BILL ANALYSIS AB 1674 Page 1 AB 1674 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 13, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS Pedro Nava, Chair AB 1674 (Saldana) - As Introduced: January 20, 2010 SUBJECT : Underground storage tanks. SUMMARY : Modifies existing exemptions of underground storage tanks (UST). Specifically, this bill : would make various technical changes to existing law pertaining to USTs and aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) including: 1)Exempts from certain UST design and construction requirements those USTs for which exterior surfaces of the UST can be visually monitored (such as those that are in concrete vaults) and where the USTs meet other regulatory requirements. 2)Eliminates a provision of current law that allows the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to object to a local agency decision as to whether a tank meets UST regulatory requirements. 3)Makes various technical changes to existing law pertaining to ASTs, including deleting the authorization for a local Unified Program Agency (UPA) to waive a local AST regulatory fee on state or local government agencies. EXISTING LAW 1)Requires that the SWRCB and local governments regulate the design, installation and operation of USTs. Imposes standards for the design and upgrade of tanks, requires that tank owners obtain permits to operate tanks, prohibits the use of tanks that have not been upgraded to meet specified standards, provides for the enforcement of tank requirements, and requires that appropriate corrective action be taken when spills occur or underground storage tanks leak. 2)Requires all USTs installed after April 1, 2003 to be double-contained, both primary and secondary containment to be AB 1674 Page 2 "product tight" (impervious to the liquid and vapor phases of the substance stored); water intrusion to be prevented, secondary containment to meet specified volumetric requirements. Requires the tank to have a continuous leak monitoring system, pressurized piping to be equipped with leak detection and the tank to be tested using enhanced leak detection before it is placed into use. 3)Provides exemption from underground tank design, installation and operation requirements for tanks if all exterior surfaces, including connected piping and the floor directly beneath the tank can be monitored by direct viewing. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. COMMENTS . 1)Need for the bill . According to the sponsors of the bill, the California Health Officers Association, AB 1674 will address two enforcement issues involving fuel storage tanks. Specifically, the bill clarifies that vaulted tanks are not mandated to meet every requirement placed on underground storage tanks installed after July 1, 2004. Certain requirements, such as pressure monitoring between the soil and the exterior walls of the tanks, are not applicable to tanks that are below-grade but not buried in the ground. The bill makes a technical amendment to the Above Ground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA) to include CUPA oversight of above ground petroleum storage in federal facilities. This change will enable the collection of fees that will provide cost recovery for APSA program implementation. 2)UST design standards . Federal and state laws and regulations set standards for UST system design, construction, installation and notification; upgrading of existing UST systems, general operating requirements, release detection; reporting and investigation; corrective action and out-of-service and closed UST systems. Those standards were enacted to reduce the risk of water contamination by petroleum products and hazardous and toxic additives such as MTBE that can leak from USTs. 3)AST fee waiver authority . The sponsors of the bill have requested clarification on the ability of local governments to AB 1674 Page 3 assess fees on federal facilities. In order to create a level fee structure that captures the full cost of local government oversight, the federal agencies have raised objections to exemption of state and local facilities from permit fees. 4)Issue . This bill provides a broad exemption for USTs that are not buried in the ground by also exempting them from other UST design and construction standards that are necessary to protect water quality. For example, the bill would exempt these UST from existing requirements that vent lines, vapor recovery lines and fill pipes must also have secondary levels of containment. This type of tank design is important for preventing USTs from leaking and for reducing the potential of groundwater contamination from leaking tanks and the USTs that are not buried in the ground should still remain subject to these requirements. The Committee may wish to specify that vent lines, pipes and vapor recovery standards would still apply to these USTs. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California Association of Environmental Health Administrators County of San Diego Opposition None received Analysis Prepared by : Robert Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965