BILL NUMBER: SB 419 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 21, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 7, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 20, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 30, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 26, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 31, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Senator Simitian
FEBRUARY 17, 2005
An act to add Article 7.7 (commencing with Section 7674) to
Chapter 1 of Division 4 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to
hazardous materials.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 419, as amended, Simitian Hazardous materials: transportation:
railroad tank cars.
Existing law prohibits any person from transporting hazardous
waste in this state unless the person holds a valid registration
issued by the Department of Toxic Substances Control. Existing law
requires a railroad corporation transporting hazardous materials to
submit to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), a system map
containing information, as specified, and to the Office of Emergency
Services a copy of a publication that identifies emergency handling
guidelines for surface transportation of hazardous material.
Existing law requires, in the event of a release or threatened
release of hazardous material from a railcar, a railroad corporation
to provide information to the emergency response agency, as
specified. Existing law requires the PUC to submit to the Legislature
a report on railroad line sites that it finds to be hazardous with
information, as specified.
Existing law requires businesses that handle hazardous materials
to maintain an inventory of hazardous materials and to prepare a
business plan relating to the handling and the response to a release
or threatened release of hazardous materials.
This bill would require the PUC to create and maintain a hazardous
rail tank car database, which would contain specified information,
including a current certificate of compliance provided by the legal
owner or lessee of the rail tank car stating that the rail tank car
meets certain standards. The bill would authorize the PUC to charge a
rail tank car owner or lessee a fee sufficient to maintain the
database and would provide that a rail tank car that is listed on the
database is a registered hazardous tank car. The bill would require
the legal owner or lessee of a hazardous rail tank car to present to
an official of the railroad, at the point of transfer for the
hazardous tank car, the certificate of compliance when delivering a
hazardous tank car containing certain hazardous materials to a
railroad.
The bill would prohibit the delivery of certain hazardous
materials above certain threshold quantities, as specified, by rail,
unless the hazardous material is transported in a hazardous tank car
registered with the office. The bill would authorize the assessment
of specified civil penalties against a railroad, rail tank car owner,
or lessor or lessee of a rail tank car that knowingly violates this
requirement, and provides for the disbursement of the collected civil
penalties.
The bill would require the legal owner or lessee of a
registered and certified hazardous tank car to give priority to
transferring to a railroad, a registered hazardous tank car to
transport hazardous material that is used to comply with specified
drinking water standards, before the legal owner or lessee
transfers that, tank car to transport hazardous material that is not
used to comply with those standards, except as specified.
The bill would require the PUC to apply for a waiver, if the PUC
determines that the bill's requirements could be preempted by the
federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Authorization Act of 1994.
The bill would become operative on February 1, 2007. The bill
would authorize the PUC to delay until January 1, 2008, the
enforcement of the requirement to transport hazardous material in a
hazardous tank car registered with the PUC, if the PUC finds, before
February 1, 2007, that there is an insufficient number of hazardous
rail tank cars to meet commercial requirements. The bill would, in
addition, authorize the PUC, if the PUC delays that enforcement to
January 1, 2008, to delay that enforcement for an additional year if
the PUC finds on or before September 1 of each year that there is an
insufficient number of hazardous rail tank cars to meet commercial
needs for the following year. The bill would authorize the PUC to
enforce that requirement if the PUC determines that the insufficiency
in the number of hazardous rail tank cars to meet commercial
requirements is de minimis. The bill would prohibit the PUC from
delaying that enforcement beyond January 1, 2012.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 7.7 (commencing with Section 7674) is added to
Chapter 1 of Division 4 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:
Article 7.7. Transportation of Hazardous Materials by Rail
Tank Car
7674. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The federal government has not acted to prevent the terrorist
threat resulting from the transportation of dangerous quantities of
ultrahazardous materials through highly populated urban corridors.
(b) A terrorist attack on a shipment of, or an accidental leak of,
poisonous gas inhalants in the state could result in tens of
thousands of deaths and economic damage in the billions of dollars.
(c) Requiring rail tank cars to contain containment technologies
certified as appropriate by the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers to ship ultrahazardous materials through an urban corridor
causes no significant impact on interstate commerce.
(d) The citizens of the state should have a reasonable expectation
that hazardous materials are being shipped in the safest manner
possible.
(e) One-half of the nation's approximately 60,000 chemical tank
cars do not meet industry safety standards as of 2004.
(f) Puncture resistant tank cars are available today to the
railroad and chemical industries and their use would greatly enhance
security and public safety.
(g) In March 2005, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a railcar leaking
toxic chemicals sent plumes of gas into the air, forcing the
evacuation of more than 6,000 people. Fifteen hours after the
discovery of the leak, officials still were not certain of the
contents of the leaking tanker. Officials could not determine from
the owner of the tanker what was in the tanker and at what
concentration.
