BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair AB 1566 (Wieckowski) - Aboveground storage tanks: enforcement. Amended: May 25, 2012 Policy Vote: EQ 6-1 Urgency: No Mandate: Yes Hearing Date: August 6, 2012 Consultant: Bob Franzoia This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: AB 1566 would revise the operation and oversight of the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act. Fiscal Impact: $225,000 to $300,000 annually to the Unified Program Account for the State Fire Marshall to oversee local implementation of the aboveground storage tank (AST) program, provide outreach, establish and administer an advisory committee, and adopt regulations, if necessary. Costs to the State Fire Marshall are offset an existing annual surcharge paid by regulated parties. Minor, if any, penalty revenue split between the local certified unified program agency (CUPA) and the district attorney. Background: The funding and positions for the AST program was eliminated from the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) budget in 2002-03 which halted all inspection activities. Although funding for personnel was eliminated, the responsibility for administering the program and the requirement for AST owners to file a storage statement and submit a biennial registration fee remained in effect. AB 1130 (Laird) Chapter 626/2007 shifted responsibility for the AST program from the SWRCB to the CUPAs. AB 1130 eliminated the fee structure and instead authorized the CUPAs to collect fees beginning January 1, 2010 to cover the reasonable and necessary costs incurred by a CUPA. AB 1130 also authorized the expenditure of the $7.5 million which had been deposited in the Environmental Protection Trust Fund to support CUPA AST program startup costs and the training of inspectors implementing the program. AB 1566 (Wieckowski) Page 1 The purpose of this bill is to clarify the definition of what is commonly referred to a vaulted tank and to establish the State Fire Marshall as the oversight agency for ASTs within the Certified Unified Program Act. Generally, the State Fire Marshall will assist local entities by providing training and guidance in program implementation. Proposed Law: This bill would do the following: - Expand the definition of ASTs to include a tank in an underground area. - Define a tank in an underground area as at least ten percent below the ground surface and contained in a structure that provides secondary containment. - Require the State Fire Marshall to adopt regulations and provide guidance to certified unified program agencies implementing the act. - Authorizes certified unified program agencies to assess administrative penalties on an owner or operator for failing to meet the requirements of the act and provide that violations of the act are a misdemeanor. Staff Comments: The Certified Unified Program Act consolidates, coordinates, and makes consistent the administrative requirements, permits, inspections, and enforcement activities of six environmental and emergency response programs. The state agencies responsible for these programs set the standards for their program while 83 local governments known as certified unified program agencies implement the standards. Cal/EPA oversees the implementation of the program as a whole.