Amended in Assembly April 22, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 427

Introduced by Assembly Member Mullin

February 15, 2013

begin delete An act to amend Section 33459 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to local government. end delete begin insert An act to amend Section 371 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to electrical corporations. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 427, as amended, Mullin. begin delete Local government: Polanco Redevelopment Act. end delete begin insert Electrical corporations: uneconomic cost recovery: bottoming cycle waste heat recovery. end insert

begin insert

Existing law specifies that, in recognition of statutory authority and past investments existing as of December 20, 1995, and subject to a specified fire wall, the uneconomic costs of specified energy-generation-related assets and obligations are applied to each customer based on the amount of electricity purchased by the customer from an electrical corporation, subject to changes in usage occurring in the normal course of business. Existing law specifies those changes that constitute “changes in usage occurring in the normal course of business” to include, among others, changes in fuel switching.

end insert begin insert

This bill would additionally include the production of electricity using bottom cycle waste heat recovery, as defined, as changes in fuel switching. The bill would exempt from all nonbypassable charges approved by the Public Utilities Commission changes in usage occurring in the normal course of business.

end insert begin delete

Existing law, the Polanco Redevelopment Act, authorizes a redevelopment agency to take any action that the agency determines is necessary and consistent with state and federal laws to remedy or remove a release of hazardous substances on, under, or from property within a project area, whether the agency owns that property or not, subject to specified conditions. Existing law dissolved redevelopment agencies and provides for the winding down of the affairs of a redevelopment agency by a successor agency. Existing law provides that any existing cleanup plans and liability limits authorized under the Polanco Redevelopment Act shall be transferred to the successor agency and may be transferred to the successor housing entity at that entity’s request.

end delete begin delete

This bill would specify that a successor agency or successor housing entity may implement hazardous cleanup pursuant to the Polanco Redevelopment Act, with regard to enforceable obligations, including brownfield cleanup.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 371 of the end insert begin insert Public Utilities Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

371.  

(a) Except as provided in Sections 372 and 374, the
uneconomic costs provided in Sections 367, 368, 375, and 376
shall be applied to each customer based on the amount of electricity
purchased by the customer from an electrical corporation or
alternate supplier of electricity, subject to changes in usage
occurring in the normal course of business.

(b)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert Changes in usage occurring in the normal course of
business are those resulting from changes in business cycles,
termination of operations, departure from the utility service
territory, weather, reduced production, modifications to production
equipment or operations, changes in production or manufacturing
processes, fuel switching, including installation of fuel cells
begin delete pending a contrary determination by the California Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Commission in Section
383 end delete , enhancement or increased efficiency of equipment or
performance of existing self-cogeneration equipment, begin insert the
production of electricity end insert begin insert using bottoming cycle waste heat recovery, end insert
replacement of existing cogeneration equipment with new power
generation equipment of similar size as described in paragraph (1)
of subdivision (a) of Section 372, installation of demand-side
management equipment or facilities, energy conservation efforts,
or other similar factors.

begin insert

(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, “bottoming cycle waste
heat recovery” means a form of energy efficiency by which waste
heat from a commercial or industrial process is used to produce
electricity, excluding any electricity produced as a result of
combusting fossil fuels to supplement the waste heat.

end insert begin insert

(c) Changes in usage occurring in the normal course of business
as described in subdivision (b) are exempt from all nonbypassable
charges approved by the commission.

end insert begin delete

(c) Nothing in this

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert This end insert section begin delete shall be interpreted to end delete begin insert does not end insert exempt or alter
the obligation of a customer to comply with Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 119075) of Part 15 of Division 104 of
the Health and Safety Code. Nothing in this section shall be
construed as a limitation on the ability of residential customers to
alter their pattern of electricity purchases by activities on the
customer side of the meter.

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 33459 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

33459.  

For purposes of this article, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:

(a)  “Department” means the Department of Toxic Substances
Control.

(b)  “Director” means the Director of Toxic Substances Control.

(c)  “Hazardous substance” means any hazardous substance as
defined in subdivision (h) of Section 25281, and any reference to
hazardous substance in the definitions referenced in this section
shall be deemed to refer to hazardous substance, as defined in this
subdivision.

(d)  “Local agency” means a single local agency that is one of
the following:

(1)  A local agency authorized pursuant to Section 25283 to
implement Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 25280) of, and
Chapter 6.75 (commencing with Section 25299.10) of, Division
20.

(2)  A local officer who is authorized pursuant to Section 101087
to supervise a remedial action.

(3) A successor agency or successor housing entity pursuant to
subdivision (f) of Section 34173, with regard to enforceable
obligations, including brownfield cleanup.

(e)  “Qualified independent contractor” means an independent
contractor who is any of the following:

(1)  An engineering geologist who is certified pursuant to
Section 7842 of the Business and Professions Code.

(2)  A geologist who is registered pursuant to Section 7850 of
the Business and Professions Code.

(3)  A civil engineer who is registered pursuant to Section 6762
of the Business and Professions Code.

(f)  “Release” means any release, as defined in Section 25320.

(g)  “Remedy” or “remove” means any action to assess, evaluate,
investigate, monitor, remove, correct, clean up, or abate a release
of a hazardous substance or to develop plans for those actions.
“Remedy” includes any action set forth in Section 25322 and
“remove” includes any action set forth in Section 25323.

(h)  “Responsible party” means any person described in
subdivision (a) of Section 25323.5 of this code or subdivision (a)
of Section 13304 of the Water Code.

end delete