BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1904
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Date of Hearing: March 29, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Luis Alejo, Chair
AB 1904
(Wilk) - As Introduced February 11, 2016
SUBJECT: Hazardous materials: natural gas odorants
SUMMARY: Requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment (OEHHA) to evaluate and report on natural gas
odorants and potential alternatives. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires OEHHA to provide a report to the Legislature
that includes:
a. An assessment of the danger of odorants
currently used in natural gas storage facilities to
public health and safety and the environment.
b. Alternative odorants identified for possible
use in natural gas storage facilities that pose a
lower risk to public health and safety and the
environment.
2) Requires OEHHA to evaluate the following issues for
every alternative odorant identified:
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a. The feasibility of using the alternative
odorant in natural gas storage facilities.
b. Any risks of using the alternative odorant,
including, but not limited to, the risks of unwanted
chemical reactions and increased corrosion.
c. The effectiveness of the alternative odorant
at warning of a natural gas leak.
3) Sunsets the provisions of the bill on January 1, 2021.
4) Establishes this act as an urgency statute in order to
immediately begin assessing the danger of odorants in
natural gas.
EXISTING LAW:
UNDER FEDERAL LAW:
1) Requires, pursuant to the Pipeline Safety Regulations of
the Department of Transportation, that a combustible gas in
a distribution line must contain a natural odorant or be
odorized so that at a concentration in air of one-fifth of
the lower explosive limit, the gas is readily detectable by
a person with a normal sense of smell. (49 Code of Federal
Regulation (CFR) 192, section 192.625)
2) Prohibits the odorant in combustible gases from being
deleterious to persons, materials, or pipe. (49 CFR 192,
section 192.625(c)(1))
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3) Prohibits the products of combustion from the odorant of
being toxic when breathed or from being corrosive or
harmful to those materials to which the products of
combustion will be exposed. (49 CFR 192, section
192.625(c)(2))
UNDER STATE LAW:
1) Establishes reporting requirements for reports requested
by law to be submitted by a state or local agency to the
Legislature. (Government Code § 9795)
2) Requires the Department of Conservation to maintain
surveillance over underground gas storage facilities to
insure that the original reserves are not lost, that
drilling of new wells is conducted properly, and that no
damage occurs to the environment by reason of injection and
withdrawal of gas. (Public Resources Code § 3403.5)
3) Requires all combustible gases transported by utility
pipeline to have a distinctive odor of sufficient intensity
so that the presence of the gas may be detected down to the
concentration in air of not over one-fifth the lower limit
of combustibility. (Public Utilities Commission (PUC)
Decision No. 61269 and Decision No. 61355, Case No. 6352,
1960 (Case No. 6352), Section 208.1)
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4) Requires, whenever necessary to maintain this level of
intensity, a suitable odorant to be added in accordance
with the following specifications:
a) Odorants in the concentrations used shall be
harmless to humans (nontoxic);
b) Noncorrosive to steel, iron, brass, copper and
leather; and,
c) Nonsoluble in water to an extent greater than
2.5 parts by weight of odorant to 100 parts by weight
of water. (Case No. 6352, Section 208.2)
5) Requires each utility to make periodic checks to
determine that a proper level of odorization is maintained
throughout the pipeline system. (Case No. 6352, Section
208.4)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill: According to the author, "On October 23,
2015, the Southern California Gas Company (SoCal Gas) discovered
a gas leak at their Aliso Canyon facility affecting the Porter
Ranch and the surrounding communities. For months, there have
been widespread reports in the affected area of individuals with
debilitating headaches, bloody noses, and other adverse physical
reaction?
"As the leak continued, various local, county, and state
agencies got involved to attempt to mitigate as much damage as
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possible. Eventually, the Governor declared a state of emergency
and declared that all state agencies are to use all necessary
resources to "ensure a continuous and thorough response to this
incident?
"While various state and local agencies are working on fixing
the situation in the area, this bill addresses the root cause
studying the odorants, which are believed to have caused many of
the adverse health effects. Odorants are added to stored natural
gas as a safety precaution in order to be able to detect gas
leaks. This study will help prevent future similar situations."
Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility: The Aliso Canyon Gas Storage
Facility is owned by the Southern California Gas Company
(SoCalGas) and is located in Los Angeles County just north of
Porter Ranch, California. SoCalGas is a gas corporation
regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
On October 23, 2015, SoCalGas detected a methane gas leak at its
Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility at Well # SS-25. The Aliso
Canyon Gas Storage Facility gas leak was declared a State
Emergency on January 6, 2016, by Governor Jerry Brown.
Following an initial evaluation and several attempts to stop the
leak, SoCalGas began drilling a relief well in order to plug the
leaking well. The initial attempts to plug the leak failed to
stop the leak, and the leak lasted 112 days before being
permanently capped on February 18, 2016.
