the state from any well or wells in excess of the amount
  136  allowed by rule, regulation, or order of the division, as
  137  distinguished from oil produced within the state from a well not
  138  producing in excess of the amount so allowed, which is “legal
  139  oil.”
  140         (10)(9) “Illegal product” means a product of oil or gas,
  141  any part of which was processed or derived, in whole or in part,
  142  from illegal gas or illegal oil or from any product thereof, as
  143  distinguished from “legal product,” which is a product processed
  144  or derived to no extent from illegal oil or illegal gas.
  145         (11)(10) “Lateral storage reservoir boundary” means the
  146  projection up to the land surface of the maximum horizontal
  147  extent of the gas volume contained in a natural gas storage
  148  reservoir.
  149         (12)(11) “Native gas” means gas that occurs naturally
  150  within this state and does not include gas produced outside the
  151  state, transported to this state, and injected into a permitted
  152  natural gas storage facility.
  153         (13)(12) “Natural gas storage facility” means an
  154  underground reservoir from which oil or gas has previously been
  155  produced and which is used or to be used for the underground
  156  storage of natural gas, and any surface or subsurface structure,
  157  or infrastructure, except wells. The term also includes a right
  158  or appurtenance necessary or useful in the operation of the
  159  facility for the underground storage of natural gas, including
  160  any necessary or reasonable reservoir protective area as
  161  designated for the purpose of ensuring the safe operation of the
  162  storage of natural gas or protecting the natural gas storage
  163  facility from pollution, invasion, escape, or migration of gas,
  164  or any subsequent extension thereof. The term does not mean a
  165  transmission, distribution, or gathering pipeline or system that
  166  is not used primarily as integral piping for a natural gas
  167  storage facility.
  168         (14)(13) “Natural gas storage reservoir” means a pool or
  169  field from which gas or oil has previously been produced and
  170  which is suitable for or capable of being made suitable for the
  171  injection, storage, and recovery of gas, as identified in a
  172  permit application submitted to the department under s.
  173  377.2407.
  174         (15)(14) “New field well” means an oil or gas well
  175  completed after July 1, 1997, in a new field as designated by
  176  the Department of Environmental Protection.
  177         (16)(15) “Oil” means crude petroleum oil and other
  178  hydrocarbons, regardless of gravity, which are produced at the
  179  well in liquid form by ordinary production methods, and which
  180  are not the result of condensation of gas after it leaves the
  181  reservoir.
  182         (17)(16) “Oil and gas” has the same meaning as the term
  183  “oil or gas.”
  184         (18)(17) “Oil and gas administrator” means the State
  185  Geologist.
  186         (19)(18) “Operator” means the entity who:
  187         (a) Has the right to drill and to produce a well; or
  188         (b) As part of a natural gas storage facility, injects, or
  189  is engaged in the work of preparing to inject, gas into a
  190  natural gas storage reservoir; or stores gas in, or removes gas
  191  from, a natural gas storage reservoir.
  192         (20)(19) “Owner” means the person who has the right to
  193  drill into and to produce from any pool and to appropriate the
  194  production for the person or for the person and another, or
  195  others.
  196         (21)(20) “Person” means a natural person, corporation,
  197  association, partnership, receiver, trustee, guardian, executor,
  198  administrator, fiduciary, or representative of any kind.
  199         (22)(21) “Pool” means an underground reservoir containing
  200  or appearing to contain a common accumulation of oil or gas or
  201  both. Each zone of a general structure which is completely
  202  separated from any other zone on the structure is considered a
  203  separate pool as used herein.
  204         (23)(22) “Producer” means the owner or operator of a well
  205  or wells capable of producing oil or gas, or both.
  206         (24)(23) “Product” means a commodity made from oil or gas
  207  and includes refined crude oil, crude tops, topped crude,
  208  processed crude petroleum, residue from crude petroleum,
  209  cracking stock, uncracked fuel oil, fuel oil, treated crude oil,
  210  residuum, gas oil, casinghead gasoline, natural gas gasoline,
  211  naphtha, distillate, condensate, gasoline, waste oil, kerosene,
  212  benzine, wash oil, blended gasoline, lubricating oil, blends or
  213  mixtures of oil with one or more liquid products or byproducts
  214  derived from oil or gas, and blends or mixtures of two or more
  215  liquid products or byproducts derived from oil or gas, whether
  216  hereinabove enumerated or not.
