BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1064| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 CONTINUED SB 1064 Page 2 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 CONTINUED SB 1064 Page 3 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. CONTINUED SB 1064 Page 4 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 CONTINUED SB 1064 Page 5 JG:k 4/25/14 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED **** END **** CONTINUED