BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 414  


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          Date of Hearing:  August 26, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          SB 414  
          (Jackson) - As Amended August 19, 2015


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill makes various changes to the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand  
          Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act (Act) relating to oil  
          spill response. Specifically, this bill:









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             1)   Requires the Administrator for Oil Spill Response, in  
               cooperation with the Coast Guard, to establish a schedule  
               of drills and exercises required by Federal law.  


             2)   Requires the Administrator to develop and implement  
               regulations and guidelines to require operators to allow  
               rapid response to an oil spill by vessels of opportunity,  
               including contracted fishing vessels and fishing crews.   
               Requires vessels of opportunity to participate in regularly  
               scheduled emergency drills and training in areas as  
               specified. 


             3)   Requires the Administrator, when studying the effects of  
               dispersants, incineration, bioremediation and any other  
               response methods, to consult the peer-reviewed published  
               scientific literature.  Requires the Administrator to  
               update the California Dispersant Plan by January 1, 2017,  
               and periodically update the study and plan as specified.


             4)   Requires the Administrator to submit a report to the  
               Legislature by July 1, 2016, assessing the best achievable  
               technology for oil spill prevention and response equipment  
               as specified.  Requires the Administrator to update  
               regulations based on the report to enhance prevention  
               response, containment, cleanup, and wildlife  
               rehabilitation.


             5)   Requires the Administrator to provide written  
               justification and a follow-up report to the Legislature if  
               dispersants are used in response to an oil spill as  
               specified.


             6)   Specifies, for spills greater than 500 gallons, the  








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               penalty can only be reduced for every gallon of released  
               oil that is recovered and properly disposed of in  
               accordance with 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.


             7)   Requires the administrator to adopt regulations  
               governing the method for determining the amount of oil that  
               is clean-up.


          





          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Increased one-time and ongoing costs in the range of several  
          million dollars (GF and/or special fund) for the Department of  
          Fish and Wildlife to implement the requirements of the bill.


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose.  The purpose of this bill is to improve oil spill  
            prevention and response.


          2)Background.  The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention  
            and Response Act (Act) requires the Governor to establish a  
            state oil spill contingency plan and establishes oil spill  
            prevention, response, containment, and cleanup programs.  
            








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            Under the Act, the Oil Spill Administrator promulgates  
            regulations that provide for the best achievable protection of  
            waters and natural resources of the state. 

          3)Refugio Oil Spill.  On May 19, 2015, a pipeline owned by  
            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.


          Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081