(h) On January 6, 2005, two freight trains collided in
Graniteville, South Carolina, approximately 10 miles northeast of
Augusta, Georgia, releasing an estimated 11,500 gallons of chlorine
gas, which caused nine deaths and sent at least 529 persons seeking
medical treatment for possible chlorine exposure.
(i) In June 2004, a moving train struck a stationary train at a
rail substation in Texas, causing a derailment. One tanker car was
punctured, releasing approximately 90,000 pounds of chlorine gas. At
least 60,000 pounds of chlorine gas reacted with sodium hydroxide to
form sodium hypochlorite, a corrosive. Also released were
approximately 78,000 gallons of urea fertilizer and 7,000 gallons of
diesel fuel, which when mixed form an explosive mixture. Forty-four
persons were injured, including three who died.
(j) In August 2002, approximately 16,900 pounds of chlorine gas
were released from a railroad tanker car when a flex hose ruptured
during unloading at a chemical plant in Missouri. An automatic
shutoff valve on the car and an emergency shutoff system at the plant
failed to work as backup prevention measures. Sixty-seven persons
were injured.
(k) The Cantera Loop, five miles north of Dunsmuir, California,
was the site of a tragic derailment and toxic chemical spill in 1991.
That spill killed everything in the river for 40 miles, including
the wild trout population. The spill was contained just before it
reached Shasta Lake, 43 miles to the south, a major drinking water
supply for much of the state. In addition to the destruction to the
environment, the tourism dependent economy of the Sacramento River
Canyon was devastated. Businesses in Dunsmuir closed and real estate
value in Dunsmuir plummeted. Dunsmuir almost became a ghost town.
Recovery of the fishery took 10 years and Dunsmuir is just showing
signs of becoming a tourist destination.
(l) Again in July 2003, an 86-car Union Pacific freight train
derailed three miles north of Dunsmuir. Fifteen cars jumped the track
and a few ended up in the Sacramento River. At the time of the
derailment, the cars in the river were empty.
(m) On January 15, 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention issued a report on the South Carolina accident
recommending that government officials and private companies "route
hazardous materials away from densely populated areas, where feasible"
to reduce risks.
(n) The federal government considers these ultrahazardous cargoes
as "potential weapons of mass destruction," and very attractive
targets for terrorists. A study by the Naval Research Laboratory
reveals that 100 people per second could die if a terrorist were to
blow up a tank car full of chlorine gas.
(o) Since September 11, 2001, the federal government has taken
swift action to standardize and heighten security measures throughout
our nation's airports and airlines, but has left our nation's
railroads virtually untouched.
(p) A 2003 Government Accounting Office report concluded that it
is unclear whether or not the railroad companies' own initiatives
have effectively deterred terrorism because there are no federal
standards.
7674.1. For the purposes of this article, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(a) "Commission" means the Public Utilities Commission.
(b) "Federal act" means the Hazardous Materials Transportation
Authorization Act of 1994 (Chapter 51 (commencing with Section 5101)
of Title 49 of the United States Code), as amended.
(c) "Person" has the same meaning as defined in Section 25118 of
the Health and Safety Code.
(d) "Registered hazardous tank car" means a rail tank car listed
on the database created pursuant to Section 7674.2.
7674.2. (a) The commission shall create and maintain a hazardous
rail tank car database, which shall contain all of the following
information:
(1) A registration number and year of manufacture for a rail tank
car that will transport a hazardous material specified in Section
7674.3 in or through California.
(2) A current certificate of compliance provided by the legal
owner or lessee of the rail tank car stating that the rail tank car
meets both of the following standards:
(A) The rail tank car is in compliance with all construction and
safety standards for a rail tank car adopted by the American
Association of Railroads, M1002, as of January 1, 2006, regardless of
the date of manufacture of the rail tank car.
(B) The rail tank car is in compliance with Part 105 (commencing
with Section 105.5) to Part 180 (commencing with Section 180.1),
inclusive, of Chapter I of Subtitle B of Title 49 of the Code of
Federal Regulations.
(b) The owner or lessee of a rail tank car shall annually renew
the certificate specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
(c) The commission may charge the rail tank car owner or lessee a
fee sufficient to maintain the database for hazardous tank car
registrants and the reasonable costs of enforcing the requirements of
this article.
(d) The legal owner or lessee of a registered hazardous tank car
shall present to an official of the railroad, at the point of
transfer for the hazardous tank car, the certificate of compliance
specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) when delivering a
hazardous tank car containing a hazardous material specified in
Section 7674.3 to a railroad.
