BILL NUMBER: AB 1900	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 19, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 11, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Gatto and Roger Hernández
   (  Coauthor:   Assembly Member 
 : Gordon   Coauthors:   Assembly
Members   Gordon   and Valadao  )

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2012

   An act to amend Sections 25420 and 25421 of the Health and Safety
Code, to amend Sections 25741, 25746, and 25751 of the Public
Resources Code, and to amend Sections 399.17, 399.18, 399.21,
 and  399.25  , and 454.4  of, and to add
Sections 399.24 and 769 to, the Public Utilities Code, relating to
energy.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1900, as amended, Gatto. Renewable energy resources:
biomethane.
   Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to
specify the maximum amount of vinyl chloride that may be found in
landfill gas. Existing law prohibits a gas producer from knowingly
selling, supplying, or transporting to a gas corporation, and a gas
corporation from knowingly purchasing, landfill gas containing vinyl
chloride in a concentration exceeding the maximum amount determined
by the PUC. Existing law requires a person who produces, sells,
supplies, or releases landfill gas for sale offsite to a gas
corporation to sample and test, bimonthly, the gas at the point of
distribution for chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or
reproductive toxicity.
   This bill would require the PUC to identify all constituents that
may be found in landfill gas that is to be injected into a common
carrier pipeline and that could adversely impact the health and
safety of the public, and to specify the maximum amount of those
constituents that may be found in that landfill gas. This bill would
require the PUC to develop reasonable and prudent testing protocols
for gas collected from a solid waste landfill that is to be injected
into a common carrier pipeline to determine if the gas contains any
of the identified constituents at levels that exceed the standards
set by the PUC. This bill would prohibit a gas producer from
knowingly selling, supplying, transporting, or purchasing gas
collected from a hazardous waste landfill.
   This bill would require the PUC  , on or before January 1,
2014,  to consider adopting pilot projects involving the
injection of biomethane into common carrier pipelines where a project
satisfies certain safety, quality, and efficiency requirements, as
specified. This bill would require the PUC to adopt policies and
programs that promote the in-state production and distribution of
biomethane.
   Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission (Energy Commission) to certify eligible
renewable energy resources that it determines meet specified
statutory criteria.
   This bill would require the Energy Commission to establish revised
precertification and certification procedures for facilities that
are not yet operational and are applying for certification as
eligible renewable energy resources. This bill would allow the Energy
Commission, in establishing the precertification and certification
procedures, to establish conditions for certification. This bill
would require the Energy Commission to certify a facility if, after
becoming operational, the facility meets all of the conditions
established in the precertification approval. The Energy Commission
would not be permitted to alter these conditions retroactively,
unless doing so is necessary for reasons specific to the health and
safety of the public. This bill would apply retroactively to all
Energy Commission precertifications and certifications of a facility
if the facility's eligibility as an eligible renewable energy
resource is based on the use of landfill gas or digester gas that is
delivered to the facility through a common carrier pipeline, and the
owner or operator of the facility executed a contract for procurement
of a renewable source of energy, as defined, before January 1, 2013.
This bill would require the Energy Commission to review an
application for certification of a facility as an eligible renewable
energy resource based on the rules related to the use of pipeline
biomethane contained in the Energy Commission's Committee Draft,
Renewables Portfolio Standard Eligibility Guidebook, Fourth Edition,
as prescribed. This bill would require the Energy Commission, in
certifying or precertifying an eligible renewable energy resource
utilizing biomethane, to certify a facility using biomethane
according to biomethane source categories, as specified. This bill
would require the Energy Commission to ensure that the operator of a
facility seeking certification demonstrates that the biomethane is
injected into a pipeline that is directly connected to an interstate
pipeline system that, at the time of the execution of the biomethane
procurement contract, regularly provides natural gas to the facility
that contracts for that dedicated biomethane.
   Existing law requires the Energy Commission to design and
implement an accounting system to verify compliance with the
California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requirements by
retail sellers and local publicly owned electric utilities.
   This bill would require the Energy Commission to design and
implement an accounting system to ensure that consumption of
biomethane and the resulting electrical products are counted a total
of one time for the purpose of meeting the renewables portfolio
standard requirements and receiving greenhouse gas benefits, as
provided by the laws of this state or any other state, or by the laws
of any other country. 
