Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2773

Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk

February 19, 2016

An act to amend Section begin delete 884 of the Public Utilities end delete begin insert 25421 of the Health and Safety end insert Code, relating to begin delete broadband services. end delete begin insert biomethane. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2773, as amended, Quirk. begin delete Broadband services. end delete begin insert Biomethane. end insert

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Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission, by rule or order, to adopt standards for biomethane that is to be injected into a common carrier pipeline that specify, for constituents that may be found in that biomethane, concentrations that are reasonably necessary to ensure the protection of human health, and pipeline and pipeline facility integrity and safety. Pursuant to this requirement, the commission has adopted standards to ensure the protection of human health, and pipeline and pipeline facility integrity and safety, in part by establishing a biomethane minimum heating value, which is a measure of the energy content, a biomethane siloxane trigger level, which gives rise to a monitoring requirement, and a biomethane siloxane lower action level, which is used in screening gas supplies.

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This bill would require the commission to modify the minimum heating value and the siloxane trigger and lower action levels, as specified.

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Existing law establishes the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund in the State Treasury, requires that moneys from the fund only be expended upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act or upon supplemental appropriation, and requires that the moneys appropriated be utilized exclusively by the commission for authorized teleconnect programs. Existing law authorizes the commission to expend up to $2,000,000 of the unencumbered amount of those funds for the nonrecurring installation costs for high-speed broadband services for community organizations that are eligible for discounted rates, as specified. Existing law defines “high-speed broadband services” for these purposes to mean a system for the digital transmission of information over the Internet at a speed of at least 384 kilobits per second.

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This bill would change the minimum speed in that definition from 384 kilobits per second to 500 kilobits per second.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 25421 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

25421.  

(a) On or before May 15, 2013, all of the following
shall be completed:

(1) The office, in consultation with the board, the department,
CalRecycle, and the California Environmental Protection Agency,
shall compile a list of constituents of concern that could pose risks
to human health and that are found in biogas at concentrations that
significantly exceed the concentrations of those constituents in
natural gas. The office, in consultation with the board, the
department, CalRecycle, and the California Environmental
Protection Agency, shall update this list at least every five years.

(2) The office shall determine health protective levels for the
list of constituents of concern identified pursuant to paragraph (1).
In determining those health protective levels, the office shall
consider potential health impacts and risks, including, but not
limited to, health impacts and risks to utility workers and gas end
users. The office shall update these levels at least every five years.

(3) The board shall identify realistic exposure scenarios and, in
consultation with the office, shall identify the health risks
associated with the exposure scenarios for the constituents of
concern identified by the office pursuant to paragraph (1). The
board shall update the exposure scenarios, and, in consultation
with the office, the health risks associated with the exposure
scenarios, at least every five years.

(4) Upon completion of the responsibilities required pursuant
to paragraphs (1) through (3), the board, in consultation with the
office, the department, CalRecycle, and the California
Environmental Protection Agency shall determine the appropriate
concentrations of constituents of concern. In determining those
concentrations, the board shall use the health protective levels
identified pursuant to paragraph (2) and the exposure scenarios
identified pursuant to paragraph (3). The concentrations shall be
updated at least every five years by the board in consultation with
the office, the department, CalRecycle, and the California
Environmental Protection Agency.

(5) The board, in consultation with the office, the department,
CalRecycle, and the California Environmental Protection Agency,
shall identify reasonable and prudent monitoring, testing, reporting,
and recordkeeping requirements, separately for each source of
biogas, that are sufficient to ensure compliance with the health
protective standards adopted pursuant to subdivision (d). The
board, in consultation with the office, the department, CalRecycle
and the California Environmental Protection Agency shall update
the monitoring, testing, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements
at least every five years.

(b) Actions taken pursuant to subdivision (a) shall not constitute
regulations and shall be exempt from the administrative regulations
and rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act
(Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Division 2 of
Title 2 of the Government Code).

(c)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert On or before December 31, 2013, for biomethane that
is to be injected into a common carrier pipeline, the commission
shall, by rule or order, adopt standards that specify, for constituents
that may be found in that biomethane, concentrations that are
reasonably necessary to ensure both of the following:

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(1)

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begin insert (A) end insert  The protection of human health. In making this specification,
the commission shall give due deference to the determinations of
the board pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a).

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(2)

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begin insert (B) end insert  Pipeline and pipeline facility integrity and safety.

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(2) On or before June 1, 2017, the commission shall, for the
injection of biomethane into common carrier pipelines, do both of
the following:

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(A) Modify the minimum heating value requirement of
biomethane to allow for the injection of biomethane without first
being blended upstream with other fuel to account for the
downstream blending occurring naturally in the pipeline. The
commission shall consider modifying the minimum heating value
for biomethane from 990 British thermal units per standard cubic
foot (Btu/scf) to 970 Btu/scf.

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(B) Modify the siloxane trigger level and lower action level to
reflect a reasonable standard that can be met by siloxane
processing equipment manufacturers and suppliers and for which
those manufacturers and suppliers are willing to provide
performance guarantees. The commission shall consider modifying
the siloxane trigger level to 1.0 milligram of silicon per square
meter (mg Si/m³) and the lower action level to 2.5 mg Si/m³.

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(d) To ensure pipeline and pipeline facility integrity and safety,
on or before December 31, 2013, the commission, giving due
deference to the board’s determinations, shall, by rule or order,
adopt the monitoring, testing, reporting, and recordkeeping
requirements identified pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision
(a).

(e) Every five years, or earlier if new information becomes
available, the commission shall review and update the standards
for the protection of human health and pipeline integrity and safety
adopted pursuant to subdivision (c), as well as the monitoring,
testing, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements adopted
pursuant to subdivision (d).

(f) (1) A person shall not inject biogas into a common carrier
pipeline unless the biogas satisfies both the standards set by the
commission pursuant to subdivision (c), as well as the monitoring,
testing, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements of subdivision
(d).

(2) The commission shall require gas corporation tariffs to
condition access to common carrier pipelines on the applicable
customer meeting the standards and requirements adopted by the
commission pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d).

(g) (1) A person shall not knowingly sell, supply, or transport,
or knowingly cause to be sold, supplied, or transported, biogas
collected from a hazardous waste landfill to a gas corporation
through a common carrier pipeline.

(2) A gas corporation shall not knowingly purchase gas collected
from a hazardous waste landfill through a common carrier pipeline.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 884 of the Public Utilities Code is
amended to read:

884.  

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that any program
administered by the commission that addresses the inequality of
access to high-speed broadband services by providing those
services to schools and libraries at a discounted price, provide
comparable discounts to a nonprofit community technology
program.

(b) Notwithstanding any other law or existing program of the
commission, but consistent with the purposes for which those funds
were appropriated from the California Teleconnect Fund
Administrative Committee Fund in Item 8660-001-0493 of Section
2.00 of the Budget Act of 2003 (Chapter 157 of the Statutes of
2003), and reappropriated in Item 8660-491 of Section 2.00 of the
Budget Act of 2006 (Chapter 47 of the Statutes of 2006), the
commission may expend up to two million dollars ($2,000,000)
of the unencumbered amount of those funds for the nonrecurring
installation costs for high-speed broadband services for community
organizations that are eligible for discounted rates pursuant to
Section 280.

(c) For the purpose of this section:

(1) “High-speed broadband services” means a system for the
digital transmission of information over the Internet at a speed of
at least 500 kilobits per second.

(2) “Nonprofit community technology program” means a
community-based nonprofit organization that is exempt from
taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
and engages in diffusing technology into local communities and
training local communities that have no access to, or have limited
access to, the Internet and advanced telecommunications
technologies.

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