BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1566 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 18, 2012 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 1566 (Wieckowski) - As Amended: March 27, 2012 Policy Committee: Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Vote: 8-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill revises the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA) Program. Specifically, this bill: 1)Redefines "aboveground storage tank" to include certain petroleum-containing tanks located in underground areas, such as basements, cellars and pits. 2)Charges the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) with regulating and overseeing implementation of the APSA Program, establishing an advisory committee of regulated parties and other stakeholders and provide training to local agencies. 3)Establishes an APSA violation administrative penalty of up to $5,000 for a first offence, and up to $10,000 for each subsequent offence, for each day of the violation. 4)Directs administrative penalty monies to be deposited in a unified program account established by the Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) that issues the penalty, to be used by the CUPA to carry out the unified program. 5)Provides that a person who knowingly violates the APSA, following reasonable notice of violation, is guilty of a misdemeanor. FISCAL EFFECT 1)Ongoing costs of approximately $225,000, to $300,000, equivalent to two scientific positions (about $200,000 annually) plus administrative costs such as travel and equipment, to OSFM to oversee local implementation of the APST AB 1566 Page 2 Program, provide outreach, establish and administer advisory committee and adopt regulations, if necessary (Unified Program Account). 2)Annual APSA surcharge revenue, paid by regulated parties, sufficient to cover OSFM's annual costs (Unified Program Account). 3)Potential annual administration penalty revenue of an unknown amount (Local revenue). COMMENTS 1)Rationale. The bill's sponsor-the California Association of Environmental Health Administrators-contends endowing the OSFM with regulatory authority over the APSA program would align the program with other similar programs, create statewide regulatory consistency and ease compliance. The sponsor further asserts altering the definition of "aboveground storage tank" will align the APSA Program with federal regulations, again easing compliance. Finally, the sponsor contends addition of criminal penalties and making explicit the authority to levy administrative penalties conforms the APST Program to other similar programs. 2)Background. Current law establishes the Unified Program, which provides uniform, statewide programs for six distinct hazardous waste program elements, including the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program and the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act Program. Under the Unified Program, the Secretary for Environmental Protection certifies a local entity, such as a city or a county and known as a CUPA, to implement the program element within its respective jurisdiction. The Secretary for Environmental Protection is authorized to calculate a Unified Program surcharge to cover the state costs of overseeing local implementation of the various Unified Program elements. The surcharge is collected by the CUPAs, as part of a single Unified Program fee on each regulated party, and deposited in the Environmental Protection Trust Fund. Most of the Unified Program elements are overseen by a state agency, oftentimes referred to as a lead agency, that ensures CUPAs implement the Unified Program appropriately and consistently. For example, the Department of Toxic Substances Control is the lead agency for the Hazardous Waste Generator element of the Unified Program. AB 1566 Page 3 The lead state agency for each Unified Program element can accesses funds in the EPTF to cover its Unified Program oversight costs. In 2008, legislation (Chapter 626, Statutes of 2007) transferred responsibility for implementation of the APSA Program from the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the regional boards to the CUPAs and better aligned the program with federal regulations. The legislation also made the balance of funds in the EPTF available, upon appropriation and administered by the Secretary, to the CUPAs for APSA Program training until July 1, 2011, a date extended by two years by subsequent legislation (Chapter 574, Statutes of 2011). Currently, there is no state agency with responsibility for overseeing the APSA Program element of the Unified Program. 3)Underground, but Not Underground. This bill recasts the definition of "aboveground" tanks to include certain petroleum-containing tanks located in underground areas, such as basements, cellars and pits. Current law defines such tanks as "underground tanks," which, by definition, are hidden from view and largely inaccessible to visual monitoring. UST regulatory requirements, therefore, are stringent and costly when compared to APSA regulatory requirements. It seems appropriate to reclassify as "aboveground," tanks located in underground structures and that are wholly, or mostly, available to visual inspection. It is less obvious that other tanks, such as motor vehicle fuel tanks, that sit on the ground and the bottoms of which are unavailable for visual inspection, should be reclassified as "aboveground." Several parties, including the author's office, indicate this issue is under discussion. Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081