2005 California Public Resources Code Sections 3000-3015 Article 1. Definitions and General Provisions

3000.  Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions
hereinafter set forth shall govern the construction of this division.
3001.  "Department," in reference to the government of this state,
means the Department of Conservation.
3002.  "Division," in reference to the government of this state,
means the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the
Department of Conservation; otherwise "division" means Division 3
(commencing with Section 3000) of the Public Resources Code.
3003.  "Director" means the Director of Conservation.
3004.  "Supervisor" means the State Oil and Gas Supervisor.
3005.  "Person" includes any individual, firm, association,
corporation, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
3006.  "Oil" includes petroleum, and "petroleum" includes oil.
3007.  "Gas" means any natural hydrocarbon gas coming from the
earth.
3008.  (a) "Well" means any oil or gas well or well for the
discovery of oil or gas; any well on lands producing or reasonably
presumed to contain oil or gas; any well drilled for the purpose of
injecting fluids or gas for stimulating oil or gas recovery,
repressuring or pressure maintenance of oil or gas reservoirs, or
disposing of waste fluids from an oil or gas field; any well used to
inject or withdraw gas from an underground storage facility; or any
well drilled within or adjacent to an oil or gas pool for the purpose
of obtaining water to be used in production stimulation or
repressuring operations.
   (b) "Prospect well" or "exploratory well" means any well drilled
to extend a field or explore a new, potentially productive reservoir.
   (c) "Active observation well" means a well being used for the sole
purpose of gathering reservoir data, such as pressure or temperature
in a reservoir being currently produced or injected by the operator,
and the data is gathered at least once every three years.
   (d) "Idle well" means any well that has not produced oil or
natural gas or has not been used for injection for six consecutive
months of continuous operation during the last five or more years.
An idle well does not include an active observation well.
   (e) "Long-term idle well" means any well that has not produced oil
or natural gas or has not been used for injection for six
consecutive months of continuous operation during the last 10 or more
years.  A long-term idle well does not include an active observation
well.
3009.  "Operator" means any person who, by virtue of ownership, or
under the authority of a lease or any other agreement, has the right
to drill, operate, maintain, or control a well.
3012.  The provisions of this division apply to any land or well
situated within the boundaries of an incorporated city in which the
drilling of oil wells is now or may hereafter be prohibited, until
all wells therein have been abandoned as provided in this chapter.
3013.  This division shall be liberally construed to meet its
purposes, and the director and the supervisor, acting with the
approval of the director, shall have all powers, including the
authority to adopt rules and regulations, which may be necessary to
carry out the purposes of this division.
3014.  "District" means an oil and gas district as provided for in
Section 3100.
3015.  For the purpose of implementing Section 503 of the Natural
Gas Policy Act of 1978, the supervisor may make the determinations
entrusted to state agencies having regulatory jurisdiction with
respect to the production of natural gas.  Such determinations shall
be made pursuant to procedures prescribed in guidelines adopted by
the supervisor.