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A study in the journal Science confirmed that the methane gas
leak was not only the largest in California's history, but also
the second largest in the nation. According to the lead author
of the study, as much as 60 metric tons of methane was spewing
from the leak each hour.
The leak displaced nearly 2,290 households, requiring families
to move into temporary housing and hotels provided by SoCalGas.
Follow the stinky smell: Natural gas is an odorless, flammable
gas consisting primarily of methane. It also contains hydrogen
sulfide, sulfur dioxide, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and
xylenes in small amounts. Mercaptan is added to natural gas in
order to aid in the detection of natural gas by smell.
Mercaptan is an organic substance that is one of the chemicals
responsible for bad breath and flatulence. Natural gas
odorization is a critical additive to protect the public from a
natural gas leak. The odor must provide a warning that prompts
the public to take action when detected.
Health impacts of gas leak: The natural gas stored in the Aliso
Canyon Gas Storage Facility, like all natural gas provided for
domestic use, contains added chemicals to enable detection of
leaks by smell. The odorants in the Aliso Canyon natural gas
are primarily tert-butyl mercaptan and tetrahydrothiophene,
which are added to the natural gas in small amounts. Mercaptans
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notably give natural gas its distinctive "rotten egg" smell.
As a result of the gas leak and mercaptan exposure, residents
complained about varying health impacts. Complaints ranged from
nosebleeds to nausea, headaches, and eye and throat irritation.
SoCalGas has been quoted as saying, "Scientists agree natural
gas is not toxic and that its odorant is harmless at the minute
levels at which it is added to natural gas." According to the
Governor's Office of Emergency Services, based on available
information, mercaptans do not show an impact to long term
health, especially at the levels present in Porter Ranch.
OEHHA evaluated air sample data collected by SoCalGas at several
locations in the Porter Ranch neighborhood near the Aliso Canyon
Gas Storage Facility and found that the symptoms reported by
many Porter Ranch residents can be attributed to odorants in the
natural gas. According to OEHHA, the natural gas odorants have
strong odors which can be perceived at concentrations below the
levels that can be measured in air samples. These odors can
evoke physiological responses (e.g. nausea, headaches).
Complaints of headaches and dizziness continue to persist weeks
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after the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility well leak was
sealed. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has
received a substantial number of reports from Porter Ranch
residents, located downwind from the Aliso Canyon natural gas
storage facility, describing recurring symptoms such as
headaches, nausea, abdominal discomfort, dizziness and
respiratory irritation. Between the time the massive natural gas
leak was first reported last October to the day workers plugged
it, Los Angeles County received between 700 and 800 health
complaints. Between February 18 and March 9, 2016, after the
well was reported capped and inspected by state regulators, Los
Angeles County Health Department received nearly 300 health
complaints from residents who returned home.
On March 10, 2016, Los Angeles County health officials launched
a three-day door-to-door health survey throughout Porter Ranch
to investigate complaints by residents in the community who
continue to report illnesses weeks after a leaking natural gas
well was capped.
Natural gas facilities in California: California has 13
operating natural gas storage facilities. Odorants are
presumably used at each of these facilities. There are 115 other
wells in use in Aliso Canyon. In early December 2016, the South
Coast Air Quality Management District (Air District) identified
15 minor methane leaks and directed SoCalGas to fix them. Later
that month, the Air District verified that these leaks were
repaired.
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Legislative response to Aliso Canyon emergency: There has been a
strong Legislative response to the massive gas leak at the Aliso
Canyon Gas Storage Facility.
The Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee held an
informational hearing on January 21, 2016, in Porter Ranch about
the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility leak.
The author of AB 1904 has introduced a package of bills focused
on response to the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility leak,
including:
AB 1902 (Wilk), which proposed to extend the statute of
limitations for civil actions resulting from exposure to
hazardous materials from the Aliso Canyon gas leak;
AB 1903 (Wilk), which proposed to direct the PUC and the State
Department of Public Health to jointly study the long-term
health impacts of the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak; and,
AB 1905 (Wilk), which proposed to directs the Natural
Resources Agency to conduct an independent scientific study on
natural gas injection and storage practices and facilities.
In addition, Senator Pavely has introduced a package of related
bills, including:
SB 380 (Pavley), which proposes to place a moratorium on
natural gas injections at the Aliso Canyon gas storage
facility and establishe requirements to resume injections,
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including each well at the facility has been evaluated and
those posing risk of failure have been repaired or plugged;
SB 886 (Pavley), which proposed to requires the Division of
Oil, Gas, Geothermal Research (DOGGR) to institute a
moratorium on natural gas injections at the Aliso Canyon gas
storage facility and prevent use of wells drilled pre-1954;
and,
SB 887 (Pavley), which requires DOGGR to prescribe standards
for natural gas storage wells and inspect all natural gas
storage wells annually and prescribes other requirements.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Paige Brokaw / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965
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