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.