BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER
Senator Fran Pavley, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1312 Hearing Date: June 9,
2015
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|Author: |O'Donnell | | |
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|Version: |April 15, 2015 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Katharine Moore |
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Subject: Ballast water management.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
1. According to the State Lands Commission (commission),
ballast water discharge and vessel biofouling (i.e. the growth
of organisms on the wetted surfaces of the vessel) of
commercial ships are significant vectors for the introduction
of invasive species in coastal environments.
2. Once established, invasive species can devastate native
aquatic life and costs hundreds of millions of dollars or more
to control. The most effective form of control is to prevent
introduction of the nonindigenous invasive species.
3. Vessel ballast water management has long been recognized as
an important aspect to limiting the spread of invasive
species.
4. The Marine Invasive Species Act (act) (Public Resources Code
(PRC) §§ 71200 et seq.) seeks to limit the introduction of
nonindigenous species into state waters.
5. The act focuses on ballast water management, sediments from
the ballast water that may be discharged from the ship and
biofouling (i.e. when organisms attach and grow on wetted
surfaces of the vessel including, for example, the hull,
anchors, and so on).
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6. The commission is required to adopt regulations necessary to
implement the act which shall include, as appropriate,
restrictions or prohibitions on discharge of ballast water
containing nonindigenous species using "the best available
technology economically achievable", as specified.
7. The act considers the size of the vessel and its voyage
prior to entering California waters in the establishment of
ballast water management requirements, as specified, among
other provisions.
8. The act provides for the establishment of interim treatment
standards and their phased-in implementation - by either
January 1, 2016 or January 1, 2018 - as a function of ballast
water capacity and vessel age, and the establishment of final
performance standards for the discharge of ballast water of
"zero detectable living organisms" for any size organism by
2020.
9. The act further provides for regulations to be adopted
governing the use of shipboard experimental ballast water
treatment systems. If an owner of a vessel applies to install
an experimental system and is approved by the commission prior
to January 1, 2016, the system shall be deemed to be in
compliance with any future treatment standard for up to five
years from when the interim treatment standards are
established.
10. The act requires that certain specified information be
provided to the commission regarding ballast water management
information upon the vessel's departure from its port or place
of call in the state, and requires that the commission, in
coordination with the US Coast Guard, sample ballast water and
sediment from at least 25% of arriving vessels subject to the
act.
11. In August 2014, the commission approved a report assessing
the availability of treatment technologies to meet the state's
performance standards for ballast water discharge. The report
reviewed several options for compliance. There are currently
no viable shipboard or shore-based treatment options to meet
all of California's discharge standards.
PROPOSED LAW
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This bill would delay implementation of California's performance
standards for vessels that discharge ballast water in the state,
expand the commission's vessel inspection authority to include
biofouling management and makes clarifying and streamlining
changes to various related code sections. Specifically, this
bill would:
Ï delay until January 1, 2020 the deadline for the
owner/operator of a vessel to apply for and for the commission
to approve the use an experimental ballast water treatment
system, as specified,
Ï delay from 2020 to 2026 the implementation of the final
performance standards for the discharge of ballast water of
zero detectable living organisms regardless of size
Ï revise the phase-in for interim ballast water regulations by
deleting the weight classification system and making it apply
to all vessels for first arrival at a California port for new
vessels constructed on or after January 1, 2020, or as of
first drydocking on or after January 1, 2020 for all other
vessels.
Ï require that the master provide information regarding the
vessel, voyage and ballast water management system, as
specified, to the commission at least 24 hours before the
vessel arrives at a California port, or, if the voyage is less
than 24 hours in total, shall report the information prior to
departing,
Ï clarify that the commissions activities, in coordination
with the US Coast Guard, of 25% of arriving vessels to assess
compliance includes sampling of biofouling, and inspection, as
specified, and
Ï delete obsolete provisions and make additional technical and
clarifying changes to provide statutory consistency.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the author, [a]pproximately 15 percent of large
vessels arriving at California ports must discharge ballast
water for operational or safety purposes. These vessels need a
method of ensuring that any discharged ballast water is in
compliance with California's performance standards. No
shore-based treatment facilities exist or are in development in
the United States, and currently available shipboard treatment
systems have not demonstrated the ability to meet the California
performance standards. This lack of options available to the
shipping industry presents a major obstacle to the
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implementation of the performance standards."