  217         (25)(24) “Reasonable market demand” means the amount of oil
  218  reasonably needed for current consumption, together with a
  219  reasonable amount of oil for storage and working stocks.
  220         (26)(25) “Reservoir protective area” means the area
  221  extending up to and including 2,000 feet surrounding a natural
  222  gas storage reservoir.
  223         (27)(26) “Shut-in bottom hole pressure” means the pressure
  224  at the bottom of a well when all valves are closed and no oil or
  225  gas has been allowed to escape for at least 24 hours.
  226         (28)(27) “Shut-in well” means an oil or gas well that has
  227  been taken out of service for economic reasons or mechanical
  228  repairs.
  229         (29)(28) “State” means the State of Florida.
  230         (30)(29) “Temporarily abandoned well” means a permitted
  231  well or wellbore that has been abandoned by plugging in a manner
  232  that allows reentry and redevelopment in accordance with oil or
  233  gas rules of the Department of Environmental Protection.
  234         (31)(30) “Tender” means a permit or certificate of
  235  clearance for the transportation or the delivery of oil, gas, or
  236  products, approved and issued or registered under the authority
  237  of the division.
  238         (32)(31) “Waste,” in addition to its ordinary meaning,
  239  means “physical waste” as that term is generally understood in
  240  the oil and gas industry. The term “waste” includes:
  241         (a) The inefficient, excessive, or improper use or
  242  dissipation of reservoir energy; and the locating, spacing,
  243  drilling, equipping, operating, or producing of any oil or gas
  244  well or wells in a manner that results, or tends to result, in
  245  reducing the quantity of oil or gas ultimately to be stored or
  246  recovered from any pool in this state.
  247         (b) The inefficient storing of oil; and the locating,
  248  spacing, drilling, equipping, operating, or producing of any oil
  249  or gas well or wells in a manner that causes, or tends to cause,
  250  unnecessary or excessive surface loss or destruction of oil or
  251  gas.
  252         (c) The producing of oil or gas in a manner that causes
  253  unnecessary water channeling or coning.
  254         (d) The operation of any oil well or wells with an
  255  inefficient gas-oil ratio.
  256         (e) The drowning with water of any stratum or part thereof
  257  capable of producing oil or gas.
  258         (f) The underground waste, however caused and whether or
  259  not defined.
  260         (g) The creation of unnecessary fire hazards.
  261         (h) The escape into the open air, from a well producing
  262  both oil and gas, of gas in excess of the amount that is
  263  necessary in the efficient drilling or operation of the well.
  264         (i) The use of gas for the manufacture of carbon black.
  265         (j) Permitting gas produced from a gas well to escape into
  266  the air.
  267         (k) The abuse of the correlative rights and opportunities
  268  of each owner of oil and gas in a common reservoir due to
  269  nonuniform, disproportionate, and unratable withdrawals, causing
  270  undue drainage between tracts of land.
  271         (33)(32) “Well site” means the general area around a well,
  272  which area has been disturbed from its natural or existing
  273  condition, as well as the drilling or production pad, mud and
  274  water circulation pits, and other operation areas necessary to
  275  drill for or produce oil or gas, or to inject gas into and
  276  recover gas from a natural gas storage facility.
  277         Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 377.22, Florida
  278  Statutes, is amended to read:
  279         377.22 Rules and orders.—
  280         (2) The department shall issue orders and adopt rules
  281  pursuant to ss. 120.536 and 120.54 to implement and enforce the
  282  provisions of this chapter. Such rules and orders shall ensure
  283  that all precautions are taken to prevent the spillage of oil or
  284  any other pollutant in all phases of the drilling for, and
  285  extracting of, oil, gas, or other petroleum products, including
  286  high-pressure well stimulations, or during the injection of gas
  287  into and recovery of gas from a natural gas storage reservoir.