   This bill would also require the PUC to specify minimum
electricity targets for electrical corporations to procure
electricity from landfill gas in their annual procurement updates.

   Existing law allows the PUC to set heating and purity requirements
for biomethane injected into a gas pipeline. Existing law allows gas
corporations to impose tariffs on biomethane injected into their
pipelines.
   This bill would require the PUC to adopt pipeline access rules
that are the substantial equivalent of Rule 39 of San Diego Gas and
Electric Company's Gas Tariff Rule Book to ensure that each gas
corporation provides nondiscriminatory open access to its gas
pipeline system to any party for the purpose of physically
interconnecting with the gas pipeline system and effectuating the
delivery of gas.
   This bill would make other conforming changes.
   Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any
order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC
is a crime.
   Because this bill would require action by the PUC to implement
certain of its requirements, a violation of which would be a crime,
these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by
creating a new crime.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 25420 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
   25420.  For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
apply:
   (a) "Commission" means the Public Utilities Commission.
   (b) "Delivery of landfill gas by dedicated pipeline" means gas
captured at a solid waste facility and transported from that site to
an eligible renewable energy resource, as defined in the California
Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16 (commencing with
Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public
Utilities Code), that utilizes best available control technology for
the control of air pollutants, using a pipeline that is not a common
carrier pipeline used to transport natural gas to customers other
than the eligible renewable energy resource, or otherwise subject to
the jurisdiction of the commission.
   (c) "Department" means the Department of Toxic Substances Control.

   (d) "Gas corporation" has the same meaning as defined in Section
222 of the Public Utilities Code and is subject to rate regulation by
the commission.
   (e) "Hazardous waste landfill" means a landfill that is a
hazardous waste facility, as defined in Section 25117.1.
   (f) "Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock
company, partnership, association, business concern, limited
liability company, or corporation. "Person" also includes any city,
county, district, and the state or any department or agency thereof,
or the federal government or any department or agency thereof to the
extent permitted by law.
   (g) "Solid waste landfill" means a landfill that is a solid waste
facility, as defined in Section 40194 of the Public Resources Code,
or at which solid waste, as defined in Section 40191 of the Public
Resources Code, is disposed.
  SEC. 2.  Section 25421 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   25421.  (a) (1) The commission shall, by rule or order, identify
all constituents that may be found in landfill gas that is to be
injected into a common carrier pipeline and that could adversely
impact the health and safety of the public. Potential impacts
include, but are not limited to, health and safety hazards to utility
employees or to the general public, damage to pipeline facilities,
and other impacts that may inhibit the marketability of gas.
   (2) The commission shall, by rule or order, specify the maximum
amount of constituents identified pursuant to paragraph (1) that may
be found in landfill gas that is to be injected into a common carrier
pipeline. The maximum amount adopted by the commission shall not
exceed  the equivalent of  the no significant risk level set
in Section 25705 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations
for constituents that are specified in that section.
   (3) This subdivision does not require the commission to revise any
standard in effect on the effective date of this paragraph.
   (b) The commission shall make findings that are sufficient to
ensure that the standards adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) do not
do either of the following:
   (1) Expose any customer, employee, or other person to landfill gas
if that gas contains any chemical known to the state to cause cancer
or reproductive toxicity without first giving clear and reasonable
warning to that individual, except as provided by Section 25249.10.
   (2) Expose a natural gas pipeline to an unreasonable risk of harm
to pipeline integrity.
   (c) The commission shall develop reasonable and prudent testing
protocols for gas collected from a solid waste landfill that is to be
injected into a common carrier pipeline to determine if the gas
contains any of the constituents that the commission has identified
pursuant to subdivision (a) at levels that exceed the standards set
by the commission.
   (1)  In developing the protocols, the commission shall
consider environmental protection, the protection of public health
and safety, and the environmental cobenefits of achieving the
renewables portfolio standard and of promoting the use of landfill
gases that otherwise would be flared by, instead, directing the
landfill gases to a productive use.   Recognizing the
potential environmental benefits of landfill gas that satisfies
required standards and specifications, the commission shall ensure
that the protocols it adopts pursuant to this section provide for
efficient testing procedures that accurately, and, where needed,
continuously, identify levels of constituents in landfill gas that is
to be injected into a common carrier pipeline. 
