BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 414
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Date of Hearing: July 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Adam Gray, Chair
SB
414 (Jackson) - As Amended July 2, 2015
SENATE VOTE: Not Relevant
SUBJECT: Oil spill response.
SUMMARY: Makes various changes to the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand
Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act (Act) relating to oil
spill response. Specifically, this bill:
1)The administrator shall develop and implement regulations and
guidelines requiring operators to allow immediate response to
an oil spill by contracted fishing vessels and fishing crews
and providing for regularly scheduled emergency drills and
training in areas that include all of the following:
(A) Shoreline protection;
(B) Towing boom and skimmers;
(C) Working with minibarges; and
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(D) Loading and unloading equipment from response barges.
1)Requires the Administrator to evaluate the effectiveness of
bioremediation and biological agents in oil spill response and
recommend appropriate uses and limitations to ensure they are
only used in situations where the Administrator determines
they are effective and safe.
2)Requires the Administrator, in cooperation with the United
States Coast Guard, to conduct an independent vessel traffic
risk assessment for all deepwater ports that may inform an
area rescue towing plan for the approaches to the ports.
3)Requires, on or before July 1, 2016, the Administrator to
submit a report to the Legislature assessing the best
achievable technology and equipment based on the estimated
system recovery potential for oil spill prevention and
response, including, but not limited to, prevention and
response tugs, tractor tugs, salvage and marine firefighting
tugs, oil spill skimmers and barges, and protective in-water
boom equipment. The assessment shall include all of the
following:
(A) Evaluation of equipment based on its estimated system
recovery potential.
(B) Updating the methodology for rating equipment, such as
oil containment, skimming, storage and oil and water
separation technologies, and an explanation of why the
new methodology provides the best achievable protection.
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(C) Evaluation of the most current oil spill and response
equipment for increase capability, including, but not
limited to, new generation, high-efficiency disc
skimmers, including high-efficiency skimming NOFI
Current Busters, or their equivalent, and Elastec
grooved disc skimmers, or their equivalent.
(D) Consideration of whether a purpose-built,
prepositioned prevention and response tug with
appropriate size, bollard pull, horsepower, propulsion,
seakeeping, and maneuverability to meet Det Norske
Veritas criteria for emergency towing would lead to
increased capability to provide best achievable
protection.
4)Requires, in conducting the assessment, the Administrator to
consult the peer-reviewed research performed by the Prince
William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council as well as
estimated system recovery potential research done at Genwest
Systems, Inc., and Spiltec.
5)Requires, no later than July 1, 2017, the Administrator to
establish standards, based on the report required in the bill,
for best achievable technologies for oil spill prevention and
response.
6)Prohibits chemical oil spill clean-up agents (chemical
dispersants) from being used in response to an oil spill
within the waters of the state.
7)Specifies, for spills greater than 500 gallons, the penalty
can only be reduced for every gallon of released oil that is
recovered and properly disposed of in accordance with
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applicable law within two weeks of the start of the spill and
requires any increase in the amount of a penalty assessed for
an inland spill be deposited in the Environmental Enhancement
Fund.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the Administrator of the Office of Spill Prevention
and Response (OSPR), acting at the direction of the Governor,
to implement activities relating to oil spill response,
including emergency drills and preparedness, and oil spill
containment and clean-up.
2)Authorizes the Administrator to use volunteer workers in
response, containment, restoration, wildlife rehabilitation,
and clean-up efforts for oil spills in waters of the state.
3)Requires the Administrator to evaluate the feasibility of
using commercial fishermen and other mariners for oil spill
containment and clean-up. Requires the study to examine the
following:
a) Equipment and technology needs;
b) Coordination with private response personnel;
c) Liability and insurance; and
d) Compensation.
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4)Requires the Administrator to study the use and effects of
dispersants, incineration, bioremediation, and any other
methods used to respond to a spill. Requires the study to be
updated periodically to ensure the best achievable protection.
5)Requires the Administrator to periodically evaluate the
feasibility of requiring new technologies to aid prevention,
response, containment, clean-up, and wildlife rehabilitation.
6)Requires operators of specified vessels and facilities to
submit to the Administrator an oil spill contingency plan.