  288  The department shall revise such rules from time to time as
  289  necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of this
  290  chapter. Rules adopted and orders issued in accordance with this
  291  section are for, but not limited to, the following purposes:
  292         (a) To require the drilling, casing, and plugging of wells
  293  to be done in such a manner as to prevent the pollution of the
  294  fresh, salt, or brackish waters or the lands of the state and to
  295  protect the integrity of natural gas storage reservoirs.
  296         (b) To prevent the alteration of the sheet flow of water in
  297  any area.
  298         (c) To require that appropriate safety equipment be
  299  installed to minimize the possibility of an escape of oil or
  300  other petroleum products in the event of accident, human error,
  301  or a natural disaster during drilling, casing, or plugging of
  302  any well and during extraction operations.
  303         (d) To require the drilling, casing, and plugging of wells
  304  to be done in such a manner as to prevent the escape of oil or
  305  other petroleum products from one stratum to another.
  306         (e) To prevent the intrusion of water into an oil or gas
  307  stratum from a separate stratum, except as provided by rules of
  308  the division relating to the injection of water for proper
  309  reservoir conservation and brine disposal.
  310         (f) To require a reasonable bond, or other form of security
  311  acceptable to the department, conditioned upon properly
  312  drilling, casing, producing, and operating each well and
  313  properly plugging the performance of the duty to plug properly
  314  each dry and abandoned well and upon the full and complete
  315  restoration by the applicant of the area over which geophysical
  316  exploration, drilling, or production is conducted to the similar
  317  contour and general condition in existence before prior to such
  318  operation.
  319         (g) To require and carry out a reasonable program of
  320  monitoring and inspecting or inspection of all drilling
  321  operations, high-pressure well stimulations, producing wells, or
  322  injecting wells, and well sites, including regular inspections
  323  by division personnel. Inspections are required during the
  324  testing of blowout preventers, during the pressure testing of
  325  the casing and casing shoe, and during the integrity testing of
  326  the cement plugs in plugging and abandonment operations.
  327         (h) To require the making of reports showing the location
  328  of all oil and gas wells; the making and filing of logs; the
  329  taking and filing of directional surveys; the filing of
  330  electrical, sonic, radioactive, and mechanical logs of oil and
  331  gas wells; if taken, the saving of cutting and cores, the cuts
  332  of which shall be given to the Bureau of Geology; and the making
  333  of reports with respect to drilling and production records.
  334  However, such information, or any part thereof, at the request
  335  of the operator, shall be exempt from the provisions of s.
  336  119.07(1) and held confidential by the division for a period of
  337  1 year after the completion of a well.
  338         (i) To prevent wells from being drilled, operated, or
  339  produced in such a manner as to cause injury to neighboring
  340  leases, property, or natural gas storage reservoirs.
  341         (j) To prevent the drowning by water of any stratum, or
  342  part thereof, capable of producing oil or gas in paying
  343  quantities and to prevent the premature and irregular
  344  encroachment of water which reduces, or tends to reduce, the
  345  total ultimate recovery of oil or gas from any pool.
  346         (k) To require the operation of wells with efficient gas
  347  oil ratio, and to fix such ratios.
  348         (l) To prevent “blowouts,” “caving,” and “seepage,” in the
  349  sense that conditions indicated by such terms are generally
  350  understood in the oil and gas business.
  351         (m) To prevent fires.
  352         (n) To identify the ownership of all oil or gas wells,
  353  producing leases, refineries, tanks, plants, structures, and
  354  storage and transportation equipment and facilities.
  355         (o) To regulate the “shooting,” perforating, and chemical
  356  treatment, and high-pressure stimulations of wells.
  357         (p) To regulate secondary recovery methods, including the
  358  introduction of gas, air, water, or other substance into
  359  producing formations.
  360         (q) To regulate gas cycling operations.
  361         (r) To regulate the storage and recovery of gas injected
  362  into natural gas storage facilities.
  363         (s) If necessary for the prevention of waste, as herein
  364  defined, to determine, limit, and prorate the production of oil
  365  or gas, or both, from any pool or field in the state.
  366         (t) To require, either generally or in or from particular
  367  areas, certificates of clearance or tenders in connection with
  368  the transportation or delivery of oil or gas, or any product.
