BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 358 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 358 (Smyth) As Amended September 1, 2011 2/3 vote. Urgency ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(June 2, 2011) |SENATE: |38-1 |(September 6, 2011) | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |COMMITTEE VOTE: |7-0 |(September 7, 2011) |RECOMMENDATION: |concur | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Original Committee Reference: E.S. & T.M. SUMMARY : Provides for the reporting and review of underground storage tank (UST) cleanup. The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of the bill and instead: 1)Require Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs) and local agencies to submit information to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) related to the oversight and management of USTs in a manner consistent with existing electronic reporting requirements. Provide SWRCB with emergency regulation authority to establish the reporting system. 2)Establish authority of an owner or operator of an UST, overseen by local implementing agencies (LIAs) that have implemented a corrective action plan to petition SWRCB to close the site. 3)Establish authority for the SWRCB to close sites overseen by LIAs under its existing five year review process. Before closing or requiring closure of an underground storage tank case, the amendments require the SWRCB to provide an opportunity for RWQCBs, local agency, water replenishment district, municipal water district, or county water district to petition to prevent the closure of the case. 4)Expedite UST claims submittal, processing and payment. With AB 358 Page 2 limited exceptions, establish a one-year deadline for filing remaining claims on sites subject to a uniform closure letter issued by the lead agency. Require the notification to the responsible party of the one year filing deadline. 5)Limit the annual claims reimbursement for sites recommended for closure pursuant to the five-year review process at $10,000 unless the SWRCB determines additional work is necessary for closure, or to protect public health and safety. 6)Provide that this is an urgency measure requiring a two-thirds vote, and allowing the bill to take effect immediately upon enactment. 7)Provides that the enactment of this bill is contingent on the approval of AB 291 (Wieckowski), which extends the sunset of a portion of the tax paid by underground petroleum storage tank operators, to January 1, 2014. EXISTING LAW : 1)Regulates, generally, the storage of hazardous substances in USTs and requires USTs that are used to store hazardous substances to meet certain requirements, including that the primary containment be product tight and that the tank's secondary containment meet specified standards. 2)Requires, under the existing Barry Keene Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Trust Fund Act of 1989 (Act), owners and operators of petroleum USTs to take corrective action on an unauthorized release of petroleum, including requirements for the preparation of a work plan. The Act provides for the issuance of a specified closure letter relative to the completion of an investigation and corrective action for a petroleum UST. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill required the adoption of emergency regulations by the SWRCB to establish standards for high risk leaking USTs. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible costs. AB 358 Page 3 COMMENTS : This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the Assembly approved provisions were deleted. According to the author, the goal of this bill is to ensure that all local agencies that perform UST project oversight and remediation have the same lines of responsibility and review in following state policies on closure of UST sites. This stems from the fact that there are two variations of local agency oversight obligation which is a remnant of the Legislature creating Certified Unified Permitting Agencies (CUPAs) in the late 1990s. The author contends that the LIAs have substandard closure rates and this bill will significantly improve those rates. The SWRCB is working with stakeholders to make improvements in administration of the fund. The 2010 Budget contained Supplemental Report language that directed SWRCB to provided updates on its progress in implementation of findings from a February 2010 audit of the Fund. That audit contained many findings, including that there is a lack of incentive to get cases cleaned up quickly and efficiently. The lack of closure incentive applied to all three major parties: the responsible party or claimant, whose site cleanup bills are paid by the Fund; the consultant, who can continue to bill hours as long as the case is active; and the regulator, who generally prefers to close only cases that have minimal or no risk associated with the site closure. Due, in part, to these disincentives, over 43% of the active claims have been open for ten years or more. The SWRCB directed staff to undertake specific steps to get cases to closure more quickly and efficiently. As part of the solution, SWRCB established two stakeholder task forces to review both the regulatory side and the payment side of the UST Program, and make suggestions for improvements or changes. They are also working on a "low risk" closure policy that is likely to expedite the closure process as well. The changes in this bill are consistent with the audit recommendations and do not appear to conflict with the proposed low-risk closure policy currently under review. Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965 FN: 0002809 AB 358 Page 4