"AB 1312 delays implementation of California's ballast water
performance standards until 2020 to enable further development
of treatment technologies and the adoption of regulations to
specify the methods that will be used for compliance assessment.
This delay effectively eliminates the interim performance
standards and preserves the deadline on achieving the "no
detectable living organisms" standard. This delay provides the
[commission] with time to adopt compliance assessment
regulations that will give the shipping industry clear guidance
on how to conform to these regulations."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
None received
COMMENTS
Previous delays of interim performance standards . Because of
the commission's earlier findings on the availability of
treatment technologies, the legislature has already twice
delayed the implementation dates for ballast water interim
performance standards. In 2008, the legislature delayed
implementation for new vessels with ballast water capacity less
than 5,000 metric tons from January 1, 2009 to January 1, 2010.
In 2013, it further delayed implementation for all vessels by an
additional two to six years (phasing in in 2016 and 2018)
depending on when the vessel was constructed and the vessel's
ballast water capacity. This bill represents an eleven year
delay from the earliest original implementation date (to 2020)
and to delay the final performance standard to 2026 (a six year
delay from the original implementation date).
Current status of ballast water treatment systems . In 2014, the
commission produced a report that evaluated the availability of
ballast water treatment technologies capable of meeting the
California ballast water discharge performance standards. The
report reviewed both shore-based and shipboard methods. No
shore-based treatment facilities exist in the United States.
Also, no shipboard ballast water treatment systems can currently
meet California's standards. There are multiple reasons why the
California standards cannot be met with current technology.
These include: (1) no single system can meet all of the
standards, (2) there are no appropriate protocols for the
analysis of ballast water samples and (3) there are a lack of
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sampling and compliance protocols. The commission indicated
that it is working on promulgating compliance assessment
protocols which should resolve the questions about accurate
testing procedures. Industry should have years to determine how
to comply with the standards given their promulgation
(anticipated by January 1, 2017) far in advance of the proposed
effective date.
This bill is double-referred to the Senate Committee on
Environmental Quality . Issues in this bill under the
jurisdiction of the Environmental Quality Committee will be
discussed before that Committee and may be noted in this
analysis for context or completeness only.
Related recent legislation
AB 433 (Nation, c. 491, Statutes of 2003). This bill
consolidated the law related to the management of ballast water
into act, and revised various requirements for ballast water
management practices to minimize the release of nonindigenous
species.
SB 497 (Simitian, c. 292, Statutes of 2006). This bill enacted
the Coastal Ecosystems Protection Act which established the
interim and final performances standards for the discharge of
ballast water from large commercial ships. The effective date
for the interim standards was January 1, 2009 and for the final
standards was January 1, 2020 for "zero detectable living
organisms."
AB 740 (Laird, c. 370, Statutes of 2007) modified the act to
include the fouling of vessel hulls with microorganisms.
SB 1781 (Committee on Environmental Quality, c. 696, Statutes of
2008). This bill delayed the implementation of ballast water
performance standards for new vessels with ballast water
capacity less than 5000 metric tons from January 1, 2009 to
January 1, 2010.
AB 248 (Lowenthal, c. 248, Statutes of 2009). This bill required
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the person in charge of a vessel to maintain and submit to the
commission specified information related to the vessel's ballast
water treatment system.
SB 935 (Committee on Environmental Quality, c. 550, Statutes of
2012). This bill delayed the date for which the commission must
approve a vessel operator's application to install an
experimental ballast water treatment system from January 1, 2008
to January 1, 2016. It also revised "hull fouling" to
"biofouling" and incorporated certain performance standards into
statue.
SB 814 (Committee on Natural Resources and Water, c. 472,
Statues of 2013). This bill delayed implementation of ballast
water performance standards for vessels that carry, or are
capable of carrying, ballast water into the state by two to six
years, depending on when the ship was constructed and its
ballast water capacity.
SUPPORT
California State Lands Commission (sponsor)
California Association of Port Authorities
California Chamber of Commerce
Cruise Lines International Association
Maersk
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
OPPOSITION
None Received
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