  369         (u) To regulate the spacing of wells and to establish
  370  drilling units.
  371         (v) To prevent, so far as is practicable, reasonably
  372  avoidable drainage from each developed unit which is not
  373  equalized by counterdrainage.
  374         (w) To require that geophysical operations requiring a
  375  permit be conducted in a manner which will minimize the impact
  376  on hydrology and biota of the area, especially environmentally
  377  sensitive lands and coastal areas.
  378         (x) To regulate aboveground crude oil storage tanks in a
  379  manner which will protect the water resources of the state.
  380         (y) To act in a receivership capacity for fractional
  381  mineral interests for which the owners are unknown or unlocated
  382  and to administratively designate the operator as the lessee.
  383         (z) To evaluate the history of past adjudicated violations
  384  committed by permit applicants or the applicants’ affiliated
  385  entities of any substantive and material rule or law pertaining
  386  to the regulation of oil or gas.
  387         Section 4. Subsections (1), (2), (4), and (5) of section
  388  377.24, Florida Statutes, are amended, present subsections (6)
  389  through (9) of that section are redesignated as subsections (5)
  390  through (8), respectively, and a new subsection (9) is added to
  391  that section, to read:
  392         377.24 Notice of intention to drill well; permits;
  393  abandoned wells and dry holes.—
  394         (1) Before drilling a well in search of oil or gas, before
  395  performing a high-pressure well stimulation, or before storing
  396  gas in or recovering gas from a natural gas storage reservoir,
  397  the person who desires to drill for, store, or recover gas, or
  398  drill for oil or gas, or perform a high-pressure well
  399  stimulation shall notify the division upon such form as it may
  400  prescribe and shall pay a reasonable fee set by rule of the
  401  department not to exceed the actual cost of processing and
  402  inspecting for each well or reservoir. The drilling of any well,
  403  the performance of any high-pressure well stimulation, and the
  404  storing and recovering of gas are prohibited until such notice
  405  is given, the fee is paid, and a the permit is granted. A permit
  406  may authorize a single activity or multiple activities.
  407         (2) An application for the drilling of a well in search of
  408  oil or gas, for the performance of a high-pressure well
  409  stimulation, or for the storing of gas in and recovering of gas
  410  from a natural gas storage reservoir, in this state must include
  411  the address of the residence of the applicant, or applicants,
  412  which must be the address of each person involved in accordance
  413  with the records of the Division of Water Resource Management
  414  until such address is changed on the records of the division
  415  after written request.
  416         (4) Application for permission to drill or abandon any well
  417  or perform a high-pressure well stimulation may be denied by the
  418  division for only just and lawful cause.
  419         (5) No permit to drill a gas or oil well shall be granted
  420  within the corporate limits of any municipality, unless the
  421  governing authority of the municipality shall have first duly
  422  approved the application for such permit by resolution.
  423         (9) The department may not approve a permit to authorize a
  424  high-pressure well stimulation until the department adopts rules
  425  for high-pressure well stimulation.
  426         Section 5. Subsections (5) and (6) are added to section
  427  377.241, Florida Statutes, to read:
  428         377.241 Criteria for issuance of permits.—The division, in
  429  the exercise of its authority to issue permits as hereinafter
  430  provided, shall give consideration to and be guided by the
  431  following criteria:
  432         (5) For high-pressure well stimulations, whether the high
  433  pressure well stimulation as proposed is designed to ensure
  434  that:
  435         (a) The groundwater through which the well will be or has
  436  been drilled is not contaminated by the high-pressure well
  437  stimulation; and
  438         (b) The high-pressure well stimulation is consistent with
  439  the public policy of this state as specified in s. 377.06.
  440         (6) As a basis for permit denial or imposition of specific
  441  permit conditions, including increased bonding up to five times
  442  the applicable limits and increased monitoring, the history of
  443  past adjudicated violations committed by the applicant or an
  444  affiliated entity of the applicant of any substantive and
  445  material rule or law pertaining to the regulation of oil or gas,
  446  including violations that occurred outside the state.
