BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 1064
          Author:   Hill (D)
          Amended:  4/8/14
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES & COMMUNIC. COMM.  :  9-0, 4/1/14
          AYES:  Padilla, Fuller, Cannella, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Hill,  
            Knight, Pavley, Wolk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Block, De León

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8


           SUBJECT  :    Public Utilities Commission:  railroads:  natural  
          gas pipelines:  safety

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill enacts provisions applicable to the  
          National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) safety  
          recommendations and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)  
          safety advisories concerning rail facilities, as specified.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing federal law:

          1.Requires the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to regulate  
            railroads, and prohibits states from adopting laws,  
            regulations, rules, or orders containing the same subject  
            matter as a regulation or order prescribed by the FRA.  In  
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            practice, this preempts state jurisdiction over many railroad  
            issues including train routing, equipment, and tank car design  
            standards. 

          2.Requires the FTA to regulate rail facilities, including rail  
            fixed guideways operated by transit agencies.


          3.Requires the NTSB to investigate significant pipeline,  
            railroad, and other accidents and issue safety recommendations  
            aimed at preventing future accidents. 

          Existing state law:

          1.Regulates the design, construction, and operation of rail  
            fixed guideways and oversee safety and worker protection on  
            them. 

          2.Requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to respond  
            within 90 days to gas pipeline safety recommendations  
            addressed to it by the NTSB, and to indicate the PUC's  
            intended actions, if any. 

          3.Requires the PUC to detail in writing whether it is  
            appropriate to implement NTSB safety recommendations  
            concerning PUC-regulated gas pipeline facilities.  Such  
            determination must be approved by a majority vote of the PUC.   
            If a recommendation is deemed appropriate and/or action is  
            deemed necessary, then the PUC is required to issue orders or  
            adopt rules relating to implementation as soon as practicable.  


          4.Requires that any action on a gas pipeline safety  
            recommendation be reported to the Legislature in the PUC's  
            annual workplan report.

          This bill:

          1.Requires the PUC to respond within 90 days to rail safety  
            recommendations addressed to it by the NTSB, and to indicate  
            the PUC's intended actions, if any.

          2.Requires the PUC to detail in writing whether it is  
            appropriate to implement NTSB safety recommendations and FTA  

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            safety advisories concerning PUC-regulated rail facilities.   
            The determination will need to be approved by a majority vote  
            of the PUC.  If a recommendation is deemed appropriate and/or  
            action is deemed necessary, then the PUC will issue orders or  
            adopt rules relating to implementation as soon as practicable.  


          3.Directs the PUC to report in its annual workplan any action on  
            a safety recommendation or safety advisory as well as any  
            correspondence from the NTSB indicating that a recommendation  
            has been classified as Closed-Unacceptable. 

           Background
           
          The NTSB has primary jurisdiction for investigating rail and  
          pipeline accidents, among others, where there is a fatality,  
          substantial property damage, or significant environmental  
          impact.  In the course of an investigation, the NTSB will often  
          make recommendations to the parties involved, such as the gas  
          utility or rail operator, local first responders, and/or  
          regulatory agencies including state entities responsible for  
          enforcement, e.g., the PUC.  Safety recommendations usually  
          identify specific problems uncovered during an investigation and  
          specify how to correct them.  Letters containing the  
          recommendations are directed to the public or private  
          organization best able to rectify the problem.  

          Overall, the NTSB has issued more than 13,000 safety  
          recommendations since 1967.  In response to San Bruno, the NTSB  
          issued 39 safety recommendations in 11 letters directed to the  
          U.S. Department of Transportation, the Pipeline Hazardous  
          Materials Safety Administration, PG&E, PUC, Governor Brown, and  
          the American Gas Association.  The NTSB has specifically issued  
          to the PUC 12 safety recommendations since 1982 :  six relating  
          to pipelines and six relating to rail, including four on rail  
          fixed guideways (e.g. Metrolink), one on a freight line, and one  
          on AMTRAK. 

          Whereas the NTSB classifies all gas pipeline safety  
          recommendations to the PUC as Acceptable, two safety  
          recommendations to the PUC regarding one particular rail fixed  
          guideway - Angels Flight - have been classified as Unacceptable.  



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          Angels Flight is a short rail fixed guideway that sends one  
          ascending car and one descending car along a hill in Los  
          Angeles.  On February 1, 2001 the two cars collided, resulting  
          in a fatality and several injuries.  In response, the NTSB  
          issued two specified safety recommendations on August 8, 2003  
          recommending that the PUC verify that Angels Flight equipment  
          met industry standards, including having an emergency evacuation  
          guideway, before reauthorizing service.  The PUC conducted an  
          independent investigation.  When Angels Flight reopened on March  
          15, 2010, it did so without an emergency evacuation guideway.   
          The NTSB reclassified the specified safety recommendation as  
          Closed-Unacceptable and urged the PUC to add an emergency  
          evacuation guideway.  Although the five commissioners had not  
          voted on the matter, the PUC responded that the existing  
          equipment was consistent with industry standards and therefore  
          sufficient.  The PUC lobbied to have the NTSB safety  
          recommendation status changed to Closed-Acceptable, but the NTSB  
          would not comply. 

          September 5, 2013 saw another accident on Angels Flight:  the  
          descending car containing one passenger derailed, thereby  
          stranding five passengers in the ascending car and prompting a  
          dangerous rescue.  A year later, the NTSB issued a safety  
          recommendation outlining five urgent recommendations .  The PUC  
          President sent a letter to NTSB within 30 days detailing what  
          actions the PUC would take to address each of the  
          recommendations.  The NTSB Web site currently classifies this  
          item as Open-Initial Response Received.

          On September 19, 2013 a BART train struck and killed two  
          employees in the right-of-way near Walnut Creek.  On December  
          19, 2013 NTSB made two safety recommendations to the FTA  
          regarding roadway worker protection.  According to the PUC, the  
          NTSB never made safety recommendations directly to the PUC  
          because the PUC quickly revised General Order 175, which  
          satisfied what the NTSB otherwise would have recommended.

          Following NTSB's two safety recommendations, the FTA issued  
          Safety Advisory 14-1 to all state public utilities commissions.   
          The PUC responded last month, and the FTA acknowledged this.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes


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          JG:k  4/25/14   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

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