BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1904
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1904 (Wilk)
As Introduced May 27, 2016
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Environmental |7-0 |Alejo, Dahle, Beth | |
|Safety | |Gaines, Gray, Lopez, | |
| | |McCarty, Ting | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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AB 1904
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SUMMARY: Requires, on or before January 1, 2019, 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:
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.
AB 1904
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4)Establishes this act as an urgency statute in order to
immediately begin assessing the danger of odorants in natural
gas.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill will result in one-time costs of $500,000
for OEHHA staff to assess the hazards of odorants and identify
potential alternatives and one-time costs of $140,000 for
consultant contracts to determine the safety and ecological
impacts of odorants.
COMMENTS: 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. 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.
The leak lasted 112 days before being permanently capped on
February 18, 2016.
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
AB 1904
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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; it
notably gives natural gas its distinctive "rotten egg" smell.
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 odorants. The odorants in the Aliso
Canyon natural gas are primarily tert-butyl mercaptan and
tetrahydrothiophene. 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 well after the
AB 1904
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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.
Update on local survey: That door-to-door survey, in early
March, found 62% of respondents reported continuing symptoms.
As of May 9, about 2,800 households were still living outside
the area in hotels, corporate apartments, short-term rentals or
with friends or family at SoCal Gas' expense.
Los Angeles County Public Health Department officials conducted
dust and air testing following the three-day door-to-door survey
of Porter Ranch residents who live close to the gas storage
field that leaked, about two to three miles away.
As reported by KPCC, tests of the dust in Porter Ranch homes
turned up the presence of metals, including barium, that could
have caused the kinds of health symptoms some residents have
reported experiencing even after the big gas leak was plugged.
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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.
Analysis Prepared by:
Paige Brokaw / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965 FN:
0003204