  447         Section 6. Section 377.242, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  448  read:
  449         377.242 Permits for drilling or exploring and extracting
  450  through well holes or by other means.—The department is vested
  451  with the power and authority:
  452         (1)(a) To issue permits for the performance of a high
  453  pressure well stimulation or the drilling for, exploring for, or
  454  production of oil, gas, or other petroleum products that which
  455  are to be extracted from below the surface of the land,
  456  including submerged land, only through the well hole drilled for
  457  oil, gas, and other petroleum products.
  458         1. A No structure intended for the drilling for, or
  459  production of, oil, gas, or other petroleum products may not be
  460  permitted or constructed on any submerged land within any bay or
  461  estuary.
  462         2. A No structure intended for the drilling for, or
  463  production of, oil, gas, or other petroleum products may not be
  464  permitted or constructed within 1 mile seaward of the coastline
  465  of the state.
  466         3. A No structure intended for the drilling for, or
  467  production of, oil, gas, or other petroleum products may not be
  468  permitted or constructed within 1 mile of the seaward boundary
  469  of any state, local, or federal park or aquatic or wildlife
  470  preserve or on the surface of a freshwater lake, river, or
  471  stream.
  472         4. A No structure intended for the drilling for, or
  473  production of, oil, gas, or other petroleum products may not be
  474  permitted or constructed within 1 mile inland from the shoreline
  475  of the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, or any bay or estuary
  476  or within 1 mile of any freshwater lake, river, or stream unless
  477  the department is satisfied that the natural resources of such
  478  bodies of water and shore areas of the state will be adequately
  479  protected in the event of accident or blowout.
  480         5. Without exception, after July 1, 1989, a no structure
  481  intended for the drilling for, or production of, oil, gas, or
  482  other petroleum products may not be permitted or constructed
  483  south of 26°00′00″ north latitude off Florida’s west coast and
  484  south of 27°00′00″ north latitude off Florida’s east coast,
  485  within the boundaries of Florida’s territorial seas as defined
  486  in 43 U.S.C. s. 1301. After July 31, 1990, a no structure
  487  intended for the drilling for, or production of, oil, gas, or
  488  other petroleum products may not be permitted or constructed
  489  north of 26°00′00″ north latitude off Florida’s west coast to
  490  the western boundary of the state bordering Alabama as set forth
  491  in s. 1, Art. II of the State Constitution, or located north of
  492  27°00′00″ north latitude off Florida’s east coast to the
  493  northern boundary of the state bordering Georgia as set forth in
  494  s. 1, Art. II of the State Constitution, within the boundaries
  495  of Florida’s territorial seas as defined in 43 U.S.C. s. 1301.
  496         (b) Subparagraphs (a)1. and 4. do not apply to permitting
  497  or construction of structures intended for the drilling for, or
  498  production of, oil, gas, or other petroleum products pursuant to
  499  an oil, gas, or mineral lease of such lands by the state under
  500  which lease any valid drilling permits are in effect on the
  501  effective date of this act. In the event that such permits
  502  contain conditions or stipulations, such conditions and
  503  stipulations shall govern and supersede subparagraphs (a)1. and
  504  4.
  505         (c) The prohibitions of subparagraphs (a)1.-4. in this
  506  subsection do not include “infield gathering lines,” provided no
  507  other placement is reasonably available and all other required
  508  permits have been obtained.
  509         (2) To issue permits to explore for and extract minerals
  510  which are subject to extraction from the land by means other
  511  than through a well hole.
  512         (3) To issue permits to establish natural gas storage
  513  facilities or construct wells for the injection and recovery of
  514  any natural gas for storage in natural gas storage reservoirs.
  515  
  516  Each permit shall contain an agreement by the permitholder that
  517  the permitholder will not prevent inspection by division
  518  personnel at any time, including during installation and
  519  cementing of casing, during the testing of blowout preventers,
  520  during the pressure testing of the casing and casing shoe, and
  521  during the integrity testing of the cement plugs in plugging and
  522  abandonment operations. The provisions of this section
  523  prohibiting permits for drilling or exploring for oil in coastal
  524  waters do not apply to any leases entered into before June 7,
  525  1991.
