BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1274
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1274 (Mark Stone)
As Amended July 14, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | 74-2 | (June 1, |SENATE: |29-8 | (August 24, |
| | |2015) | | |2015) |
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Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY: Authorizes the State Lands Commission (Commission) to
issue permits for geophysical surveys on state lands under its
jurisdiction and promulgate regulations to do so. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Allows the Commission to permit geophysical surveys on state
lands under its jurisdiction, as specified, to ensure public
safety and protect the environment.
2)Directs the Commission to adopt regulations governing the
permitting of geophysical surveys.
3)Excludes surveys for dredging for navigation channels,
anchorages or berthing areas, as specified, from permitting
requirements.
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4)Provides direction to the Commission on promoting compliance
with permit requirements; including outreach, reporting
facilitation and specific enforcement.
5)Makes relevant and supporting legislative findings.
The Senate amendments clarify exclusion of dredging for
navigation channels, anchorages or berthing areas from permit
requirements. Specify state lands subject to the permit include
only state lands under the Commission's jurisdiction, including
granted and ungranted tidelands and submerged lands and the beds
of the navigable waterways.
EXISTING LAW:
1)The Commission currently has authority to issue permits for
geological or geophysical surveys on ungranted state lands,
which is currently located within an oil and gas leasing
statute.
2)The Commission currently has permitting authority for
obtaining core samples to obtain geological information on
lands within its jurisdiction, and has discretion in adopting
permitting rules and regulations for this activity.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. In 1941, the Commission was given permitting
authority for geological or geophysical surveys on ungranted
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tide and submerged lands. This authority was placed into an
oil and gas leasing statute because at the time most surveys
were geological and intended for oil and gas exploration only.
Geophysical surveys today use acoustic-generating or passive
equipment for numerous purposes besides oil and gas
exploration, which include scientific, engineering, safety,
and research. Potential impacts of low-energy geophysical
surveys include detrimental effects on wildlife and negative
impacts on divers or fishermen. Pursuant to the California
Environmental Quality Act, the Commission has prepared a
Mitigation Negative Declaration to identify and address these
concerns. The Commission issued seven non-exclusive permits
for geophysical survey activities in 2013 and two
non-exclusive permits in 2014.
A 2014 assessment of the low energy geophysical permit program
found that numerous unpermitted surveys were being conducted.
This unauthorized activity can lead to unfair competitive
advantages and unmitigated damage to wildlife and the coastal
environment.
2)Purpose of this bill. According to the Commission, the
purpose of this bill is to address compliance concerns by
requiring implementing regulations and to better reflect
current survey practices by separating geophysical permitting
authority from the oil and gas statute. The Commission states
that the added statutory language will provide clarity and
make the permitting authority more apparent to operators,
which will help address compliance concerns.
Geophysical survey compliance issues will also be addressed by
expanding permitting authority to include legislatively
granted public trust lands. Permits for geophysical surveys
on these lands are currently not required, and it is uncertain
as to how many surveys are being conducted on granted public
trust lands. Over 80 local municipalities have been
legislatively granted management responsibilities for
sovereign public trust lands, and the Commission maintains
residual and review authority for these granted lands.
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Analysis Prepared by:
Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN:
0001319