BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 248
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 248 (Gorell) - As Amended: April 4, 2013
SUBJECT : Energy: powerplants: Ventura County
SUMMARY : Requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and the
California Independent System Operator (CAISO) to prepare a
specified report regarding the future of two aging power plants
on the Ventura County coast.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires that the location, design, construction and capacity
of cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology
available (BTA) for minimizing adverse environmental impact.
(federal Clean Water Act �316(b)).
2)Designates the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) as
the statewide water quality planning agency for the purposes
of the federal Clean Water Act. (Water Code �13370).
3)Pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act, in 2010 the SWRCB
adopted a Policy on the Use of Coastal and Estuarine Waters
for Power Plant Cooling. The policy applies to the 19
existing power plants that withdraw seawater using a
single-pass system, also known as once-through cooling (OTC),
including the Ormond Beach and Mandalay power plants in
Ventura County.
THIS BILL :
1)Requires the PUC and the CAISO, in consultation with relevant
agencies, to report to the Legislature by January 1, 2015
regarding policies, legislative actions and other incentives
necessary to accomplish the following objectives:
a) Preserve and enhance electric system reliability in
the Counties of Santa Barbara and Ventura.
b) Ensure the preservation of Ventura County's
environmental resources, tourism, and economic
development by decommissioning or replacing the existing
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OTC power plants.
c) Review the potential of acquisition of the
properties on which the OTC power plants are located by
the City of Oxnard, the County of Ventura, the state, or
other responsible entities.
d) Uphold contractual obligations and economic
interests of the current owners and operators of the OTC
power plants.
e) Modify the cooling technologies at the OTC power
plants to mitigate impacts on marine environments,
consistent with the OTC policy.
f) Identify potential sites in the County of Ventura
appropriate for OTC power plants that would not impose
greater impacts or costs, as compared to the
redevelopment or replacement of the existing power
plants.
2)Sunsets January 1, 2019.
3)Establishes related findings and declarations regarding
Ventura County and the SWRCB's OTC policy.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)OTC Policy background. In 2010, the SWRCB adopted the OTC
Policy to reduce the impact of power plant cooling on marine
and estuary environments. The OTC Policy implements
provisions of the federal Clean Water Act that have been in
effect for over 40 years. The Policy requires existing OTC
power plants to implement one of two tracks: Track 1 - a
reduction in water intake equivalent to what can be attained
using closed-cycle wet cooling systems, resulting in at least
a 93% reduction in water intake; or Track 2 - if Track 1 is
not feasible, a reduction in aquatic life impacts comparable
to Track 1 as determined by various biological indicators.
The Policy affects 19 coastal power plants, including two
nuclear power plants, that have the combined ability to draw
15 billion gallons of seawater per day. The first plant came
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into compliance in 2010 and the current version of the policy
requires all natural gas power plants to comply by the end of
2020. Nuclear power plants, which are subject to additional
safety conditions, must comply by the end of 2024. Power
plant owners and operators were required to submit an
implementation plan and schedule by April 1, 2011. Two plants
have ceased operation. Most have informed the State Water
Board that they are planning to modernize their plants'
equipment and will switch to air cooling systems. Some have
chosen to use evaporative cooling towers. Others are pursuing
alternative controls, such as screening.
Under the Policy, the State Advisory Committee on Cooling
Water Intake Structures (SACCWIS) was created to "ensure that
implementation plans and schedules established by the Policy
are realistic and will not cause disruption to the State's
electrical power supply." The SACCWIS includes
representatives from the PUC, CAISO, California Energy
Commission, Coastal Commission, State Lands Commission, Air
Resources Board and SWRCB. SACCWIS will meet and provide
annual reports to SWRCB until the Policy has been fully
implemented.
Power plant owners/operators can choose how they plan to
comply with the Policy's required 93 percent reduction in
their use of seawater. Two plants have ceased operation. Most
have informed the State Water Board that they are planning to
modernize their plants' equipment and will switch to air
cooling systems. Some have chosen to use evaporative cooling
towers. Others are pursuing alternative controls, such as
screening.
2)The Ventura plants. The OTC Policy compliance date for the
Ormond Beach and Mandalay power plants is December 31, 2020.
In addition to the OTC Policy, a variety of other
requirements, plans and market forces will determine the
future of the power plants and the coastal sites they occupy.
The Ventura plants are no exception.
According the Coastal Conservancy, the Ormond Beach plant is
in the middle of the Conservancy's Ormond Beach Wetlands
Restoration project. The Conservancy has spent $25 million,
along with some matching funds by its partners Wildlife
Conservation Board and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to
acquire 540 acres surrounding the plant. The plant and its
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road, pipeline and transmission tower infrastructure are
barriers to the biological and hydrologic connections
necessary to the health of the coastal habitat. A
comprehensive restoration study by the Conservancy concluded
that the cost of wetland restoration with the plant and
infrastructure in place would be twice the cost per acre more
than if it were cleared away for restoration. Among other
things, the Conservancy restoration project will restore the
coastal lagoon that was destroyed by the power plant
construction. The Conservancy is prepared to pay fair market
value for the property as soon as the owner can remove the
plant for scrap and clean the site.
The Mandalay plant is bounded on both sides by State Park
property and is situated within a dune complex and back dune
swale wetlands, habitats which do not exist to this extent
anywhere else south of Santa Barbara. The Mandalay Dunes are
part of the Santa Clara River estuary and are thus an
important part of the Conservancy's efforts to restore the
Santa Clara River. The Conservancy has acquired 3,400 acres
and 16 miles of the river and will ultimately own and restore
35 miles for habitat and recreational trails to implement the
Santa Clara River Parkway project. Its current investment in
the project is $25 million with another $8 million by other
state and federal agencies. The Conservancy has offered to
buy portions of the power plant property.
This bill is intended to further inform the Legislature
regarding the fate of the Ventura power plants, but it's not
clear what the report would add. According to the author:
Governmental reports related to these power plants are
primarily focused on energy forecasting, local
reliability, procurement planning, and transmission
planning. But a comprehensive study is needed to
determine the full range of options that take into
consideration the cost and benefits of replacing existing
power plants with modern technology that is cleaner and
lower profile, decommissioning one or both power plants,
identifying potential sites in Ventura County that can
better accommodate a power plant, or other options that
may provide greater value for the local region and
economy. A holistic report will provide local community
leaders, policymakers, and interested stakeholders an
important source of information that can be used to
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determine what policies, legislative actions and other
federal, state and local incentives, if any, could
synchronize with the interest and contractual obligations
to the current facility owners/operators, to effectuate
the ultimate retirement of one or both of the two power
production facilities and return the property to the
public for preservation as a natural resource.
Opponents object to provisions of the bill that appear to
support continued operation of the power plants or
construction of new OTC plants at alternative sites. It's
also not clear that the PUC and CAISO are the appropriate
entities to conduct the study for two reasons. First, some
elements of the study appear to overlap the private
obligations of the plants' owner. Second, much of the study
relates to local/coastal land use issues outside the
jurisdiction and expertise of either the PUC or the CAISO.
3)Double referral . This bill has been double-referred to the
Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Coalition of California Utility Employees
Opposition
California Coastal Protection Network
Carmen Ramirez, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Oxnard
Environmental Coalition of Ventura County
Environmental Defense Center
Los Padres Sierra Club
Sierra Club California
Ventura Audubon Society
Analysis Prepared by : Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092