BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1420
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|Author: |Salas |
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|Version: |7/06/2015 |Hearing |7/15/2015 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Rachel Machi Wagoner |
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SUBJECT: Oil and gas: pipelines.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Requires the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources
(DOGGR) 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.
2) Establishes local health departments, under the purview of
the local health officer and 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:
1) Requires a mechanical integrity test every 2 years for all
active gas pipelines of any diameter that are identified as
in sensitive areas and requires DOGGR, by January 1, 2018, to
identify all gas pipelines that are within sensitive areas.
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2) Requires a local health officer or his or her designee, if he
or she is notified of an active leak in a pipeline that is
within a sensitive area and makes certain determinations, to
take certain actions related to the leak, working
collaboratively with DOGGR and the owner or operator of that
pipeline.
3) Requires the local public health officer or his or her
designee to direct the responsible party (RP) to notify
residents affected by the leak if he or she determines that
the leak poses a serious threat to public health and safety.
4) Requires owners or operators of pipelines under DOGGR's
jurisdiction, upon discovery of a leak from the pipeline, to
notify DOGGR and the appropriate local health officer or his
or her designee of the leak.
5) For purposes of this section, defines "sensitive area" as:
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.
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.
c) An area determined by the supervisor to have an active
gas pipeline that has a history of chronic leaks.
6) Specifies that the responsible party shall be liable for the
costs incurred by the local health officer or his or her
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designee pursuant to this section.
Background
1) The gas leak in Arvin: According to articles in The
Bakersfield Californian, on March 11, 2014, Southern
California Gas Co. (SCG) was performing routine checks for
leaks on its natural gas pipelines in Arvin, California, when
its instruments detected a gas leak. SCG workers realized
the next day that the leak wasn't from their own pipelines
and notified the city of Arvin, which in turn alerted DOGGR
both that it was working with SCG to determine the source of
the gas and that residents of Nelson Court in Arvin had been
reporting gas odors.
According to the Department of Conservation (DOC), under
which DOGGR operates, DOGGR staff immediately met with Petro
Capitol Resources (PCR), which operates the three oil and gas
leases about 200 feet east of the homes on Nelson Court, to
review existing lease maps of the operation. They found that
the existing maps were faulty, and that the pipelines were
actually adjacent to the homes on Nelson Court that had been
reporting the odor. PCR shut down its pipeline on March
13th, and affected residents were evacuated. On the 17 and
18th the actual leak was detected in a 3" gas flare pipe, and
Kern County tested for flammable gases, finding high levels
of flammable gases outside the homes and levels at half of
the lower explosive levels were inside eight homes on Nelson
Court. Further, Kern County and DOGGR found that the soil
was so saturated with natural gas that remediation required
application of a vapor extraction system. The Bakersfield
Californian reported that some residents said they had
smelled the gas for as long as two years, and complained of
nosebleeds, headaches, coughing and dizziness.
According to news articles, letters submitted to the
Governor, and communication with the author, before and after
the leak was detected, residents were confused about where to
seek resources and information and felt the response to the
leak was inadequate. Additionally, even though PCR performed
initial toxicity testing of the houses on Nelson Court,
residents were distrustful of the results, and the County
performed another set of tests, for which it is still trying
to recoup costs. Residents remained evacuated for over 7
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months and remain concerned about the safety of living in
their own homes.
2) DOGGR's jurisdiction over pipelines: DOGGR oversees the
drilling, operation, maintenance, and plugging and
abandonment of oil, natural gas, and geothermal wells. DOGGR
has jurisdiction over tanks and facilities that are
"attendant to" oil and gas production, including pipelines
located within oil and gas fields and not subject to
regulation by the California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection-Office of State Fire Marshal. Tanks and pipelines
that are located within the lease areas of oil and gas
fields, and are integrally associated with oil and gas
production, are generally "attendant to" oil and gas
production and therefore under DOGGR's jurisdiction. In the
Arvin case, according to the DOC, DOGGR is responsible for
the oversight of the pipes that leaked.
3) DOGGR's process for identifying and inspecting pipelines:
DOGGR's regulations require pipeline operators to visually
inspect all above ground pipelines at least once per year and
authorize the Supervisor to order tests or inspections as
needed to establish the reliability of any pipeline system.
Additionally, regulations require a mechanical integrity test
to be performed on all active environmentally sensitive
pipelines that are used to transport crude oil or natural gas
from the production site to a central collection point, and
all urban pipelines over 4" in diameter, every two years.
Regulation exempts pipelines less than 10 years old from the
two-year testing requirement.
In Arvin, even though DOGGR is responsible for the oversight
of the pipeline that failed, the pipeline is not subject to
the periodic testing required of other, larger capacity (over
4" in diameter) lines, or lines that carry hydrocarbons.
DOGGR records showed that the pipeline was last inspected on
August 8, 2011. This bill requires DOGGR to prioritize the
identification and testing of all pipelines under its
jurisdiction, regardless of size or what it carries, for
leaks that are near sensitive areas, such as residential
areas and schools.
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Comments
Purpose of Bill. According to the author, "[a]s the [oil]
industry continues to be a fixture in California, the safety of
workers, communities and the environment should remain a top
priority. Despite precautions taken, incidents occur in which
immediate action is needed to protect the health, safety, and
environment of nearby communities."
"In early 2014, a gas leak was detected beneath the community of
Arvin, California. A total of 8 families were evacuated from
their homes and unable to return for several months. Affected
residents claimed to have smelled gas, and complained of
nosebleeds, headaches, coughing and dizziness. Once the leak
was detected, affected residents were unclear where to get
resources and information. This incident demonstrated a lack of
clarity in the law regarding the role of all involved entities."
"Assembly Bill 1420 would require operators of a leak[ing]
pipeline to notify local health officials. If it is determined
that the leak poses a risk to public health and safety then the
local health official will be required to work collaboratively
with [the division] and the owner and/or operator the pipeline.
[?] The bill will also require [the division] to prioritize the
identification and testing of pipelines in their jurisdiction
that are near sensitive areas, such as residential neighborhoods
and schools."
What is the Responsibility of the Responsible Party? The bill
specifies that the local health officer shall work in
collaboration with DOGGR and RP to provide information and
assistance to affected residents and requires that the RP
reimburse the costs incurred by the local health officer,
including, but not limited to, relocation of residents. It is
more appropriate that RP incur the cost to residents, including
relocation. An amendment is needed to specify that the RP will
pay for relocation and other costs to residents.
Additionally, while nothing in this legislation relieves an RP
from civil/tort liability, an amendment should be taken to
clearly state that the RP shall not condition any assistance
provided pursuant to this bill to any waiver of the recipient of
the assistance.
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DOUBLE REFERRAL:
This measure was heard in Senate Natural Resources and Water
Committee on June 23, 2015, and passed out of committee with a
vote of 9-0. The provisions of the bill pertaining to DOGGR's
responsibilities and jurisdiction were heard by that committee.
The role of local health officers, disclosure of environmental
testing results, processes and procedures in the event of a
local health emergency, and resident notification is under the
Senate Environmental Quality Committee's jurisdiction.
SOURCE: Author
SUPPORT:
Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment
City of Arvin
Sierra Club
OPPOSITION:
None received
ARGUMENTS IN
SUPPORT: The Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment wrote,
"[t]hough residents took their own air samples, the results of
the "official" air testing were never disclosed to residents.
The evacuated residents are now back home, but the leak and the
subsequent eight-month forced relocation has taken a heavy
financial, emotional, and health toll on the families."
The Center continues, "AB 1420 will provide local agencies with
the authority they need to quickly respond to leaks in order to
protect residents' health, ensures that residents are informed
about the risks they face if a leak occurs nearby, and provides
for reimbursements to residents for costs associated with a
pipeline leak, including relocation costs."
-- END --
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