BILL NUMBER: AB 1420 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 18, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 6, 2015
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, commencing January 1,
2018, to require a mechanical integrity test every 2 years for
all active gas pipelines of any diameter within sensitive
areas, as defined. in sensitive areas that are 10
years old or older, except as provided. The bill would require the
division to maintain a list of active gas pipelines in sensitive
areas. The bill would define active gas pipelines as inservice gas
pipelines of any diameter within the division's jurisdiction.
The bill would require the division, by January 1, 2018, to
identify all active gas pipelines within sensitive areas.
operators of active gas pipelines in sensitive areas, by January
1, 2018, to submit to the division maps identifying the location of
those pipelines and other locational information, as provided. The
bill would require the division to perform random periodic spot check
inspections to ensure that the submitted maps
are accurately reported.
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 an active gas
pipeline within a sensitive area 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, an owner or
operator of an active gas pipeline in a sensitive area,
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 an active gas pipeline
pipeline, that is within the jurisdiction of the Division of Oil,
Gas, and Geothermal Resources and within a sensitive
area area, pursuant to Section 3270.6
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 that 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 require the responsible
party to provide assistance, including temporary relocation, to
those residents if the local health officer or his or her designee 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.
(c) The responsible party shall be liable for the costs incurred
by the local health officer or his or her designee pursuant to this
section.
(d) Providing resident assistance and reimbursement for local
health officer expenses shall not relieve a responsible party from
liability for damages, and a responsible party shall not condition
assistance or request a waiver of liability from the recipient of the
assistance.
SEC. 2. Section 3270.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
3270.5. (a) The (1)
Commencing January 1, 2018, 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 within sensitive areas. in
sensitive areas that are 10 years old or older.
(2) The division shall maintain a list of active gas pipelines in
sensitive areas.
(b) By January 1, 2018, the division shall identify all active gas
pipelines of any diameter subject to this section.
(b) (1) By January 1, 2018, an operator of an active gas pipeline
in a sensitive area shall submit to the division, as part of
compliance with pipeline management plan requirements pursuant to
Section 1774.2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, an
up-to-date and accurate map identifying the location of the pipeline
and other up-to-date and accurate locational information of the
pipeline as determined and in a format specified by the division.
(2) The division shall perform random periodic spot check
inspections to ensure that the information submitted pursuant to
paragraph (1) is accurately reported.
(c) For purposes of this section, "sensitive
the following terms are defined as follows:
(1) "Active gas pipeline" means an inservice gas pipeline
regardless of diameter that is within the division's jurisdiction.
(2) "Sensitive area" means any of
the following:
(1)
(A) An area containing a building intended for human
occupancy, such as a residence, school, hospital, or business, that
is located within 300 feet of an active gas pipeline and that is not
necessary to the operation of the pipeline.
(2)
(B) An area determined by the supervisor to present
significant potential threat to life, health, property, or natural
resources in the event of a leak from an active gas pipeline.
(3)
(C) An area determined by the supervisor to have an
active gas pipeline that has a history of chronic leaks.
(d) (1) On a case-by-case basis, the supervisor, at his or her
discretion or upon the request of an operator, may allow testing
performed to satisfy the requirements of other regulatory entities to
satisfy the requirements of mechanical integrity testing pursuant to
subdivision (a).
(2) The supervisor shall make a written finding of his or her
decision pursuant to this subdivision.
(3) For purposes of paragraph (1), the testing requirements of the
other regulatory entities must meet or exceed the testing
requirements pursuant to subdivision (a).
(e) This section does not affect or limit the authority of the
supervisor pursuant to Section 3106, 3270, or any other section of
the Public Resources Code.
SEC. 3. Section 3270.6 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
3270.6. Upon the discovery of a leak from an active gas pipeline
under the jurisdiction of the division that is
within a sensitive area, as defined in Section 3270.5, 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.