BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1715
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1715 (Smyth)
As Amended June 20, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(May 29, 2012) |SENATE: |36-0 |(August 9, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: E.S. & T.M.
SUMMARY : Establishes new requirements for the State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB) for review, reporting and
enforcing the closure of underground Storage Tank (UST)
clean-ups.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,
and instead:
1)State legislative intent that SWRCB should process UST closure
cases expediently while ensuring adequate protection of public
health and safety.
2)Require the Fund Manager to determine whether a UST case
should be closed based on the annual review mandated in
California Health and Safety Code Section 25299.39.2(a) (1).
3)Require the Fund Manager to provide a summary report to the
appropriate Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCB) and
local oversight agency stating the reasons for determining
that closure of a case is appropriate.
4)Require the Fund Manager to give the appropriate RWQCB and
oversight local agency the opportunity to comment on the
summary report.
5)Prohibit an RWQCB or oversight local agency from mandating
additional or enforcing existing corrective actions after the
Fund Manager provides the summary report, unless:
a) The oversight agency demonstrates imminent threat to
human health, safety, or the environment;
b) The oversight agency demonstrates that other
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site-specific needs warrant additional action during the
time SWRCB is considering case closure;
c) The Fund Manager determines that case closure is not
warranted; or,
d) The oversight agency closes the case but action is
needed to carry out case-closure activities.
6)Specify that subsequent corrective action costs that are
eligible for reimbursement up to $10,000, include groundwater
monitoring.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires that UST cleanup, abatement, or other action shall,
be consistent with procedures adopted by the SWRCB and shall
be based upon clean-up standards specified by the SWRCB or the
RWQCB.
1) Requires a UST owner or operator to take corrective action in
response to a leaking UST in order to protect human health,
safety, and the environment.
2) Requires the local agency or RWQCB to give the owner or
operator of a UST that is subject to corrective action a
closure letter once the UST site is deemed in compliance and
that no further corrective action is required.
3) Establishes the Barry Keene Underground Storage Tank Cleanup
Trust Fund Act of 1989 (Act), as a means for petroleum UST
owners and operators to meet federal and state financial
responsibility requirements, provide financial assistance by
reimbursing costs of cleanup for unauthorized releases from
petroleum USTs, and provide reimbursement for damages awarded
to third parties who are injured by unauthorized releases of
petroleum from USTs.
4) The Act requires the SWRCB Fund Manager to annually review
the case history of all claims having a Letter of Commitment
(LOC) active for more than five years unless the owner or
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operator objects. Authorizes the Fund Manager to recommend
closure of a case to SWRCB.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill required the SWRCB to make
recommendations to the Legislature on standards and measurements
for judging a local agency's compliance with the UST cleanup
standards.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS :
Need for the bill . According to the author, "Under ÝSWRCB's]
five-year review process, the Fund Manager may determine that
case closure is appropriate based on evidence and review of the
case. This bill seeks to place a reasonable relief period on
local enforcement action during the five-year review until
ÝSWRCB] issues a decision on case closure. The relief period
would not occur in unsuitable cases (e.g., there is a
demonstrated imminent threat to human health, safety, or the
environment)."
UST Five-Year Review Case Closure . SWRCB states that there are
currently over 3,000 claims in the Barry Keene Underground
Storage Tank Cleanup Trust Fund (Fund) that received their first
LOC five or more years ago. Since re-implementing the five-year
review process in 2007, the Fund has completed such reviews for
approximately 2,500 claims.
According to SWRCB, the Fund Manager is required to annually
review the case history of all claims having an LOC active for
more than five years unless the owner or operator objects. The
purpose of the review is to determine whether recommendation for
case closure is in order. The review provides a third-party
check on the progress of the case relative to the expenditure of
funds and reduces the chance that the responsible party will run
out of funds before the case is cleaned up. It also provides an
opportunity for the Fund to detect fraud and abuse if funds are
used at sites that warrant closure.
Related legislation from the 2011-2012 session . AB 1701
(Wieckowski), provides for state certification of cities and
counties to oversee the cleanup of USTs.
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Previous legislation . AB 358 (Smyth) Chapter 571, Statutes of
2011, revised the UST program to expedite case closures.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
FN: 0004666