BILL ANALYSIS
AB 388
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 23, 2001
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Howard Wayne, Chair
AB 388 (Strom-Martin) - As Amended: April 16, 2001
SUBJECT : Oil spill response.
SUMMARY : This bill annually appropriates $125,000 for
expenditure, without regard to fiscal year, to the Office of Oil
Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) to develop and conduct
training of staff and other personnel to respond to toxic spills
requiring the rescue of wildlife. This bill also appropriates
$135,000 to the nonprofit Marine Mammal Center (Center) for
research into the effects of toxic substances on marine mammals.
EXISTING LAW : Created the Oil Spill Prevention and
Administration Fund (Fund) for appropriation by the Legislature
for specified purposes, including but not limited to the
implementation, installation and maintenance of emergency
programs, equipment, facilities to respond to, contain and clean
up oil spills and to ensure that those operations will be
carried out as intended.
FISCAL EFFECT : Minimum costs for this bill will likely be
$260,000 during the first year, then $125,000 per each year
thereafter.
COMMENTS :
Background
The Legislature enacted the Oil Spill Prevention and Response
Act (OSPRA) in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska,
as an effort to create incentives and programs for the oil
industry to improve safety. (Government Code section 8670, et
seq.). OSPRA contains several components, including, but not
limited to, the implementation, installation and maintenance of
emergency programs, equipment, facilities to respond to, contain
and clean up oil spills, and to ensure that those operations
will be carried out as intended.
This bill annually appropriates $125,000 from the Fund to OSPR
to develop and conduct training of staff to respond to toxic
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spills that require the rescue of wildlife. It also makes a
one-time $135,000 appropriation from the Fund to the Center for
research into the effects of toxic substances on marine mammals.
According to the author's office, existing law does not provide
adequate funding for programs devoted to wildlife rescue in the
event of toxic spills, nor for training the Department of Fish
and Game (DFG) staff to perform rescues in response to toxic
spills. Instead, existing law provides only limited authority
for the DFG to respond to inland spills.
According to the author's office, the incidents of unexplained
marine mammal deaths have increased significantly in recent
years. For example, gray whales stranded along the California
coast rose from the annual average of 20-50 gray whales to over
280 in 2000 with no clear explanation. (Zagzebski, K., Gray
whale health investigation, Release , Vol. 20, No. 3: Winter
2000). The Center found carcinomas (cancerous ulcers) in
approximately 20% of the recovered sea lions with inconclusive
date to identify a specific cause. (Spong, S., Cancer in
California sea lions, Release , Vol. 21, No. 1: Spring 2001).
Similar data shortages exist in regard to the incidence of
congenital defects and skin diseases in Northern elephant seals,
parasitic infections in sea otters, and algal bloom poisoning of
sea lions. (Gulland, F., M.D., 1999, Stranded seals: Important
sentinels, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical
Association , 214(8):1191-1192; Spong, S., Harmful algal blooms:
On the rise?, Release , Vol. 20, No. 3L: Winter 2000).
The Center's Marine Mammal Science and Research Program brings
together veterinary clinicians and pathologists, rehabilitation
specialists, wildlife biologists and research scientists to
address the health and survival of marine mammals and to
investigate human and other stresses on the marine ecosystem,
particularly the effect of toxins. The Center collaborates with
over 30 organizations to study and to protect marine mammals and
the State's water and coastlines. The Center endeavors to
research the health of marine mammals, their interactions with
humans, and the role of toxic agents on the health of marine
mammals and the State's coastal and ocean environments. This
work costs $135,000, which represents 10% of the Center's
Veterinary Science Budget. The Center's rescue range extends
over 600 miles of the State's coastline. According to the
author's office, the Center has the capability to gather and
study information from these marine mammals in order to develop
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a body of meaningful information about the effects of toxins on
marine mammals.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Defenders of Wildlife
Sierra Club of California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Aristotle Evia / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092