BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 796| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 796 Author: Muratsuchi (D) Amended: 4/10/13 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES & COMMUNICATIONS COMM. : 6-3, 6/18/13 AYES: Padilla, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier, Hill, Wolk NOES: Fuller, Knight, Wright NO VOTE RECORDED: Cannella, Pavley SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 54-20, 5/23/13 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Energy: thermal power plants: certification: sea level rise SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill requires that the California Energy Commission (CEC) consider the potential impacts and damage caused by sea level rise, such as storm surges and flooding, in the process of certifying a site. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Vests the CEC with exclusive certification jurisdiction over thermal power plants with a generating capacity of 50 CONTINUED AB 796 Page 2 megawatts (MW) or more, and any appurtenant facilities, and permits a developer of a thermal power plant with a generating capacity of less than 50 MW to voluntarily submit to the CEC's exclusive certification jurisdiction. The CEC is also required to cooperate with the California Coastal Commission and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission in studying applications for sites proposed to be located within the coastal zone, the Suisun Marsh, or the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission if requested by those organizations. 2. Mandates that applications for site certification include a description of the design, construction and operation of the proposed facility, safety and reliability information, site information (e.g., geological, ecological, water supply, etc.), fuel information, electric line information, and other information deemed necessary by the CEC. This bill requires that the CEC consider the potential impacts and damage caused by sea level rise, such as storm surges and flooding, in the process of certifying a site. Background The Pacific Institute published a research report in 2009, funded in part by the CEC, regarding the impacts of sea level rise on the California coastline. Historically, the sea level in the San Francisco Bay has risen 2.0 millimeters per year between 1897 and 2006. The research considered impacts of medium levels of greenhouse gas emissions that predict a sea level rise ranging from 1.0 to 1.4 meters between 2000 and 2100. The author's office estimates that a 1.4 meter sea level rise puts 480,000 people at higher risk of a 100-year flood event (an event that has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year). They also estimate the costs related to property damage from this flooding to be $100 billion (year 2000 dollars), whereas the costs of protective seawalls and levees would be on the order of $14 billion plus additional maintenance costs. Even regions that are not susceptible to flooding are still susceptible to erosion processes. There are currently procedures in place that establish the review of facility impacts on the environment. Most notably CONTINUED AB 796 Page 3 these are codified in the California Environmental Quality Act. Furthermore, other legislation has established California's goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (AB 32, 2006). However, neither of these statutes contains provisions that protect facilities from impacts of potential changes in the environment. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) Division of Flood Management provides statewide flood forecasting and emergency response activities. The FloodSAFE California program coordinates federal, state, and local officials in flood management and emergency response systems throughout California. The department produces "best available" maps of 100-year, 200-year, and 500-year floodplains, which are intended to inform local districts for development planning purposes. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also produces floodplain maps, but only for 100-year flood events. The maps developed by the two agencies are not the same, and the National Flood Insurance Program relies on data from FEMA maps. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 6/28/13) California Coastkeeper Alliance Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation Sierra Club California ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Coastkeeper Alliance writes, "Currently, the California Energy Commission does not take into account the impact of sea level rise during the certification process of power plants. Coastal regions are at an ever increasing risk with ocean levels rising six to nine inches over the past century. A study led by the Pacific Institute determined that sea-level rise poses a threat to 480,000 Californians as well as over $100 billion of property damage, with power plants dangerously vulnerable if inadequately sited. As seen with hurricane Sandy, extremely severe weather combined with high-tides and flash-floods can cause lasting damage and displace millions of people. With California's coastal regions already at risk, immediate adaptation strategies are necessary to evaluate and implement the proper siting of CONTINUED AB 796 Page 4 coastal power plants. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 54-20, 5/23/13 AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hall, Roger Hernández, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NOES: Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly, Fox, Beth Gaines, Hagman, Harkey, Linder, Logue, Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell, Nestande, Olsen, Patterson, Wagner, Wilk NO VOTE RECORDED: Grove, Holden, Jones, Waldron, Vacancy, Vacancy JG:d 7/1/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED