AB 1496, as amended, Thurmond. Methane emissions.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. Existing law requires the state board to complete a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants, as defined, in the state.
This bill would require the state board to take specified actions and conduct specified analyses with respect to methane emissions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
P2 1(a) Methane is a gas that is emitted from both natural and human
2sources. Its concentration in the global atmosphere has more than
3doubled since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Methane
4is a short-lived climate pollutant with a lifetime of only about 12
5years when released into the atmosphere. It is an extremely potent
6greenhouse gas, with 20 to 30 times the warming power of carbon
7dioxide over a 100-year period and more than 80 times over a
820-year period.
9(b) The life-cycle greenhouse gas emission from the
drilling,
10
production, and transportation of natural gas can result in methane
11leaks, and there is a need for much better information on the
12life-cycle methane emissions resulting from California’s imports
13of natural gas.
14(c) Recent satellite studies have shown methane hot spots in the
15San Joaquin Valley and higher levels of emissions than were
16previously estimated from the principal sources of methane in
17California. There is an urgent need to improve the monitoring and
18measurement of methane emissions from the major sources in
19
California.
Section 39731 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
21to read:
The state board shall do all of the following:
23(a) Undertake, in consultation with districts that monitor
24methane, monitoring and measurements of high-emission methane
25hot spots in the state using the best availablebegin insert and cost-effectiveend insert
26 scientific and technical methods.
27(b) Consult with federal and state agencies, independent
28scientific experts, and any other appropriate entities to gather or
29acquire the necessary information for the purpose of carrying out
30a life-cycle greenhouse gas emission analysis of natural gas
31produced and
imported into the state using the best availablebegin insert and
32cost-effectiveend insert scientific and technical methods.
33(c) Update relevant policies and programs to incorporate the
34information gathered and acquired pursuant to subdivisions (a)
35and (b).
36(d) Review, in consultation with independent scientific experts,
37the most recent available scientific data and reports on the
38atmospheric reactivity of methane as a precursor to the formation
P3 1of photochemical oxidants and evaluate whether methane should
2be reclassified as a contributor to the formation of air pollution.
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