Requires the Administrator to determine whether the plan meets
applicable requirements.
7)Requires the Administrator, taking into consideration the
facility or vessel contingency plan requirements of the State
Lands Commission, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the
California Coastal Commission, and other state and federal
agencies, to adopt regulations governing the adequacy of oil
spill contingency plans. Requires regulations to be developed
in consultation with the Oil Spill Technical Advisory
Committee, and not in conflict with the National Contingency
Plan. Requires regulations to provide for the best achievable
protection of waters and natural resources of the state
including standards set for response, containment, and
clean-up equipment and that operations are maintained and
regularly improved to protect the resources of the state.
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8)Requires the responsible party to be strictly liable for
penalties for the spill on a per-gallon released basis.
Authorizes the amount of penalty to be reduced by the amount
of released oil that is recovered and properly disposed of.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
Purpose of the Bill : According to the author, in 1969, the
then-largest known oil spill blackened the pristine Santa
Barbara coastline. That spill spawned Earth Day, giving birth
to the environmental movement.
On May 19 of this year tragedy struck again when an onshore
pipeline carrying crude oil ruptured and spilled over 100,000
gallons of oil, over 20,000 gallons of which ended up in the
ocean off the Santa Barbara Coastline. To date this spill has
caused significant negative impacts to the ocean, local beaches,
wildlife, and the local economy. Although the investigation
into the response and the oil spill-dubbed the Refugio Oil
Spill-is ongoing, several deficiencies in our ability to
immediately respond to these disasters and act quickly to
protect our environment have been highlighted. SB 414 addresses
these deficiencies.
Refugio Oil Spill : On May 19, 2015, a pipeline owned by
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Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline ruptured, spilling up
to 101,000 gallons of heavy crude oil along the Gaviota coast in
Santa Barbara County. It is estimated that as much as 21,000
gallons of the oil went down a storm culvert onto cliffs and
into the Pacific Ocean. The immediate oil spill area stretched
over nine miles of California coastline, and tar balls have
washed up as far as one hundred miles from the spill site. The
pipeline that ruptured, known as Line 901, is a common carrier
pipeline that transports oil that was produced on platforms
offshore in both state and federal waters to be refined in Santa
Maria or Kern County.
On May 20, 2015, Governor Brown issued an emergency proclamation
for Santa Barbara County due to the effects of the oil spill.
Refugio State Beach and El Capitan State Beach have been closed
for over a month because of the oil spill. Fisheries from Canada
de Alegria to Coal Oil Point remain closed, which has negatively
impacted several commercial fisheries - including lobster, crab,
shrimp, halibut, urchin, squid, whelk, and sea cucumber. The
Oiled Wildlife Care Network has recovered 192 dead birds and 106
dead marine mammals from the spill to date. Dead marine mammals
recovered included dolphins, sea lions and seals. Sensitive
habitat of the California Least Tern and the Snowy Plover, birds
protected by the Endangered Species Act, has been damaged.
Hotels, tour outfits and other tourism businesses have
experienced cancelations and decreased bookings due to the
spill. More than 1,000 workers from local, state and federal
agencies have been working to clean up the beaches. Since May
20, approximately 132 volunteers have participated in clean-up
efforts. 14,267 gallons of oily water have been recovered to
date.
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Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act
(Act) : On March 24, 1989 the Exxon Valdez spilled approximately
11 million gallons of crude oil in Alaska. Less than a year
later on February 7, 1990 the American Trader spilled
approximately 416,598 gallons of crude oil off Huntington Beach
in Southern California. These events inspired the California
Legislature to enact legislation in 1990 called the
Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act.
The Act covers all aspects of marine oil spill prevention and
response in California. It established an Administrator who is
given very broad powers to implement the provisions of the Act.
The Act also gave the State Lands Commission certain authority
over marine terminals. In 1991 the Office of Spill Prevention
and Response (OSPR) opened, headed by the Administrator.
The Act created an Administrator who is appointed by the
Governor, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, and
serves at the pleasure of the Governor. Subject to the
Governor, the Administrator has the primary authority in
California to direct prevention, removal, abatement, response,
containment, and cleanup efforts with regard to all aspects of
any oil spill in marine waters of the state. The Governor,
through the Administrator, must provide the best achievable
protection of the coast and marine waters.