  526         Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 377.2425, Florida
  527  Statutes, is amended to read:
  528         377.2425 Manner of providing security for geophysical
  529  exploration, drilling, and production.—
  530         (1) Before Prior to granting a permit for conducting to
  531  conduct geophysical operations; drilling of exploratory,
  532  injection, or production wells; producing oil and gas from a
  533  wellhead; performing a high-pressure well stimulation; or
  534  transporting oil and gas through a field-gathering system, the
  535  department shall require the applicant or operator to provide
  536  surety that these operations will be conducted in a safe and
  537  environmentally compatible manner.
  538         (a) The applicant for a drilling, production, high-pressure
  539  well stimulation, or injection well permit or a geophysical
  540  permit may provide the following types of surety to the
  541  department for this purpose:
  542         1. A deposit of cash or other securities made payable to
  543  the Minerals Trust Fund. Such cash or securities so deposited
  544  shall be held at interest by the Chief Financial Officer to
  545  satisfy safety and environmental performance provisions of this
  546  chapter. The interest shall be credited to the Minerals Trust
  547  Fund. Such cash or other securities shall be released by the
  548  Chief Financial Officer upon request of the applicant and
  549  certification by the department that all safety and
  550  environmental performance provisions established by the
  551  department for permitted activities have been fulfilled.
  552         2. A bond of a surety company authorized to do business in
  553  the state in an amount as provided by rule.
  554         3. A surety in the form of an irrevocable letter of credit
  555  in an amount as provided by rule guaranteed by an acceptable
  556  financial institution.
  557         (b) An applicant for a drilling, production, high-pressure
  558  well stimulation, or injection well permit, or a permittee who
  559  intends to continue participating in long-term production
  560  activities of such wells, has the option to provide surety to
  561  the department by paying an annual fee to the Minerals Trust
  562  Fund. For an applicant or permittee choosing this option the
  563  following shall apply:
  564         1. For the first year, or part of a year, of a drilling,
  565  production, or injection well permit, or change of operator, the
  566  fee is $4,000 per permitted well.
  567         2. For each subsequent year, or part of a year, the fee is
  568  $1,500 per permitted well.
  569         3. The maximum fee that an applicant or permittee may be
  570  required to pay into the trust fund is $30,000 per calendar
  571  year, regardless of the number of permits applied for or in
  572  effect.
  573         4. The fees set forth in subparagraphs 1., 2., and 3. shall
  574  be reviewed by the department on a biennial basis and adjusted
  575  for the cost of inflation. The department shall establish by
  576  rule a suitable index for implementing such fee revisions.
  577         (c) An applicant for a drilling or operating permit for
  578  operations planned in coastal waters that by their nature
  579  warrant greater surety shall provide surety only in accordance
  580  with paragraph (a), or similar proof of financial responsibility
  581  other than as provided in paragraph (b). For all such
  582  applications, including applications pending at the effective
  583  date of this act and notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph
  584  (b), the Governor and Cabinet in their capacity as the
  585  Administration Commission, at the recommendation of the
  586  department of Environmental Protection, shall set a reasonable
  587  amount of surety required under this subsection. The surety
  588  amount shall be based on the projected cleanup costs and natural
  589  resources damages resulting from a maximum oil spill and adverse
  590  hydrographic and atmospheric conditions that would tend to
  591  transport the oil into environmentally sensitive areas, as
  592  determined by the department of Environmental Protection.
  593         Section 8. Section 377.2436, Florida Statutes, is created
  594  to read:
  595         377.2436 Study on high-pressure well stimulations.—
  596         (1) The department shall conduct a study on high-pressure
  597  well stimulations. The study must:
  598         (a) Evaluate the underlying geologic features present in
  599  the counties where oil wells have been permitted and analyze the
  600  potential impact that high-pressure well stimulation and
  601  wellbore construction may have on the underlying geologic
  602  features.
  603         (b) Evaluate the potential hazards and risks that high
  604  pressure well stimulation poses to surface water or groundwater
  605  resources. The study must assess the potential impacts of high
  606  pressure well stimulation on drinking water resources and
  607  identify the main factors affecting the severity and frequency
  608  of impacts and must analyze the potential for the use or reuse
  609  of recycled water in well stimulation fluids while meeting
  610  appropriate water quality standards.