   (2) Every person who produces, sells, supplies, or releases gas
collected at a solid waste landfill, that is to be injected into a
common carrier pipeline for sale offsite to a gas corporation or
noncore customer, shall comply with the standards and testing
protocols set by the commission.
   (d) (1) A gas producer shall ensure that landfill gas it seeks to
inject into a pipeline satisfies the standards set by the commission
pursuant to subdivision (a). A gas corporation shall administer
testing protocols consistent with those standards, and shall not
knowingly accept landfill gas that does not satisfy those standards.
   (2) A gas producer shall not knowingly sell, supply, or transport
gas collected from a hazardous waste landfill to a gas corporation. A
gas corporation shall not knowingly purchase gas collected from a
hazardous waste landfill.
   (e) This section does not prohibit the onsite usage of landfill
gas for the generation of electricity or any other onsite productive
use by an eligible renewable energy resource, or the delivery of
landfill gas by a dedicated pipeline for the generation of
electricity, the production of steam, or any other productive use or
other industrial applications.
  SEC. 3.  Section 25741 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   25741.  As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meaning:
   (a) "Renewable electrical generation facility" means a facility
that meets all of the following criteria:
   (1) The facility uses biomass, solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind,
geothermal, fuel cells using renewable fuels, small hydroelectric
generation of 30 megawatts or less, digester gas, municipal solid
waste conversion, landfill gas, ocean wave, ocean thermal, or tidal
current, and any additions or enhancements to the facility using that
technology.
   (2) The facility satisfies one of the following requirements:
   (A) The facility is located in the state or near the border of the
state with the first point of connection to the transmission network
of a balancing authority area primarily located within the state.
For purposes of this subparagraph, "balancing authority area" has the
same meaning as defined in Section 399.12 of the Public Utilities
Code.
   (B) The facility has its first point of interconnection to the
transmission network outside the state, within the Western
Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) service area, and satisfies
all of the following requirements:
   (i) It commences initial commercial operation after January 1,
2005.
   (ii) It will not cause or contribute to any violation of a
California environmental quality standard or requirement.
   (iii) It participates in the accounting system to verify
compliance with the renewables portfolio standard once established by
the commission pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 399.25 of the
Public Utilities Code.
   (C) The facility meets the requirements of clauses (ii) and (iii)
in subparagraph (B), but does not meet the requirements of clause (i)
of subparagraph (B) because it commenced initial operation prior to
January 1, 2005, if the facility satisfies either of the following
requirements:
   (i) The electricity is from incremental generation resulting from
expansion or repowering of the facility.
   (ii) Electricity generated by the facility was procured by a
retail seller or local publicly owned electric utility as of January
1, 2010.
   (3) If the facility is outside the United States, it is developed
and operated in a manner that is as protective of the environment as
a similar facility located in the state.
   (b) "Municipal solid waste conversion," as used in subdivision
(a), means a technology that uses a noncombustion thermal process to
convert solid waste to a clean-burning fuel for the purpose of
generating electricity, and that meets all of the following criteria:

   (1) The technology does not use air or oxygen in the conversion
process, except ambient air to maintain temperature control.
   (2) The technology produces no discharges of air contaminants or
emissions, including greenhouse gases as defined in Section 38505 of
the Health and Safety Code.
   (3) The technology produces no discharges to surface or
groundwaters of the state.
   (4) The technology produces no hazardous wastes.
   (5) To the maximum extent feasible, the technology removes all
recyclable materials and marketable green waste compostable materials
from the solid waste stream prior to the conversion process and the
owner or operator of the facility certifies that those materials will
be recycled or composted.
   (6) The facility at which the technology is used is in compliance
with all applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances.
   (7) The technology meets any other conditions established by the
commission.
   (8) The facility certifies that any local agency sending solid
waste to the facility diverted at least 30 percent of all solid waste
it collects through solid waste reduction, recycling, and
composting. For purposes of this paragraph, "local agency" means any
city, county, or special district, or subdivision thereof, which is
authorized to provide solid waste handling services.
   (c) "Renewable energy public goods charge" means that portion of
the nonbypassable system benefits charge required to be collected to
fund renewable energy pursuant to the Reliable Electric Service
Investments Act (Article 15 (commencing with Section 399) of Chapter
2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code).
   (d) "Report" means the report entitled "Investing in Renewable
Electricity Generation in California" (June 2001, Publication Number
P500-00-022) submitted to the Governor and the Legislature by the
commission.
