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California Department of Conservation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The California Department of Conservation provides services and information that promote environmental health, economic vitality, informed land use decisions and sound management of California's natural resources. The mission of the department is to provide services designed to balance today's needs with tomorrow's obligations by fostering the wise use and conservation of energy, land and mineral resources.
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The California Department of Conservation includes six divisions, each of which has distinct operating objectives.
In the United States, only Alaska experiences more earthquakes than California. Scientists from DOC gather data on earthquakes and map earthquake faults and related hazards. This information is used to make buildings and structures that are better able to withstand earthquakes, minimizing loss of life and property damage. In addition, the Mineral Resources Program gathers, analyzes and distributes information on the state's mineral resources to help prevent valuable mineral deposits from being lost.
The Department of Conservation administers or supports a number of programs designed to promote orderly growth in coordination with agricultural endeavors. This is a crucial job. The population of California is expected to grow from its current 34 million to 50 million by 2025, and the need for new homes will put strain on the nation's leading agricultural economy. Key DOC tools available for land conservation planning are conservation easement grants, tax incentives to keep land in agriculture or open space, and farmland mapping and monitoring.
The reclamation of mining land wasn't addressed in state law before 1975. The Surface Mining and Reclamation Act is the link between producing the mineral products important to California and protecting the environment. Under SMARA, every mining operation must have a permit to mine, an approved reclamation plan, which means the mined land must be restored or altered to a condition agreed upon prior to mining, and a sound financial ability to ensure reclamation.
The Division of Oil Gas and Geothermal Resources oversees the drilling, operation, maintenance, and plugging and abandonment of oil, natural gas and geothermal wells, an important step in guarding drinking water and agricultural waters against pollution. The regulatory program emphasizes the wise development of oil, natural gas, and geothermal resources in the state through sound engineering practices that protect the environment, prevent pollution, and ensure public safety. DOC also is the clearinghouse for information about the state's oil, gas and geothermal industry, with more than 170,000 well records, production and injection statistics, well logs and field maps.
It maintains a database of active wells, expired wells, surveyed lands and leases on California land, coastal waters (0-3 miles) and federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). When a well is no longer needed, either because the oil or gas reservoir becomes depleted, or because no oil or gas was found (called a dry-hole), the well is plugged and abandoned. A well is plugged by placing cement in the well-bore or casing at certain intervals as specified in California laws or regulations. The purpose of the cement is to seal the wellbore or casing and prevent fluid from migrating between underground rock layers. Cement plugs are required to be placed across the oil or gas reservoir (zone plug), across the base-of-fresh-water (BFW plug), and at the surface (surface plug) (watch a movie). Other cement plugs may be required at the bottom of a string of open casing (shoe plug), on top of tools that may become stuck down hole (junk plug), on top of cut casing (stub plug), or anywhere else where a cement plug may be needed. Also, the hole is filled with drilling mud to help prevent the migration of fluids.
By recycling glass, plastic, aluminum and bimetal beverage containers, Californians reduce litter while saving energy, natural resources and landfill space. The Department of Conservation promotes bottle and can recycling through education and outreach to beverage retailers, consumers and recycling centers.
The State Mining and Geology Board operates within the Department of Conservation, and is granted certain autonomous responsibilities and obligations under several statutes. The board's general authority requires all nine board members to "represent the general public interest." The board serves as a regulatory, policy and appeals body representing the state's interest in geology, geologic and seismologic hazards, conservation of mineral resources, and reclamation following surface mining activities.