BILL NUMBER: AB 1420 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 30, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Salas
( Coauthor: Senator Vidak
)
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to add Section 101042 to the Health and Safety Code, and to
add Sections 3270.5 and 3270.6 to the Public Resources Code,
relating to oil and gas.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1420, as amended, Salas. Oil and gas: pipelines.
Existing law requires the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal
Resources to prescribe minimum facility maintenance standards for oil
and gas production facilities, including pipelines that are not
under the jurisdiction of the State Fire Marshal. Under the
division's regulations, an owner or operator of an active
environmentally sensitive gas pipeline that is a gathering line is
required to perform a mechanical integrity test on the pipeline,
unless it is less than 10 years old.
This bill would require the division to prioritize the
identification and testing of those pipelines that are near sensitive
areas.
This bill would require a mechanical integrity test every 2 years
for all active gas pipelines of any diameter that are identified by
the division as environmentally sensitive. The bill would require the
division, by January 1, 2018, to identify all gas pipelines that are
environmentally sensitive.
Existing law establishes local health departments, under the
purview of the local health officer. Existing law prescribes various
duties for those local health departments, including supervising
remediation when hazardous waste is released and enforcing statutes
relating to public health.
This bill would require a local health officer or his or her
designee, if he or she is notified of a leak in a pipeline regulated
by the division and makes certain determinations, to take certain
actions related to the leak, working collaboratively with the
division and the owner or operator of that pipeline. The bill would
require the local public health officer or his or her designee to
direct the responsible party to notify residents affected by the leak
if he or she determines that the leak poses a serious threat to
public health and safety. Because the bill would require a local
health officer or his or her designee to provide a higher level of
service to the public, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
This bill would require owners or operators of
pipelines under the division's jurisdiction, upon discovery of a leak
from the pipeline, to notify the division and the appropriate local
health officer or his or her designee of the leak. Because a
violation of this requirement would be a crime, this bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 101042 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
101042. (a) If the local health officer or his or her designee is
notified of a leak in a pipeline that is regulated by the Division
of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources pursuant to Article 4.4
(commencing with Section 3270) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of the
Public Resources Code and the local health officer or his or her
designee determines that the leak poses a risk to public health or
safety and the response to the leak has been inadequate to protect
the public health or safety, the local health officer or his or her
designee shall, working collaboratively with the division and the
owner or operator of the pipeline, do both of the following:
(1) Direct the responsible party to test, to the satisfaction of
the agency overseeing the testing, the soil, air, and water in the
affected area for contamination caused by the leak and disclose the
results of the tests to the public.
(2) Make a determination, based on the result of the tests, on
whether the leak poses a serious threat to the public health and
safety of residents affected by the leak, and provide assistance to
those residents if it so determines.
(b) If the local health officer or his or her designee determines,
based on the results of the test, that the leak poses a serious
threat to public health and safety, the local health officer or his
or her designee shall direct the responsible party to notify all
residents affected by the leak.
SEC. 2. Section 3270.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
3270.5. The division shall prioritize the identification and
testing of all pipelines under its jurisdiction that are near
sensitive areas, such as residential areas and schools.
3270.5. (a) The division shall require a
mechanical integrity test, as described in subdivision (e) of Section
1774.1 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, or any
successor regulation, every two years for all active gas pipelines of
any diameter that are environmentally sensitive, as defined in
Section 1760 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, or
any successor regulation.
(b) By January 1, 2018, the division shall identify all active gas
pipelines of any diameter subject to this section.
SEC. 3. Section 3270.6 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
3270.6. Upon the discovery of a leak from a pipeline under the
jurisdiction of the division, the owner or operator of the
pipeline shall promptly notify the division and the local health
officer, or his or her designee, of the jurisdiction in which the
leak is located.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code.