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 







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            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.  







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            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