  611         (c) Review and evaluate the potential for groundwater
  612  contamination from conducting high-pressure well stimulation
  613  under wells that have been previously abandoned and plugged and
  614  identify a setback radius from previously plugged and abandoned
  615  wells that could be impacted by high-pressure well stimulation.
  616         (d) Review and evaluate the ultimate disposition of high
  617  pressure well stimulation fluids after use in high-pressure well
  618  stimulation processes.
  619         (2) The department shall continue conventional oil and gas
  620  business operations during the performance of the study. There
  621  may not be a moratorium on the evaluation and issuance of
  622  permits for conventional drilling, exploration, conventional
  623  completions, or conventional workovers during the performance of
  624  the study.
  625         (3) The study is subject to independent scientific peer
  626  review.
  627         (4) The department shall submit the findings of the study
  628  to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
  629  the House of Representatives by June 30, 2017, and shall
  630  prominently post the findings on its website.
  631         Section 9. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
  632  377.37, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  633         377.37 Penalties.—
  634         (1)(a) A Any person who violates any provision of this
  635  chapter law or any rule, regulation, or order of the division
  636  made under this chapter or who violates the terms of any permit
  637  to drill for or produce oil, gas, or other petroleum products
  638  referred to in s. 377.242(1) or to store gas in a natural gas
  639  storage facility, or any lessee, permitholder, or operator of
  640  equipment or facilities used in the exploration for, drilling
  641  for, or production of oil, gas, or other petroleum products, or
  642  storage of gas in a natural gas storage facility, who refuses
  643  inspection by the division as provided in this chapter, is
  644  liable to the state for any damage caused to the air, waters, or
  645  property, including animal, plant, or aquatic life, of the state
  646  and for reasonable costs and expenses of the state in tracing
  647  the source of the discharge, in controlling and abating the
  648  source and the pollutants, and in restoring the air, waters, and
  649  property, including animal, plant, and aquatic life, of the
  650  state. Furthermore, such person, lessee, permitholder, or
  651  operator is subject to the judicial imposition of a civil
  652  penalty in an amount of not more than $25,000 $10,000 for each
  653  offense. However, the court may receive evidence in mitigation.
  654  Each day during any portion of which such violation occurs
  655  constitutes a separate offense. This paragraph does not Nothing
  656  herein shall give the department the right to bring an action on
  657  behalf of a any private person.
  658         Section 10. Section 377.45, Florida Statutes, is created to
  659  read:
  660         377.45 High-pressure well stimulation chemical disclosure
  661  registry.—
  662         (1)(a) The department shall designate the national chemical
  663  disclosure registry, known as FracFocus, developed by the Ground
  664  Water Protection Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact
  665  Commission, as the state’s registry for chemical disclosure for
  666  all wells on which high-pressure well stimulations are
  667  performed. The department shall provide a link to FracFocus
  668  through its website.
  669         (b) In addition to providing the following information to
  670  the department as part of the permitting process, a service
  671  provider, vendor, or well owner or operator shall report, as
  672  established by department rule, to the department, at a minimum,
  673  the following information:
  674         1. The name of the service provider, vendor, or owner or
  675  operator.
  676         2. The date of completion of the high-pressure well
  677  stimulation.
  678         3. The county in which the well is located.
  679         4. The API Well Number.
  680         5. The well name and number.
  681         6. The longitude and latitude of the wellhead.
  682         7. The total vertical depth of the well.
  683         8. The total volume of water used in the high-pressure well
  684  stimulation.
  685         9. Each chemical ingredient that is subject to 29 C.F.R. s.
  686  1910.1200(g)(2) and the ingredient concentration in the high
  687  pressure well stimulation fluid by mass for each well on which a
  688  high-pressure well stimulation is performed.
  689         10. The trade or common name and the CAS Registry Number
  690  for each chemical ingredient.
  691         (c) The department shall report to FracFocus all
  692  information received under paragraph (b), excluding any
  693  information subject to chapter 688.