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The Administrator is also a Chief Deputy Director of the
California Department of Fish & Wildlife, and as such the
Administrator has been delegated the additional responsibilities
of carrying out the statewide water pollution enforcement
authority of the Department of Fish & Wildlife.
In 2014, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. expanded the OSPR program
to cover all statewide surface waters at risk of oil spills from
any source, including pipelines and the increasing shipments of
oil transported by railroads. This expansion provided critical
administrative funding for industry preparedness, spill
response, and continued coordination with local, state and
federal government along with industry and non-governmental
organizations. SB 861(Senate Committee on Budget) authorized
the expansion and provided the additional statutory and
regulatory authority, for the prevention, preparedness and
response activities in the new inland areas of responsibility.
Key objectives are:
Target critical locations to stage spill responders and
equipment for the best response to rail and pipeline
incidents;
Develop effective regulations in close collaboration
with local government, non-governmental organizations, and
industry;
Implement regulations that will guide industry, local
and state government, and the public and build
relationships with local governments through workshops and
presentations;
Create inland response plans that have the depth and
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breadth of the marine Area Contingency Plans; and,
Work with communities to build a strong response spill
team.
OSPR's Role : When a significant spill occurs in California
waters, OSPR utilizes the Incident Command System (ICS), a
standardized structure for managing emergencies in California.
Upon receiving notification of a major spill, OSPR deploys field
response team staff consisting of wardens, environmental
scientists, and oil spill prevention specialists to evaluate the
spill and direct response efforts. In California, the unified
command consists of the U.S. Coast Guard (the lead federal
agency for marine spills) or the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (lead federal agency for inland spills), OSPR and the
responsible party (the spiller). Usually the OSPR warden
assumes the role of state on-scene coordinator in the unified
command. At the discretion of the U.S. Coast Guard or the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's federal on-scene commander,
other entities may be incorporated into the unified command.
Unified Command : When a response involves a multi-agency or
multi-jurisdictional approach, the Incident Command leadership
of the response effort expands into a Unified Command (UC). The
UC is a structure that brings together the Incident Commanders
of the major organizations involved in the incident in order to
coordinate an effective response, while at the same time
allowing each to carry out their own jurisdictional, legal, and
functional responsibilities.
The UC links the organizations responding to the incident and
provides a forum for these entities to make consensual
decisions. Under the UC, the various jurisdictions and/or
agencies and non-government responders should blend together
throughout the Incident Command System to create an integrated
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response team. The UC is responsible for overall management of
the incident and its members work together to develop a common
set of incident objectives and strategies, share information,
maximize the use of available resources, and enhance the
efficiency of the individual response organizations.
Dispersants : Dispersants are chemicals that are sprayed on a
surface oil slick to break down the oil into smaller droplets
that more readily mix with the water. Dispersants do not reduce
the amount of oil entering the environment, but push the effects
of the spill underwater. While dispersants make the oil spill
less visible, dispersants and dispersed oil under the ocean
surface are hazardous for marine life.
Dispersants were being used in the BP oil spill to reduce the
chance that the surface oil slick would reach shoreline habitats
like marshes and mangroves or come into contact with animals at
the surface. However, by mixing the oil below the water
surface, dispersants increase the exposure of a wide array of
marine life in the water and on the ocean floor to the spilled
oil. Dispersants also decrease the ability to skim or absorb oil
from the ocean surface.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, dispersants
and dispersed oil have been shown to have significant negative
impacts on marine life ranging from fish to corals to birds.
Dispersants release toxic break-down products from oil that,
alone or in combination with oil droplets and dispersant
chemicals, can make dispersed oil more harmful to marine life
than untreated oil. Both the short-term and long-term impacts of
dispersants on marine life have not been adequately tested. As
acknowledged by the EPA, the "long term effects [of dispersants]
on aquatic life are unknown."
