BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 291
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 11, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                  AB 291 (Wieckowski) - As Amended:  April 12, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              Environmental 
          Safety and Toxic Materials                    Vote: 9-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the State Water Resources Control Board 
          (SWRCB) to allocate at least 25% of Class B and Class C awards 
          from the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund based upon 
          environmental risk priority. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)One-time costs to SWRCB in 2011-12 of $50,000 to $150,000 to 
            develop and adopt regulations that, among other things, define 
            "environmental risk priority." (Underground Storage Tank 
            Cleanup Fund (USTCF).)

          2)One-time costs to SWRCB in 2012-13 of between $300,000 and 
            $650,000 to review thousands of UST claims, rank them based on 
            their relative environmental risk and consider appeals of 
            applicants' rankings.  (USTCF.)

          3)Ongoing annual costs to SWRCB starting in 2012-13000 in the 
            tens of thousands of dollars to review new UST claims and rank 
            them based on their relative environmental risk, consider 
            appeals of applicants' rankings and track spending.  (USTCF.)
           
           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  .  The author contends it appropriate to allow SWRCB 
            to prioritize claim awards upon potential risk to human health 
            and the environment. 

           2)Background.   The Barry Keene Underground Storage Tank Cleanup 
            Fund Act of 1989 created the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup 








                                                                  AB 291
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            Fund Program to help owners and operators of petroleum USTs 
            satisfy federal and state financial responsibility 
            requirements.  The act requires every owner of a petroleum UST 
            that is subject to regulation under the Health and Safety Code 
            to pay a per-gallon fee to the fund. This fee, which began on 
            January 1, 1991, has increased over time and currently 
            generates in excess of $180 million annually.  The fee is set 
            to expire at the end of this year.

            To be eligible to file a claim with the fund, the claimant 
            must be a current or past owner or operator of the UST from 
            which an unauthorized release of petroleum has occurred and be 
            required to undertake corrective action as directed by the 
            regulatory agency. Other eligibility conditions include 
            compliance with applicable state UST permitting requirements 
            and regulatory agency cleanup orders.  The act sets forth a 
            claim priority system based on claimant characteristics, which 
            is formalized in the Priority List, as follows: 


             a)   Class A is reserved for residential tank owners. 

             b)   Class B is reserved for small California businesses, 
               nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies with 
               gross receipts below a specified maximum. 


             c)   Class C is for certain California businesses, nonprofit 
               organizations and governmental agencies not meeting the 
               criteria for Class B.


             d)   Class D is open to all other eligible claimants. 


           3)Related Legislation  .  AB 358 (Smyth) would require the board 
            to adopt emergency regulations, on or before January 1, 2012, 
            that specify the conditions under which a leaking underground 
            storage tank (LUST) is an emergency site, meaning the site is 
            an imminent threat to public health or safety or to the 
            environment or poses a substantial probability of causing a 
            condition of contamination or nuisance. The bill passed the 
            Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials 
            9-0 and is pending action before this committee.









                                                                  AB 291
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           4)This bill has no registered support or opposition.  

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081