  694         (d) If FracFocus cannot accept and make publicly available
  695  any information specified in this section, the department shall
  696  post the information on its website, excluding any information
  697  subject to chapter 688.
  698         (2) A service provider, vendor, or well owner or operator
  699  shall:
  700         (a) Report the information required under subsection (1) to
  701  the department within 60 days after the initiation of the high
  702  pressure well stimulation for each well on which such high
  703  pressure well stimulation is performed.
  704         (b) Notify the department if any chemical ingredient not
  705  previously reported is intentionally included and used for the
  706  purpose of performing a high-pressure well stimulation.
  707         (3) This section does not apply to an ingredient that:
  708         (a) Is not intentionally added to the high-pressure well
  709  stimulation; or
  710         (b) Occurs incidentally or is otherwise unintentionally
  711  present in a high-pressure well stimulation.
  712         (4) The department shall adopt rules to administer this
  713  section.
  714         Section 11. Section 377.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  715  read:
  716         377.07 Division of Water Resource Management; powers,
  717  duties, and authority.—The Division of Water Resource Management
  718  of the Department of Environmental Protection is hereby vested
  719  with power, authority, and duty to administer, carry out, and
  720  enforce the provisions of this part law as directed in s.
  721  370.02(3).
  722         Section 12. Section 377.10, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  723  read:
  724         377.10 Certain persons not to be employed by division.—A No
  725  person in the employ of, or holding any official connection or
  726  position with any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or
  727  association of any kind, engaged in the business of buying or
  728  selling mineral leases, drilling wells in the search of oil or
  729  gas, producing, transporting, refining, or distributing oil or
  730  gas may not shall hold any position under, or be employed by,
  731  the Division of Water Resource Management in the prosecution of
  732  its duties under this part law.
  733         Section 13. Subsection (1) of section 377.243, Florida
  734  Statutes, is amended to read:
  735         377.243 Conditions for granting permits for extraction
  736  through well holes.—
  737         (1) Before applying Prior to the application to the
  738  Division of Water Resource Management for the permit to drill
  739  for oil, gas, and related products referred to in s. 377.242(1),
  740  the applicant must own a valid deed, or other muniment of title,
  741  or lease granting the said applicant the privilege to explore
  742  for oil, gas, or related mineral products to be extracted only
  743  through the well hole on the land or lands included in the
  744  application. However, unallocated interests may be unitized
  745  according to s. 377.27.
  746         Section 14. Subsection (1) of section 377.244, Florida
  747  Statutes, is amended to read:
  748         377.244 Conditions for granting permits for surface
  749  exploratory and extraction operations.—
  750         (1) Exploration for and extraction of minerals under and by
  751  virtue of the authority of a grant of oil, gas, or mineral
  752  rights, or which, subsequent to such grant, may be interpreted
  753  to include the right to explore for and extract minerals which
  754  are subject to extraction from the land by means other than
  755  through a well hole, that is by means of surface exploratory and
  756  extraction operations such as sifting of the sands, dragline,
  757  open pit mining, or other type of surface operation, which would
  758  include movement of sands, dirt, rock, or minerals, shall be
  759  exercised only pursuant to a permit issued by the Division of
  760  Water Resource Management upon the applicant’s compliance
  761  applicant complying with the following conditions:
  762         (a) The applicant must own a valid deed, or other muniment
  763  of title, or lease granting the applicant the right to explore
  764  for and extract oil, gas, and other minerals from the said
  765  lands.
  766         (b) The applicant shall post a good and sufficient surety
  767  bond with the division in such amount as the division determines
  768  may determine is adequate to afford full and complete protection
  769  for the owner of the surface rights of the lands described in
  770  the application, conditioned upon the full and complete
  771  restoration, by the applicant, of the area over which the
  772  exploratory and extraction operations are conducted to the same
  773  condition and contour in existence before prior to such
  774  operations.
  775         Section 15. For the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the sum of $1
  776  million in nonrecurring funds is appropriated from the General
  777  Revenue Fund to the Department of Environmental Protection to
  778  conduct a high-pressure well stimulation study pursuant to s.
  779  377.2436, Florida Statutes.
  780         Section 16. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.