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A National Academy of Sciences (NAS) review in 2005 concluded
that little to no evidence exists for the claims that
dispersants "reduce the impact of oil on shorelines," or "reduce
the impact to birds and mammals on the water surface." The 2005
NAS study also found that older tests that displayed enhanced
biodegradation of chemical dispersants applied to oil were
flawed due to unrealistic conditions. There are also concerns
that dispersants may include chemicals known as carcinogens and
other toxins that may have significant impacts on marine
ecosystems.
While OSPR does have the authority to use dispersants, no
dispersants were used in the Refugio oil spill response, and has
not allowed dispersants to be used in any oil spill since the
creation of OSPR in 1991. SB 414 prohibits chemical oil spill
clean-up agents from being used in response to an oil spill
within the waters of the state. OSPR and industry have raised
concerns about this provision. They feel it removes a tool from
the toolbox, and there may be an oil spill in the future where
dispersants are an acceptable option.
With the restraint OSPR has demonstrated in regards to
dispersant usage, the committee may wish to consider whether it
is appropriate to remove this oil spill clean-up tool.
Support : According to the coalition of support, SB 414 would
improve oil spill prevention and response by making it more
efficient and environmentally friendly. The Act would require
the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) to
create a voluntary program for local fishermen and women to
utilize their vessels and experience with local waters to be
trained as first responders to oil spills. The Act would
require the purchase and stationing of two best available
technology (BAT) oil skimmers along the Santa Barbara Coastline.
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It would require OSPR to report to the Legislature about best
available technology and equipment based on peer-reviewed
research. The Act would incentivize rapid oil spill cleanup by
allowing certain penalty reductions within the first two weeks
of a spill. Finally, the Act would place a moratorium on the
use of chemical dispersants within all state waters until OSPR
completes its study on BAT for oil spill prevention and response
and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency updates federal
regulations governing testing and efficacy of dispersants. SB
414 will provide better safeguards to our ocean and coastal
environment, and we offer our strong
support.
Opposition : According to Western States Petroleum Association
(WSPA), they oppose the provision in the bill which prohibits
chemical dispersants as an effective oil spill response tool,
without basing the decision on any level of risk analysis.
Ironically, chemical dispersants weren't even used during the
unfortunate pill incident in Santa Barbara yet the bill targets
dispersant use in state waters without any sound scientific
reasoning.
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA) has an opposed
unless amended position based on a number of issues they have
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with provisions in SB 414. A number of these issues can be
addresses through clarifying language. The author has committed
to work with PMSA as the bill moves through the process.
Author amendments : The author will offer amendments in response
to the concerns raised regarding the ban on dispersants:
1. Strike the provision that bans dispersants and limit the
prohibition to "Marine Protected Areas", which are areas
developed or re-designed pursuant to the Marine Life
Protection Act (MLPA) that have been adopted into state
law. According to the sponsor, these areas make up
approximately 15% of California's coastal waters.
2. Require OSPR to update the "California Dispersant Plan",
which has not been done since 2008.
Prior Legislation : SB 861 (Committee on Budget) Chapters 35,
Statutes of 2014. Authorized the expansion and provided the
additional statutory and regulatory authority, for the
prevention, preparedness and response activities in the new
inland areas of responsibility.
SB 2040 (Keene, et.al.) Chapters 1248, Statutes of 1990.
Enacted the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and
Response Act.
Related Legislation : SB 295 (Jackson) of 2015. Increases the
frequency of intrastate pipeline inspections.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Audubon California
Azul
Black Surfers Collective
California Coastal Protection Network
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California Environmental Justice Alliance
California League of Conservation Voters
Center for Biological Diversity
City of Goleta
Clean Water Action
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Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation
Defenders of Wildlife
Environment California
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
Environmental Defense Center
Friends of the Earth
Heal the Bay
Humboldt Baykeeper
National Parks Conservation Association
Natural Resources Defense Council
Ocean Conservancy
Planning & Conservation League
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
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Sierra Club California
Surfrider Foundation
Surfrider Foundation, Santa Barbara Chapter
Surfrider Foundation, South Bay Chapter
Trust for Public Land
Wildlands Conservancy
Opposition
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
Western States Petroleum Association
Analysis Prepared by:Kenton Stanhope / G.O. / (916)
319-2531
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