BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 605
                                                                  Page 1

          Date of Hearing:  July 6, 2009

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
                                Nancy Skinner, Chair
                     SB 605 (Ashburn) - As Amended:  May 4, 2009

           SENATE VOTE :  39-0
           
          SUBJECT  :  California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA):  biogas  
          pipelines:  exemption

           SUMMARY  :  Expands an existing CEQA exemption applicable to  
          liquid pipelines to include pipelines used to transport dairy  
          biogas in four counties.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Requires lead agencies with the principal responsibility for  
            carrying out or approving a proposed project to prepare a  
            negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration, or  
            environmental impact report for this action, unless the  
            project is exempt from CEQA.

          2)Provides that CEQA does not apply to a pipeline project  
            consisting of inspection, maintenance, repair, restoration,  
            reconditioning, relocation, replacement, or removal of an  
            existing intrastate liquid pipeline subject to the Pipeline  
            Safety Act, subject to specified conditions, including:

             a)   The project is less than eight miles in length.

             b)   Construction and excavation activities are not  
               undertaken over more than one half mile at a time.

             c)   The section of pipeline is not less than eight miles  
               from any section that has received an exemption in the past  
               12 months.

             d)   Project activities are undertaken within an existing  
               right-of-way and the right-of-way is restored to its  
               pre-project condition.

             e)   The diameter of the pipeline is not increased.

           THIS BILL  :








                                                                  SB 605
                                                                  Page 2


          1)Expands the exemption described above to include a pipeline  
            located in Fresno, Kern, Kings, or Tulare County that is used  
            to transport "biogas" that is derived from anaerobic digestion  
            of dairy animal waste and meets compressed natural gas  
            specifications adopted by the Air Resources Board.

          2)Sunsets January 1, 2013.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

           COMMENTS  :

          According to the author, "Collection of biogas produced at dairy  
          operations is an emerging method that can reduce dairy emissions  
          of methane, one of the leading contributors to greenhouse gas  
          emissions?the resulting usable gas can be transported via  
          pipelines to commercial natural gas transmission lines where it  
          is inserted into existing natural gas supplies."  The author  
          asserts that these projects "are often delayed by lengthy and  
          costly environmental reviews that can threaten the financial  
          viability of projects to expand the use of this emerging  
          technology."  

          The justification for this bill's four-county limit and  
          application based on source and composition of the gas is  
          unclear, however this bill does not represent a significant  
          expansion of the existing general exemption for existing liquid  
          pipelines.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :

           Support 
           
          Kern County Board of Supervisors (sponsor)
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file


           Analysis Prepared by  :  Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)  
          319-2092