(e) If the commission determines that a requirement imposed
pursuant to this article could be preempted by the federal act, the
office shall apply to the Secretary of Transportation for a waiver of
preemption pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 5125 of Title 49 of
the United States Code.
(f) (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), the legal
owner or lessee of a registered hazardous tank car that is certified
pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall give first
priority to transferring to a railroad that rail tank car for the
transport of a hazardous material specified in Section 7674.3 that is
used to comply with the drinking water standards specified in the
federal Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300f et seq.) or with
Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 116270) of Part 12 of Division
104 of the Health and Safety Code, before the legal owner or lessee
transfers that rail tank car for the transport of a hazardous
material specified in Section 7674.3 that is not used to comply with
those standards.
(2) This subdivision shall apply only until the date when the
commission determines that all hazardous tank cars that transport a
hazardous material specified in Section 7674.3 through or in the
state, and that are subject to this section, are registered and
certified in compliance with this section.
(3) This subdivision does not apply when the commission has
delayed the enforcement of Section 7674.3 pursuant to subdivision (b)
of Section 7674.5.
7674.3. It is unlawful for a person to deliver for transport by
rail through or in the state, any of the following, unless the
hazardous material is transported in a hazardous tank car registered
with the commission pursuant to Section 7674.2:
(a) Explosives of class 1, division 1.1, or class 1, division 1.2,
as designated in Section 173.2 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, in a quantity greater than 500 kilograms.
(b) Flammable gases of class 2, division 2.1, as designated in
Section 173.2 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, in a
quantity greater than 10,000 liters.
(c) Poisonous gases of class 2, division 2.3, as designated by
Section 173.2 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations and
belonging to hazardous zone A or B as defined in Section 173.116 of
Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, in a quantity greater
than 500 liters.
(d) Poisonous material, other than gases, of class 6, division
6.1, or class 1, division 1.2, as designated by Section 173.2 of
Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations and belonging to
hazardous zone A or B as defined in Section 173.133 of Title 49 of
the Code of Federal Regulations, in a quantity greater than 1,000
kilograms.
7674.4. (a) A railroad, owner of a rail tank car, or lessor or
lessee of a rail tank car, designed to carry hazardous materials, who
knowingly violates Section 7674.3 shall be subject to a daily civil
penalty, for the first violation in an amount that does not exceed
ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(b) A railroad, owner of a rail tank car, or lessor or lessee of a
rail tank car, designed to carry hazardous materials who knowingly
violates Section 7674.3 for a second or subsequent violation shall be
subject to a daily civil penalty in an amount that does not exceed
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000). A second or subsequent
violation occurs when a rail tank car enters the state a second or
subsequent time without proper registration.
(c) A civil penalty assessed pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b)
shall accrue daily for each rail tank car not properly registered
pursuant to this article and shall continue to accrue until the rail
tank car either registers with the commission or leaves the state.
(d) A railroad, owner of a rail tank car, or lessor or lessee of a
rail tank car, designed to carry hazardous materials, knowingly
violates Section 7674.3 when it transports into the state, or causes
to be transported into the state, a substance listed in Section
7674.3 in a rail tank car that is not registered with the commission.
(e) The civil penalties collected pursuant to this section shall
be apportioned as follows:
(1) Fifty percent shall be deposited in the Environmental
Enforcement and Training Account established pursuant to Section
14303 of the Penal Code, and used for the purposes of Title 13
(commencing with Section 14300) of Part 4 of the Penal Code.
(2) Fifty percent shall be deposited in the Public Utilities
Commission Transportation Reimbursement Account in the General Fund.
(f) This section shall not be construed to prohibit the imposition
of any equitable remedy deemed appropriate by a court of competent
jurisdiction.
7674.5. (a) This chapter shall become operative on February 1,
2007.
(b) (1) If, prior to February 1, 2007, the commission makes a
finding, based on substantial evidence, that there is an insufficient
number of hazardous rail tank cars to meet commercial requirements,
the commission may delay the enforcement of Section 7674.3 to January
1, 2008.
(2) If the commission delays the enforcement of Section 7674.3
pursuant to paragraph (1), the commission may delay the enforcement
of Section 7674.3 for an additional year upon a finding, made on or
before September 1, 2007, and September 1 of each year thereafter,
that there is an insufficient number of hazardous rail tank cars to
meet commercial requirements for the following year. The commission
shall not delay enforcement of Section 7674.3 beyond January 1, 2012.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), the commission may
enforce the requirements of Section 7674.3 if the commission
determines that the insufficiency in the number of hazardous rail
tank cars to meet commercial requirements is de minimis.
SEC. 2. The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision
of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
effect without the invalid provision or application.