BILL NUMBER: SB 1319 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 2, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator Pavley
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to amend Section 8574.7 Sections
8670.37.53 and 8670.55 of the Government Code, relating to oil
spills.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1319, as amended, Pavley. Oil spills: oil spill prevention and
response.
The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act
generally requires the administrator for oil spill response,
acting at the direction of the Governor, to implement activities
relating to oil spill response, including emergency drills and
preparedness, and oil spill containment and cleanup, and to represent
the state in any coordinated response efforts with the federal
government. Existing law directs the governor to require the
administrator to amend, not in conflict with the National Contingency
Plan, the California oil spill contingency plan to add a marine oil
spill contingency planning section containing specified elements,
including, among others, an environmentally and ecologically
sensitive areas element. prohibits a person from
operating a marine facility unless the owner or operator of the
marine facility has obtained a certificate of financial
responsibility. To receive a certificate of financial responsibility
from the administrator for oil spill response, the act requires the
owner or operator of a marine facility to make a specified showing of
financial resources to the satisfaction of the administrator. The
act authorizes the administrator to issue a certificate of financial
responsibility on a lesser showing of financial resources for a
period of not longer than 3 years if the administrator makes
specified findings. The act establishes the Oil Spill Technical
Advisory Committee and requires the committee to provide
recommendations to the administrator and other specified state
entities regarding the implementation of the act.
This bill would add an additional element that considers
the variability in physical and chemical properties of oil
transported within and to the state and its waters to the marine oil
spill contingency planning section of the California oil spill
contingency plan. reduce the time period for which the
administrator is authorized to issue a certificate of financial
responsibility based on the lesser showing to a maximum of 2 years.
The bill would require the committee to monitor and evaluate the
modes of transportation of oil into and within the state and the
properties of the oil to identify necessary changes in oil spill
response and preparedness programs.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares both
of the following:
(a) Shifts in how oil is transported to and within the state
change the accompanying risks and potential locations of oil spills.
(b) Properties of crude oil transported to and within the state
prior to refining may change over time and alter the risks posed by
an oil spill to human and environmental health and safety and in
responding to an oil spill.
SEC. 2. Section 8670.37.53 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
8670.37.53. (a) To receive a certificate of financial
responsibility for a tank vessel or for all of the oil contained
within such a the tank vessel, the
applicant shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the administrator
the financial ability to pay at least one billion dollars
($1,000,000,000) for any damages that may arise during the term of
the certificate.
(b) The administrator may establish a lower standard of financial
responsibility for small tank barges, vessels carrying oil as a
secondary cargo, and small marine fueling facilities. The standard
shall be based on the quantity of oil that can be carried or stored
and the risk of spill into marine waters. The administrator shall not
set a standard that is less than the expected costs from a
reasonable worst case oil spill into marine waters.
(c) (1) To receive a certificate of financial responsibility for a
marine facility, the applicant shall demonstrate to the satisfaction
of the administrator the financial ability to pay for any damages
that might arise during a reasonable worst case oil spill into marine
waters that results from the operations of the marine facility. The
administrator shall consider criteria including, but not necessarily
limited to, the amount of oil that could be spilled into marine
waters from the facility, the cost of cleaning up spilled oil, the
frequency of operations at the facility, and the damages that could
result from a spill.
(2) The administrator may issue a certificate for a marine
facility upon a lesser showing of financial resources for a period of
not longer than three two years if the
administrator finds all of the following:
(A) The marine facility was operating on January 1, 1991.
(B) Continued operation is necessary to finance abandonment of the
marine facility.
(C) The financial resources the operator is able to demonstrate
are reasonably sufficient to cover the damages from foreseeable
spills from the facility.
SEC. 3. Section 8670.55 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
8670.55. (a) (1) The committee shall
provide recommendations to the administrator, the State Lands
Commission, the California Coastal Commission, and the San Francisco
Bay Conservation and Development Commission on any provision of this
chapter including the promulgation of all rules, regulations,
guidelines, and policies.
(2) Pursuant to paragraph (1), the committee shall monitor and
evaluate the modes of transportation of oil into and within the state
and the properties of the oil to identify any necessary changes in
oil spill response and preparedness programs to meet the goals of
this chapter.
(b) The committee may, at its own discretion, study, comment on,
or evaluate, any aspect of oil spill prevention and response in the
state. To the greatest extent possible, these studies shall be
coordinated with studies being done by the federal government, the
administrator, the State Lands Commission, the State Water Resources
Control Board, and other appropriate state and international
entities. Duplication with the efforts of other entities shall be
minimized.
(c) The committee may attend any drills called pursuant to Section
8601.10 8670.10 or any oil spills, if
practicable.
(d) The committee shall report biennially to the Governor and the
Legislature on its evaluation of oil spill response and preparedness
programs within the state and may prepare and send any additional
reports it determines to be appropriate to the Governor and the
Legislature.
(e) On or before August 1, 2005, the committee shall review the
Department of Finance report required under Section 8670.42 and
prepare and submit to the Governor and the Legislature comments on
the report, including, but not limited to, recommendations for
improving the state's oil spill prevention, response, and
preparedness program.