   (e) "Retail seller" means a "retail seller" as defined in Section
399.12 of the Public Utilities Code.
  SEC. 4.  Section 25746 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   25746.  (a) One percent of the money collected pursuant to the
renewable energy public goods charge shall be used in accordance with
this chapter to promote renewable energy and disseminate information
on renewable energy technologies, including emerging renewable
technologies, and to help develop a consumer market for renewable
energy and for small-scale emerging renewable energy technologies.
   (b) If the commission provides funding for a regional accounting
system to verify compliance with the renewable portfolio standard by
retail sellers, pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 399.25 of the
Public Utilities Code, the commission shall recover all costs from
user fees.
  SEC. 5.  Section 25751 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   25751.  (a) The Renewable Resource Trust Fund is hereby created in
the State Treasury.
   (b) The following accounts are hereby established within the
Renewable Resource Trust Fund:
   (1) Existing Renewable Resources Account.
   (2) Emerging Renewable Resources Account.
   (3) Renewable Resources Consumer Education Account.
   (c) The money in the fund may be expended, only upon appropriation
by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, for the following
purposes:
   (1) The administration of this article by the state.
   (2) The state's expenditures associated with the accounting system
established by the commission pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section
399.25 of the Public Utilities Code.
   (d) That portion of revenues collected by electrical corporations
for the benefit of in-state operation and development of existing and
emerging renewable resource technologies, pursuant to Section 399.8
of the Public Utilities Code, shall be transmitted to the commission
at least quarterly for deposit in the Renewable Resource Trust Fund
pursuant to Section 25740.5. After setting aside in the fund money
that may be needed for expenditures authorized by the annual Budget
Act in accordance with subdivision (c), the Treasurer shall
immediately deposit money received pursuant to this section into the
accounts created pursuant to subdivision (b) in proportions
designated by the commission for the current calendar year.
Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the money in
the fund and the accounts within the fund are hereby continuously
appropriated to the commission without regard to fiscal years for the
purposes enumerated in this chapter.
   (e) Upon notification by the commission, the Controller shall pay
all awards of the money in the accounts created pursuant to
subdivision (b) for purposes enumerated in this chapter. The
eligibility of each award shall be determined solely by the
commission based on the procedures it adopts under this chapter.
Based on the eligibility of each award, the commission shall also
establish the need for a multiyear commitment to any particular award
and so advise the Department of Finance. Eligible awards submitted
by the commission to the Controller shall be accompanied by
information specifying the account from which payment should be made
and the amount of each payment; a summary description of how payment
of the award furthers the purposes enumerated in this chapter; and an
accounting of future costs associated with any award or group of
awards known to the commission to represent a portion of a multiyear
funding commitment.
   (f) The commission may transfer funds between accounts for
cashflow purposes, provided that the balance due each account is
restored and the transfer does not adversely affect any of the
accounts.
   (g) The Department of Finance shall conduct an independent audit
of the Renewable Resource Trust Fund and its related accounts
annually, and provide an audit report to the Legislature not later
than March 1 of each year for which this article is operative. The
Department of Finance's report shall include information regarding
revenues, payment of awards, reserves held for future commitments,
unencumbered cash balances, and other matters that the Director of
Finance determines may be of importance to the Legislature.
  SEC. 6.  Section 399.17 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   399.17.  (a) (1) Subject to this section, the requirements of this
article apply to an electrical corporation that as of January 1,
2010, had 60,000 or fewer customer accounts in California and met
either of the following requirements:
   (A) Served retail end-use customers outside California.
   (B) Was located in a control area that is not under the
operational balancing authority of the Independent System Operator or
other California balancing authority and receives the majority of
its electrical requirements from generating facilities located
outside of California.
   (2) This section applies to a successor entity to all or a portion
of the service territory of an electrical corporation meeting the
requirements of paragraph (1), but only to the extent that the
successor entity will have 60,000 or fewer customer accounts in
California.
   (b) For an electrical corporation or qualifying successor entity
meeting the requirements of subdivision (a), electricity products
from eligible renewable energy resources may be used for compliance
with the renewables portfolio standard procurement requirements
notwithstanding any procurement content limitation in Section 399.16
and an eligible renewable energy resource includes a facility that is
located outside California, if the facility is connected to the WECC
transmission system, provided all of the following conditions are
met:
   (1) Any portion of the electricity generated by the facility and
allocated by the electrical corporation or qualifying successor
entity for its California customers, and is not used to fulfill
renewable energy procurement requirements in other states.
