BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 718
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|Author: |Leno |
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|Version: |4/7/2015 |Hearing |4/29/2015 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Rachel Machi Wagoner |
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SUBJECT: Hazardous Materials Response and Restoration
Subaccount
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1. Under the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and
Response Act (Act) (SB 2040), Chapter 1248, Statutes of 1990,
the Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) in the
Department of Fish and Wildlife (department) was created.
OSPR's mission is to provide the best achievable protection
of California's natural resources and the public health and
safety by preventing, preparing for, and responding to spills
of oil and other related deleterious materials; and to
restore and enhance affected resources.
2. The act establishes the Oil Spill Prevention and
Administration Fund (OSPAF) which finances oil spill
prevention and planning programs and the Oil Spill Response
Trust Fund (OSRTF) which is used to provide the cash flow for
the response to and clean-up of California's oil spills and
for certain wildlife care and spill-related damages.
3. OSRTF is funded by a $0.25 per barrel fee. This fee is
assessed on distributors, pipeline operators, refiners, and
marine terminal operators until the fund balance reaches its
statutory target of $54.8 million. Fee collection resumes
only when the fund contains less than 95% of this designated
funding level. This automatic replenishment is designed to
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prevent any oil spill response from being limited by
available funds.
4. The Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) rescues and
rehabilitates wildlife affected by coastal oil spills and has
more than 30 member organizations and affiliated agencies.
It maintains more than 12 specialized facilities in a
constant state of readiness, and has saved more than 14,000
oiled birds and mammals affected by more than 80 oil spills
since 1995. It was formed pursuant to the act in
collaboration with the department in order to provide the
most proactive response in the world to oiled wildlife. OWCN
response to an oil spill is funded through the OSRTF.
This bill:
Allows the OSPR administrator to borrow up to $500,000 annually
from the OSTRF and move it to the Hazardous Materials Response
and Restoration Subaccount in order to reimburse wildlife rescue
and rehabilitation organizations for their response to spills of
non-petroleum materials that harm wildlife, as specified. The
loan would be repaid with interest no later than 10 years after
it is issued either from funds recovered from the responsible
party or from the general fund. The administrator would be
required to notify the Legislature of the loan.
Background
1. Mystery Contamination in the San Francisco Bay.
In mid-January 2015, a spill of a sticky "mystery goo" in San
Francisco Bay coated more than 600 waterfowl and killed over
half of them. OSPR responded to the spill. However, when it
was determined that the mystery goo was not petroleum-based,
the funding for the department's response was shifted away
from OSPR moneys. Additionally, OSPR funds were not
available through the OWCN to support wildlife rescue and
rehabilitation.
According to news reports, a local wildlife rescue and
rehabilitation organization, the International Bird Rescue,
has spent over $150,000 to respond to the spill. This
organization has released over 100 waterfowl back to the wild
following rescue and rehabilitation.
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Efforts continue to identify the mystery goo and determine
the identity of the responsible party. According to news
reports several laboratories are involved in the effort to
determine the chemical composition of the goo.
Comments
1. Purpose of Bill.
The author states that "while California has a robust oil
spill response system, non-petroleum-based substances are not
covered by existing oil spill response laws, and without a
party to hold responsible, local non-profit organizations
have had to spend scarce resources (up to $300,000 by some
estimates) on wildlife cleanup and rehabilitation without
state assistance. Had the substance been found to be
petroleum-based, OSRTF resources would have been available
for cleanup purposes, at minimal cost to the state.
"SB 718 addresses the gap that currently exists in the
authority and funding mechanisms necessary to respond to
spill events where the material spilled has yet to be
identified or is found to be non-petroleum based, and where
no responsible party has been determined. In these rare
instances, OSPR needs clear authority to respond and borrow
the necessary funding for wildlife care until such time as a
responsible party is found and required to reimburse the
state with interest.
"This bill requires notification to the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee (JLBC) if such borrowing occurs in order to
ensure Legislative oversight. The responsible party for the
spill, once identified, is required to repay any loan made
pursuant to this bill with interest, and all loans must be
repaid within ten years.
"This bill is a modest, but needed measure that will fill a
gap in existing spill response laws without creating a new
fee, and will help protect California's treasured wildlife."
2. Exposed Vulnerability of the State.
In 2014, in the wake of several major rail accidents across
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the United States and Canada related to the influx of crude
oil transport by rail, the Senate conducted an oversight
hearing to discuss the state's preparedness for an incident
should it occur in California. That hearing highlighted the
need to bolster our emergency response and cleanup resources.
The 2014-15 Budget Act augmented OSPR with additional
resources and funding to better address oil incidents.
Additional funds and resources were also made available for
equipment for emergency responders.
However, the hearing also highlighted that in addition to the
influx of crude oil coming into the state by rail, there is
also greater quantities of other hazardous substances being
transported by train into and across the state. These
substances also pose a threat to the waters of California,
however, would not be addressed by the OSPR Budget
augmentations mentioned above.
The non-petroleum incident in the San Francisco Bay further
highlights the inconsistent governmental and funding
resources given to petroleum-based incidents versus some
other contamination into water.
While it is not specifically related to this legislation, the
Senate may wish to further explore the programmatic
augmentations that may be needed to be better prepared for
any incident - petroleum or otherwise.
SOURCE:
Audubon California (co-sponsor)
San Francisco Baykeeper (co-sponsor)
SUPPORT:
Buena Vista Audubon Society
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California Environmental Health Initiative
Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge
Clean Water Action
Defenders of Wildlife
Ducks Unlimited
Environment California
Five Creeks
Golden Gate Audubon Society
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International Bird Rescue
Madrone Audubon Society
Ohlone Audubon Society
San Francisco Bay Joint Venture
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society
Save the Bay
Sierra Club California
The Fund for Animals Wildlife Center
The Humane Society of the United States
The Nature Conservancy
West Marin Environmental Action Committee
Wildcare
OPPOSITION:
None on file
ARGUMENTS IN
SUPPORT:
According to Audubon California, "It is essential that the
[department] and OSPR have the necessary tools and funding to
adequately respond to wildlife emergencies during all
significant spills, including those that are not
petroleum-based."
They continue, "SB 718 will allow OSPR to protect wildlife that
come into harm by way of non-petroleum based substances, like
the mysterious grey goo that was spilled in San Francisco Bay.
The bill would close the hole in California law that hinders
wildlife response during non-petroleum based spills."
The author notes that "without a party to hold responsible,
non-profit organizations have had to spend scarce resources (up
to $300,000 by some estimates) on wildlife cleanup and
rehabilitation without state assistance." Senator Leno adds,
"had the substance been found to be petroleum-based OSRTF
resources would have been available for cleanup purposes."
DOUBLE REFERRAL:
This measure was heard in Senate Natural Resources and Water
Committee on April 14, 2015, and passed out of committee with a
vote of 6-2.
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