BILL ANALYSIS �
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|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 Le�n, 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, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson,
Eggman, Fong, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Hall, Roger Hern�ndez, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. P�rez
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