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.