   (2) The electrical corporation or qualifying successor entity
participates in, and complies with, the accounting system
administered by the Energy Commission pursuant to subdivision (f) of
Section 399.25.
   (3) The Energy Commission verifies that the electricity generated
by the facility is eligible to meet the procurement requirements of
this article.
   (c) The commission shall determine the procurement requirements
for an electrical corporation or qualifying successor entity meeting
the requirements of subdivision (a) as a specified percentage of
total kilowatthours sold by the electrical corporation to its retail
end-use customers in California in a compliance period.
   (d) An electrical corporation or qualifying successor entity
meeting the requirements of subdivision (a) may use an integrated
resource plan prepared in compliance with the requirements of another
state utility regulatory commission, to fulfill the requirement to
prepare a renewable energy procurement plan pursuant to this article,
provided the plan meets the requirements of Sections 399.13, 399.14,
and 399.25, as modified by this section.
   (e) Procurement and administrative costs associated with long-term
contracts for eligible renewable energy resources pursuant to this
article entered into by an electrical corporation or qualifying
successor entity meeting the requirements of subdivision (a) and
approved by the commission, are reasonable and prudent and shall be
recoverable in rates of the electrical corporation or its successor's
California customers, provided the costs are not recoverable in
rates in other states served by the electrical corporation.
   (f) Procurement expenditures for electricity products from
eligible renewable energy resources pursuant to this section by an
electrical corporation or successor entity meeting the requirements
of subdivision (a) shall be subject to a limitation on procurement
expenditures established by the commission pursuant to subdivision
(c) of Section 399.15.
  SEC. 7.  Section 399.18 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   399.18.  (a) This section applies to an electrical corporation
that as of January 1, 2010, met either of the following conditions:
   (1) Served 30,000 or fewer customer accounts in California and had
issued at least four solicitations for eligible renewable energy
resources prior to June 1, 2010.
   (2) Had 1,000 or fewer customer accounts in California and was not
connected to any transmission system or to the California
Independent System Operator.
   (b) For an electrical corporation or its successor, electricity
products from eligible renewable energy resources may be used for
compliance with this article, notwithstanding any procurement content
limitation in Section 399.16, provided that both of the following
conditions are met:
   (1) The electrical corporation or its successor participates in,
and complies with, the accounting system administered by the Energy
Commission pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 399.25.
   (2) The Energy Commission verifies that the electricity generated
by the facility is eligible to meet the requirements of Section
399.15.
  SEC. 8.  Section 399.21 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   399.21.  (a) The commission, by rule, shall authorize the use of
renewable energy credits to satisfy the renewables portfolio standard
procurement requirements established pursuant to this article,
subject to the following conditions:
   (1) Prior to authorizing any renewable energy credit to be used
toward satisfying the renewables portfolio standard procurement
requirements, the commission and the Energy Commission shall conclude
that the tracking system established pursuant to subdivision (h) of
Section 399.25, is operational, is capable of independently verifying
that electricity earning the credit is generated by an eligible
renewable energy resource, and can ensure that renewable energy
credits shall not be double counted by any seller of electricity
within the service territory of the WECC.
   (2) Each renewable energy credit shall be counted only once for
compliance with the renewables portfolio standard of this state or
any other state, or for verifying retail product claims in this state
or any other state.
   (3) All revenues received by an electrical corporation for the
sale of a renewable energy credit shall be credited to the benefit of
ratepayers.
   (4) Renewable energy credits shall not be created for electricity
generated pursuant to any electricity purchase contract with a retail
seller or a local publicly owned electric utility executed before
January 1, 2005, unless the contract contains explicit terms and
conditions specifying the ownership or disposition of those credits.
Procurement under those contracts shall be tracked through the
accounting system described in subdivision (f) of Section 399.25 and
included in the quantity of eligible renewable energy resources of
the purchasing retail seller pursuant to Section 399.15.
   (5) Renewable energy credits shall not be created for electricity
generated under any electricity purchase contract executed after
January 1, 2005, pursuant to the federal Public Utility Regulatory
Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 2601 et seq.). Procurement under
the electricity purchase contracts shall be tracked through the
accounting system implemented by the Energy Commission pursuant to
subdivision (f) of Section 399.25 and count toward the renewables
portfolio standard procurement requirements of the purchasing retail
seller.
