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 linebegin insert or an urban pipeline over 4 inches in diameterend insert is required to perform a mechanical integrity test on thebegin delete pipeline,end deletebegin insert pipeline every 2 years,end insert unless it is less than 10 years old.
This bill would require the division,begin delete commencingend deletebegin insert byend insert January 1, 2018, tobegin delete require a mechanical integrity test every 2 years forend deletebegin insert
review and evaluate, and update as appropriate, its existing regulations regardingend insert all active gas pipelinesbegin insert
that are 4 inches or less in diameter,end insert
in sensitivebegin delete areas that areend deletebegin insert areas, andend insert 10 years old orbegin delete older, except as provided. The bill would require the division to maintain a list of active gas pipelines in sensitive areas.end deletebegin insert older, as specified.end insert The bill would define active gas pipelines as inservice gas pipelines of any diameter within the division’s jurisdiction. The bill would require 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.begin insert The bill would require the division to maintain a list of active gas pipelines in sensitive areas.end insert
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 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:
begin insertThe Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:end insert
3(a) In March 2014, a gas leak was detected beneath the
4community of Arvin, California. Families were evacuated from
5their homes and unable to return for several months.
6(b) Existing regulations for the regular
testing and evaluation
7of smaller diameter pipelines like the one that leaked in Arvin,
8California were insufficient to protect that community from a
9serious gas leak.
10(c) In view of the Arvin, California leak, the Division of Oil,
11Gas, and Geothermal Resources should review and reassess its
12existing regulations for active gas pipelines that are four inches
13or less in diameter and update its regulations to ensure the integrity
14of those active gas pipelines and to prevent, as far as possible,
15damage to life, health, property, and natural resources.
16(d) Given its jurisdiction and expertise, the Division of Oil, Gas,
17and Geothermal Resources has the authority to determine
the
18appropriate methods for assessing the integrity of active gas
19pipelines.
Section 101042 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
22to read:
(a) If the local health officer or his or her designee is
24notified of a leak in an active gas pipeline, that is within the
25jurisdiction of the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources
26and within a sensitive area, pursuant to Section 3270.6 of the Public
P4 1Resources Code and the local health officer or his or her designee
2determines that the leak poses a risk to public health or safety and
3that the response to the leak has been inadequate to protect the
4public health or safety, the local health officer or his or her designee
5shall, working collaboratively with the division and the owner or
6operator of the pipeline, do both of the following:
7(1) Direct the
responsible party to test, to the satisfaction of the
8agency overseeing the testing, the soil, air, and water in the affected
9area for contamination caused by the leak and disclose the results
10of the tests to the public.
11(2) Make a determination, based on the result of the tests, on
12whether the leak poses a serious threat to the public health and
13safety of residents affected by the leak, and require the responsible
14party to provide assistance, including temporary relocation, to
15those residents if the local health officer or his or her designee so
16determines.
17(b) If the local health officer or his or her designee determines,
18based on the results of the test, that the leak poses a serious threat
19to public health and safety, the local health officer or his or her
20designee shall
direct the responsible party to notify all residents
21affected by the leak.
22(c) The responsible party shall be liable for the costs incurred
23by the local health officer or his or her designee pursuant to this
24
section.
25(d) Providing resident assistance and reimbursement for local
26health officer expenses shall not relieve a responsible party from
27liability for damages, and a responsible party shall not condition
28assistance or request a waiver of liability from the recipient of the
29assistance.
Section 3270.5 is added to the Public Resources Code,
32to read:
(a) (1) begin deleteCommencing end deletebegin insertBy end insertJanuary 1, 2018, the division
34shallbegin delete require a mechanical integrity test, as described in subdivision
35(e) of Section 1774.1 of Title 14 of the California Code of
36Regulations, or any successor regulation, every two years forend delete
37begin insert review and evaluate, and update as appropriate, its existing
38regulations regardingend insert all active
gas pipelinesbegin insert
that are four inches
39or less in diameter, locatedend insert
in sensitivebegin delete areas that areend deletebegin insert areas, andend insert
P5 1 10 years old or older.begin insert The division shall make a written finding of
2its review and evaluation of these pipelines.end insert
3(2) The division shall maintain a list of active gas pipelines in
4sensitive areas.
5(2) In its review and evaluation, the division shall consider
6existing
pipeline integrity, pipeline leak detection, and other
7pipeline assessment requirements imposed by other regulators to
8determine which of these forms of assessment meet the division’s
9needs.
10(3) The regulations shall ensure the integrity and operation of
11these active gas pipelines pursuant to Sections 3106 and 3270.
12(b) (1) By January 1, 2018, an operator of an active gas pipeline
13in a sensitive area shall submit to the division, as part of
14
compliance with pipeline management plan requirements pursuant
15to Section 1774.2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations,
16an up-to-date and accurate map identifying the location of the
17pipeline and other up-to-date and accurate locational information
18of the pipeline as determined and in a format specified by the
19division.
20(2) The division shall perform random periodic spot check
21inspections to ensure that the information submitted pursuant to
22paragraph (1) is accurately reported.
23(3) The division shall maintain a list of active gas pipelines in
24sensitive areas.
25(c) For purposes of this section, the following
terms are defined
26as follows:
27(1) “Active gas pipeline” means an inservice gas pipeline
28regardless of diameter that is within the division’s jurisdiction.
29(2) “Sensitive area” means any of the following:
30(A) An area containing a building intended for human
31occupancy, such as a residence, school, hospital, or business, that
32is located within 300 feet of an active gas pipeline and that is not
33necessary to the operation of the pipeline.
34(B) An area determined by the supervisor to present significant
35potential threat to life, health, property, or natural resources in the
36event of a leak from an active gas pipeline.
37(C) An area determined by the supervisor to have an active gas
38pipeline that has a history of chronic leaks.
39(d) (1) On a case-by-case basis, the supervisor, at his or her
40discretion or upon the request of an operator, may allow testing
P6 1performed to satisfy the requirements of
other regulatory entities
2to satisfy the requirements of mechanical integrity testing pursuant
3to subdivision (a).
4(2) The supervisor shall make a written finding of his or her
5decision pursuant to this subdivision.
6(3) For purposes of paragraph (1), the testing requirements of
7the other regulatory entities must meet or exceed the testing
8requirements pursuant to subdivision (a).
9(e)
end delete
10begin insert(d)end insert This section does not affect or limit the authority of the
11supervisor pursuant to Section 3106, 3270, or any other section of
12begin delete the Public Resources Code.end deletebegin insert this code, or any regulation
13implementing those sections.end insert
Section 3270.6 is added to the Public Resources Code,
16to read:
Upon the discovery of a leak from an active gas
18pipeline that is within a sensitive area, as defined in Section 3270.5,
19the owner or operator of the pipeline shall promptly notify the
20division and the local health officer, or his or her designee, of the
21jurisdiction in which the leak is located.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
24Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain
25costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
26because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction,
27eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
28or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
29Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
30meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
31Constitution.
32However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that
33this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement
34to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
35pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
364 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
O
92