BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 864|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 864
Author: Williams (D) and Burke (D), et al.
Amended: 9/4/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 8-1, 7/14/15
AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson,
Monning, Wolk
NOES: Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 62-14, 5/18/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Oil spill response: environmentally and
ecologically sensitive areas
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires pipelines to have the best
available technology to reduce the amount of oil released in an
oil spill to protect state waters and wildlife.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/4/15 (1) delete provisions related
to pipelines in the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention
and Response Act, (2) delete the severability provision, and (3)
revise the standard to best available technology for automatic
leak detection and related systems on pipelines under the
jurisdiction of the Office of State Fire Marshal.
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ANALYSIS:
Existing federal law:
1)Provides that pipelines in interstate service are under the
jurisdiction of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration.
2)Provides for the protection of the waters of the United States
from contamination through the Clean Water Act, among others.
3)Addresses oil spills in the navigable waters of the United
States through the creation of a comprehensive prevention,
response, liability and compensation program through the Oil
Pollution Act of 1990, as amended.
Existing state law:
1)Provides that pipelines used to transport oil (i.e. in
hazardous liquid service) outside of oil and gas fields in
intrastate service are under the jurisdiction of the Office of
the State Fire Marshal. The Elder California Pipeline Safety
Act (Elder Act) also authorizes the Office of the State Fire
Marshal to exercise safety regulatory jurisdiction over
portions of interstate pipelines located within the state and
subject to an agreement between the United States Secretary of
Transportation and the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
2)Provides that contaminating waters of the state is illegal
under various statutes.
This bill amends the Elder Act to require that pipelines under
the Office of the State Fire Marshal's jurisdiction to:
1)Require by January 1, 2018, that any new or replacement
pipeline near environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas
in the coastal zone shall use best available technology in
order to reduce the amount of oil released in a spill to the
environment.
2)Define best available technology for a given pipeline based
upon a risk analysis performed by the operator:
a) Require best available technology in this context to
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include leak detection technology, automatic shutoff
systems or remote controlled sectionalized block values or
any combination thereof, as specified.
b) Require the Office of the State Fire Marshal to
determine the best available technology, as specified.
1)Require by July 1, 2018, that any operator of an existing
pipeline near environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas
in the coastal zone submit a plan to retrofit these pipelines
with best available technology, as defined, by January 1,
2020.
2)Allow the operator to request confidential treatment by the
Office of the State Fire Marshal of certain information
provided in the risk analysis, as specified.
3)Require the State Fire Marshal to adopt regulations to
implement the changes to the Elder Act by July 1, 2017, as
specified.
4)Require the State Fire Marshal to consult with the Office of
Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) in the Department of Fish
and Wildlife about potential impacts to state water and
wildlife from oil spills.
5)Require an operator to notify the Office of the State Fire
Marshal of any new construction of retrofit of a pipeline in
waters near environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas
in the coastal zone.
Background
May 2015 Refugio Beach spill. On May 19, 2015 a pipeline owned
by Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline ruptured spilling
approximately 130,000 gallons of heavy crude oil along the
Gaviota coast at Refugio Beach in Santa Barbara County. The
release was from a 10.6 mile long, 24-inch diameter pipeline and
(according to the operator) as much as 21,000 gallons of oil
ended up in coastal waters. News reports indicate the pipeline
was potentially severely corroded where it ruptured. The spill
and events leading up to the spill remain under investigation.
The pipeline responsible for this spill transports oil that was
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produced on offshore platforms in state and federal waters
onshore for refining. The pipeline was not equipped with
automatic shut off technology that is installed on other
pipelines of this size in Santa Barbara County. Regulation of
this pipeline, as the result of an earlier lawsuit, was limited
to the federal level.
The main oil spill stretched over nine miles of California
coastline and tar balls associated with the spill were found,
according to news reports, as far south as Los Angeles County.
Shoreline and beaches were affected by the spill and nesting
areas for protected species were also affected. Approximately
250 birds and 170 mammals in addition to a large number of
marine invertebrates were known to be impacted by the spill.
Although some of the birds and mammals have been released
following treatment, most are dead. A 23 mile by six mile area
was closed to fishing for over one month and beaches were
closed, including over the Memorial Day weekend, resulting in
economic losses.
Comments
Late amendments and support. Given the late amendments to this
bill, the list of support was verified for a prior version of
the bill. No organizations listed in support have submitted
letters changing their position or indicated to committee staff
that a change in position is imminent.
Related Legislation
SB 295 (Jackson, 2015) requires annual inspections of pipelines,
among other provisions. The bill has returned to the Senate for
concurrence.
SB 414 (Jackson, 2015) updates OSPR to respond to the Refugio
Beach spill. The bill is on the Assembly Floor.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee (for a previous
version of this bill):
Initial costs of $1.69 million followed by $1.37 million
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annually ongoing to the California Hazardous Liquid Pipeline
Safety Fund (special) for the Office of the State Fire Marshal
to develop and implement regulations on best achievable
technology.
Unknown ongoing costs, likely in the mid-hundreds of thousands
to the Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund (special)
for OSPR to advise operators on best achievable technology,
evaluate contingency plans, and develop required regulations.
Unknown costs to the California Hazardous Liquid Pipeline
Safety Fund (special) and the Oil Spill Prevention and
Administration Fund (special) for the Office of the State Fire
Marshal and OSPR to coordinate, potentially under a memorandum
of understanding.
SUPPORT: (Verified9/4/15)
Audobon California
Azul
California Coastal Commission
California Coastal Protection Network
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California League of Conservation Voters
Carpinteria Valley Association
Center for Biological Diversity
Citizens Planning Association of Santa Barbara County
Clean Water Action
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation
Community Environmental Council
Defenders of Wildlife
Environment California
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
Environmental Defense Center
Environmental Defense Fund
Friends of the Earth
Gaviota Coast Conservancy
Get Oil Out!
Heal the Bay
Heal the Ocean
Los Angeles Waterkeeper
Natural Resources Defense Council
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Ocean Conservancy
Orange County Coastkeeper
Pacific Environment
San Francisco Baykeeper
Santa Barbara Audobon
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
Santa Barbara County Action Network
Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors
Sierra Club California
Surfrider Foundation
Surfrider Foundation, Santa Barbara Chapter
Surfrider Foundation, South Bay Chapter
Surfrider Foundation, West LA/Malibu Chapter
The Fund for Santa Barbara
The Wildlands Conservancy
Ventura Audobon
Ventura Coastkeeper
Wholly H2O
Wildcoast
Wishtoyo Foundation
OPPOSITION: (Verified9/4/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "[a] recent oil
spill at Refugio Beach, in Santa Barbara County, has devastated
the local environment due to lack of detection and slow response
times. [?] Unfortunately, it appears the pipeline was not
properly equipped with automatic shut off technology, and there
were delays in communication with first responders."
"Had the oil pipeline been equipped with automatic shut off
valves or remote controlled sectionalized block valves, the
impact of the oil spill would have been controlled and limited.
Instead, we're left cataloguing the negative effects to our
environment and economy."
"California coast and ocean are among our most treasured
resources. The productivity, wildness and beatify found here is
central to California's identity, heritage and economy.
California leads the nation and the world in coastal and
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wildlife protection. Early oil spill detection technology and
automatic shut off controls are critical tools in preserving
California's ocean waters, coast line, and wildlife."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 62-14, 5/18/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein,
McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Olsen, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Waldron, Weber,
Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Grove, Harper, Jones, Lackey, Obernolte, Patterson,
Wagner, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Kim, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez
Prepared by:Katharine Moore / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
9/8/15 20:56:36
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