   (6) A renewable energy credit shall not be eligible for compliance
with a renewables portfolio standard procurement requirement unless
it is retired in the tracking system established pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 399.25 by the retail seller or local
publicly owned electric utility within 36 months from the initial
date of generation of the associated electricity.
   (b) The commission shall allow an electrical corporation to
recover the reasonable costs of purchasing, selling, and
administering renewable energy credit contracts in rates.
  SEC. 9.  Section 399.24 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   399.24.  (a)  The   On or before January 1,
2014, the  commission shall consider adopting pilot projects
that satisfy all of the following requirements:
   (1) Are capable of being safely implemented.
   (2) Demonstrate the accuracy of the commission's testing protocols
established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 25421 of the
Health and Safety Code.
   (3) Demonstrate the level of consistency of the quality of gas
injected into the gas pipeline system.
   (4) Demonstrate the capacity of biomethane to be procured at the
lowest cost and best fit.
   (b) To fill the energy and transportation needs of the state, the
commission shall adopt policies and programs that promote the
in-state production and distribution of biomethane. The policies and
programs shall facilitate the development of a variety of sources of
in-state biomethane.
  SEC. 10.  Section 399.25 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   399.25.  The Energy Commission shall do all of the following:
   (a) Certify eligible renewable energy resources that it determines
meet the criteria described in subdivision (e) of Section 399.12.
   (b) (1) Establish revised precertification and certification
procedures for facilities that are not yet operational and are
applying for certification as eligible renewable energy resources. In
establishing these precertification and certification procedures,
the Energy Commission may, consistent with the criteria described in
subdivision (e) of Section 399.12 and subparagraph (1) of subdivision
(b) of Section 399.16, establish conditions for the certification of
a facility as an eligible renewable energy resource when the
facility becomes operational. If, after becoming operational, the
facility meets all of the conditions established in the
precertification approval, the Energy Commission shall certify the
facility as an eligible renewable energy resource. The Energy
Commission shall not retroactively alter the conditions for
certification established in a precertification approval of a
facility applying for certification as an eligible renewable energy
resource, unless doing so is necessary for reasons specific to the
health and safety of the public.
   (2) Paragraph (1) shall apply retroactively to an Energy
Commission precertification or certification of a facility if both of
the following requirements in subparagraphs (A) and (B) are
satisfied:
   (A) The facility's eligibility as an eligible renewable energy
resource is based on the use of landfill gas or digester gas that is
delivered to the facility through a common carrier pipeline.
   (B) The owner or operator of the facility executed a contract for
procurement of a renewable source of energy pursuant to this section.

   (C) For the purposes of eligibility under this paragraph, a
facility that is applying for certification as an eligible renewable
energy resource uses landfill or digester gas when it generates
energy that corresponds to the rights the facility obtains through a
procurement contract for directed biomethane. "A procurement contract
for directed biomethane" for purposes of this paragraph means an
agreement to transfer a quantity of energy from one location to
another in exchange for a corresponding amount of energy, provided
that all environmental attributes of the energy are also exchanged
between the parties to the contract, and the environmental attributes
are attached to the energy commodity that is exchanged.
   (3) The Energy Commission shall review an application for
certification of a facility as an eligible renewable energy resource
based on the rules related to the use of pipeline biomethane
contained in the Energy Commission's Committee Draft, Renewables
Portfolio Standard Eligibility Guidebook, Fourth Edition, subject to
all of the following conditions:
   (A) Before January 1, 2013, the owner or operator of the facility
executed a contract for procurement of biomethane pursuant to this
section.
   (B) The owner or operator of the facility submitted all of the
forms the Energy Commission requires for certification to the Energy
Commission before January 1, 2013, and, at any time after the
submission, the Energy Commission acknowledges that it has received
the documents and that the documents are substantially
                              complete.
   (c) In certifying or precertifying an eligible renewable energy
resource utilizing biomethane where the owner or operator of the
facility executed a contract for procurement of a renewable source of
energy pursuant to this section  after January 1, 2013  ,
determine which one of the following biomethane source categories is
applicable:
   (1) A source of biomethane that results in new displacement of
fossil fuels and directly achieves air quality improvements in an air
basin in or affecting California.