(f) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2012.
SECTION 1. Section 8574.7 of the Government
Code is amended to read:
8574.7. The Governor shall require the administrator, not in
conflict with the National Contingency Plan, to amend the California
oil spill contingency plan by adding a marine oil spill contingency
planning section that provides for the best achievable protection of
the coast and marine waters. "Administrator" for purposes of this
section means the administrator appointed by the Governor pursuant to
Section 8670.4. The marine oil spill contingency planning section
shall consist of all of the following elements:
(a) A state marine response element that specifies the hierarchy
for state and local agency response to an oil spill. The element
shall define the necessary tasks for oversight and control of cleanup
and removal activities associated with a marine oil spill and shall
specify each agency's particular responsibility in carrying out these
tasks. The element shall also include an organizational chart of the
state marine oil spill response organization and a definition of the
resources, capabilities, and response assignments of each agency
involved in cleanup and removal actions in a marine oil spill.
(b) A regional and local planning element that shall provide the
framework for the involvement of regional and local agencies in the
state effort to respond to a marine oil spill, and shall ensure the
effective and efficient use of regional and local resources in all of
the following:
(1) Traffic and crowd control.
(2) Firefighting.
(3) Boating traffic control.
(4) Radio and communications control and provision of access to
equipment.
(5) Identification and use of available local and regional
equipment or other resources suitable for use in cleanup and removal
actions.
(6) Identification of private and volunteer resources or personnel
with special or unique capabilities relating to marine oil spill
cleanup and removal actions.
(7) Provision of medical emergency services.
(8) Consideration of the identification and use of private working
craft and mariners, including commercial fishing vessels and
licensed commercial fishing men and women, in containment, cleanup,
and removal actions.
(c) A coastal protection element that establishes the state
standards for coastline protection. The administrator, in
consultation with the Coast Guard and Navy and the shipping industry,
shall develop criteria for coastline protection. If appropriate, the
administrator shall consult with representatives from the States of
Alaska, Washington, and Oregon, the Province of British Columbia in
Canada, and the Republic of Mexico. The criteria shall designate at
least all of the following:
(1) Appropriate shipping lanes and navigational aids for tankers,
barges, and other commercial vessels to reduce the likelihood of
collisions between tankers, barges, and other commercial vessels.
Designated shipping lanes shall be located off the coastline at a
distance sufficient to significantly reduce the likelihood that
disabled vessels will run aground along the coast of the state.
(2) Ship position reporting and communications requirements.
(3) Required predeployment of protective equipment for sensitive
environmental areas along the coastline.
(4) Required emergency response vessels that are capable of
preventing disabled tankers from running aground.
(5) Required emergency response vessels that are capable of
commencing oil cleanup operations before spilled oil can reach the
shoreline.
(6) An expedited decisionmaking process for dispersant use in
coastal waters. Prior to adoption of the process, the administrator
shall ensure that a comprehensive testing program is carried out for
any dispersant proposed for use in California marine waters. The
testing program shall evaluate toxicity and effectiveness of the
dispersants.
(7) Required rehabilitation facilities for wildlife injured by
spilled oil.
(8) An assessment of how activities that usually require a permit
from a state or local agency may be expedited or issued by the
administrator in the event of an oil spill.
(d) An environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas element
that shall provide the framework for prioritizing and ensuring the
protection of environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas. The
environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas element shall be
developed by the administrator, in conjunction with appropriate local
agencies, and shall include all of the following:
(1) Identification and prioritization of environmentally and
ecologically sensitive areas in marine waters and along the coast.
Identification and prioritization of environmentally and ecologically
sensitive areas shall not prevent or excuse the use of all
reasonably available containment and cleanup resources from being
used to protect every environmentally and ecologically sensitive area
possible. Environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas shall be
prioritized through the evaluation of criteria, including, but not
limited to, all of the following:
(A) Risk of contamination by oil after a spill.
(B) Environmental, ecological, recreational, and economic
importance.
(C) Risk of public exposure should the area be contaminated.
(2) Regional maps depicting environmentally and ecologically
sensitive areas in marine waters or along the coast that shall be
distributed to facilities and local and state agencies. The maps
shall designate those areas that have particularly high priority for
protection against oil spills.
(3) A plan for protection actions required to be taken in the
event of an oil spill for each of the environmentally and
ecologically sensitive areas and protection priorities for the first
24 to 48 hours after an oil spill shall be specified.
(4) The location of available response equipment and the
availability of trained personnel to deploy the equipment to protect
the priority environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas.
(5) A program for systemically testing and revising, if necessary,
protection strategies for each of the priority environmentally and
ecologically sensitive areas.
(6) Any recommendations for action that cannot be financed or
implemented pursuant to existing authority of the administrator,
which shall also be reported to the Legislature along with
recommendations for financing those actions.
(e) An element that considers the variability in physical and
chemical properties of oil transported to, and within, the state and
its waters.