(a) A hearing shall be provided in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code only in an appeal from an order in the following circumstances:
(1) Issued pursuant to a Section 3237 finding that the operator’s wells are deserted and should be plugged and abandoned.
(2) Imposing civil penalties totaling more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).
(3) Rescinding an entire injection project approval for a project that has already commenced.
(4) Imposing a life-of-well bond or a life-of-production facility bond.
(b) An order issued pursuant to Section 3225 shall satisfy the substantive requirements of an accusation pursuant to Section 11503 of the Government Code and may be filed when scheduling a formal hearing in accordance with this chapter and Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. All applicable formal hearing deadlines do not commence until a formal hearing is scheduled. When scheduling a formal hearing after an appeal from an order under this chapter, the supervisor is not required to send a Notice of Defense statement and the operator is not required to request a hearing.
(c) For an appeal of an order that is not described in subdivision (a), a hearing shall be conducted by the director in accordance with Sections 3352 and 3353.
(d) For an appeal of an order that is described in subdivision (a) and is also an emergency order, a hearing shall be conducted by the director in accordance with Sections 3352 and 3353 for the limited purpose of considering the reasonableness of the supervisor’s determination that an emergency exists. All other penalties and requirements imposed by the order shall be considered at a hearing provided in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 274, Sec. 5. (AB 2756) Effective January 1, 2017.)