   (2) A source of biomethane that results in new displacement of
fossil fuels but does not directly achieve air quality improvements
in an air basin in or affecting California.
   (3) A source of biomethane that neither results in new
displacement of fossil fuels nor directly achieves air quality
improvements in an air basin in or affecting California.
   (d) Based on the applicable biomethane source category under
subdivision (c), apply the following conditions to the certification
of an eligible renewable energy resource utilizing biomethane:
   (1) Biomethane from a source the Energy Commission determines
meets the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) may be
used to meet the product content requirements of paragraphs (1), (2),
or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 399.16.
   (2) Biomethane from a source the Energy Commission determines
meets the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (c) may
be used to meet the product content requirements of paragraph (3) of
subdivision (b) of Section 399.16.
   (e) Ensure that the operator of the facility seeking certification
demonstrates that the biomethane is injected into a pipeline that is
directly connected to an interstate pipeline system that, at the
time of the execution of the biomethane, procurement contract,
regularly provides natural gas to the facility.
   (f) Design and implement an accounting system to verify compliance
with the renewables portfolio standard by retail sellers and local
publicly owned electric utilities, to ensure that electricity
generated by an eligible renewable energy resource is counted only
once for the purpose of meeting the renewables portfolio standard of
this state or any other state, to certify environmental attributes
produced by eligible renewable energy resources, and to verify retail
product claims in this state or any other state. In establishing the
guidelines governing this accounting system, the Energy Commission
shall collect data from electricity market participants that it deems
necessary to verify compliance of retail sellers and local publicly
owned electric utilities, in accordance with the requirements of this
article and the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the
Government Code). In seeking data from electrical corporations, the
Energy Commission shall request data from the commission. The
commission shall collect data from electrical corporations and remit
the data to the Energy Commission within 90 days of the request.
   (g) Design and implement an accounting system to ensure that
consumption of biomethane and the resulting electrical products are
counted a total of one time for the purpose of the renewables
portfolio standard requirements and receiving greenhouse gas
benefits, as provided by the laws of this state or any other state,
or by the laws of any other country.
   (h) Establish a system for tracking and verifying environmental
attributes that, through the use of independently audited data,
verifies the generation of electricity associated with each
environmental attribute and protects against multiple counting of the
same environmental attributes. The Energy Commission shall consult
with other western states and with the WECC in the development of
this system.
   (i) Certify, for purposes of compliance with the renewables
portfolio standard requirements by a retail seller, the eligibility
of environmental attributes associated with eligible renewable energy
resources procured by a local publicly owned electric utility, if
the Energy Commission determines that all of the conditions of
Section 399.31 have been met.
   (j) For the purposes of this section, "biomethane" means methane
not derived, in whole or in part, from fossil fuels. "Biomethane"
includes landfill gas, digester gas derived from digestion of organic
material, including wastewater treatment plant gas and municipal
solid waste conversion.
   SEC. 11.    Section 454.4 of the   Public
Utilities Code   is amended to read: 
   454.4.   (a)    The commission shall establish
rates for gas which is utilized in cogeneration technology projects
not higher than the rates established for gas utilized as a fuel by
an electric plant in the generation of electricity, except that this
rate shall apply only to that quantity of gas which an electrical
corporation serving the area where a cogeneration technology project
is located, or an equivalent area, would require in the generation of
an equivalent amount of electricity based on the corporation's
average annual incremental heat rate and reasonable transmission
losses or that quantity of gas actually consumed by the cogeneration
technology project in the sequential production of electricity and
steam, heat, or useful work, whichever is the lower quantity. 
   (b) The commission shall specify minimum electricity targets for
electrical corporations to procure electricity from landfill gas in
their annual procurement updates. 
   SEC. 11.   SEC. 12.   Section 769 is
added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:
   769.  For each gas corporation, the commission shall adopt
pipeline access rules that are the substantial equivalent of Rule 39
of San Diego Gas and Electric Company's Gas Tariff Rule Book, as was
in effect on January 1, 2013, to ensure that each gas corporation
provides nondiscriminatory open access to its gas pipeline system to
any party for the purpose of physically interconnecting with the gas
pipeline system and effectuating the delivery of gas.
   SEC. 12.   SEC. 13.   No reimbursement
is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of
the California Constitution because the only costs that may be
incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred
because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a
crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or
infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.