BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 900|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 900
Author: Jackson (D), et al.
Amended: 5/31/16
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 8-1, 3/29/16
AYES: Pavley, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson, Monning,
Vidak, Wolk
NOES: Stone
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
SUBJECT: State lands: coastal hazard removal and remediation
program
SOURCE: California State Controller Betty Yee
DIGEST: This bill requires, upon appropriation of funding by
the Legislature, that the State Lands Commission (SLC)
administer a coastal hazard removal and remediation program.
ANALYSIS: Existing law establishes the SLC pursuant to Public
Resources Code Section 6101 et seq., as an independent
commission comprised of the Lieutenant Governor, the State
Controller, and the Director of Finance. Established in 1938,
the SLC manages the state's 4 million acres of tidelands and
submerged lands and the beds of navigable rivers, streams,
lakes, bays, estuaries, inlets, and straits. In the marine
context, the SLC has broad authority over sovereign lands
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including rivers and sloughs, lakes, tidelands, and submerged
lands. It also manages energy and mineral resource development
through leases, has an oil spill prevention program at marine
oil terminals and offshore platforms, and has an invasive
species prevention program from large ocean-going vessels.
This bill:
1)Contains findings and declarations intended to demonstrate the
historic and present concerns with remnants of abandoned
structures along the coast including oil and gas wells, piers,
pilings, jetties, and seawalls. Early oil and gas wells that
were abandoned decades ago prior to the development of modern
standards may still be seeping oil into the surf zone that
adversely affects human recreation and other environmental
issues. The findings also note the absence of a statewide
inventory of coastal hazards, and the lack of funding not only
for the inventory, but also for assessments for removing the
hazards, as well as implementation of actual removal projects.
2)Requires, upon appropriation of funding by the Legislature,
that the SLC administer a coastal hazard removal and
remediation program that does all of the following:
a) Complete an inventory of the legacy oil and gas wells
and other coastal hazards along the coast including field
studies and determining high priority hazards and legacy
oil and gas wells to remediate.
b) Survey, study, and monitor oil seepage in state waters
and request studies to determine and address oil seepage
locations, rates, environmental impacts, and possible
mitigation measures.
c) Begin the process of remediating legacy oil and gas
wells that have high risk of leaking and with any remaining
fund to remove other identified coastal hazards.
3)Authorizes the SLC to seek to abandon, in cooperation with the
Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources, legacy oil and
gas wells that present a hazard to public health and safety
and the environment. Legacy oil and gas wells are defined as
those with little or no information on how the well was
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originally abandoned, and where there is no viable company
with the responsibility to undertake abandonment procedures
that complies with modern standards.
4)Defines "coastal hazards" to include piers, jetties, groins,
seawalls, and facilities associated with oil extraction or
other commercial operations that may include wood or steel
piles, sheet metal pilings, H piles and H beams, well casings,
well caissons, railroad irons, cables, angle bars, pipes,
pipelines, rip rap, and wood beams and structures.
5)Provides that the SLC may seek private or philanthropic
funding to assist with its coastal hazard removal and
remediation program.
6)Proposes funding pursuant to Section 6217 of the Public
Resources Code (tidelands oil revenues) which generally
provides that funds paid to the SLC shall be deposited in the
General Fund. For fiscal year 2017-18, the sum of $2 million
would be transferred to the Land Bank Fund for the purpose of
implementing the SLC coastal hazard removal and remediation
program.
7)Requires, in subsequent fiscal years, an amount sufficient to
bring the unencumbered balance to $2 million.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, $2 million per
year transferred from the General Fund to the Land Bank Fund
(LBF) in FY 2017-18, and up to $2 million per year transferred
thereafter to ensure that the unencumbered funds in the LBF
available for implementation equal $2 million. According to the
SLC, one-time cost of $100,000 to complete the in-depth
inventory of legacy wells; annual costs of approximately $50,000
to survey and monitor oil seepage; annual costs of approximately
$200,000 to remove coastal hazards; cost pressures up to $390
million to plug and abandon legacy wells; minor and absorbable
costs to the SLC to report activities and accomplishments to the
Legislature; and minor and absorbable costs to the Division of
Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources for permitting and
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consultation activities related to plugging and abandoning
wells.
SUPPORT: (Verified5/27/16)
California State Controller Betty Yee (source)
County of Santa Barbara
Environmental Defense Center
Heal the Ocean
Get Oil Out
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
State Lands Commission
Sierra Club California
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/27/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: California State Controller Betty Yee
is the sponsor of this bill. Along with the other supporters,
she is quite concerned by the fact that the SLC estimates that
there are approximately 200 "legacy" oil wells in California,
the majority of which are in Santa Barbara County near
Summerland and Ellwood beaches and along the Central Coast.
The SLC, Controller Yee, and many of the other supporters are
also actively in support of the in-depth study of coastal
hazards, the removal of other coastal hazards unrelated to oil
and gas production, and the monitoring of "natural seepage."
The SLC pointed out that drilling activity on tidelands occurred
before the process was regulated and that there was little if
any oversight of abandoned activities. Also, early coastal
protective structures, such as seawalls and groins, have
deteriorated and are now public safety hazards. In both cases,
because there are no identifiable responsible parties, the State
of California is responsible for removing and remediating these
hazards.
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The SLC argues that it has a good track record of removing and
remediating coastal hazards when funding is provided.
Sierra Club California states that while the visual
infrastructure of old oil operations has been removed, many of
these wells were not properly capped, causing fresh oil to foul
the ocean and beaches on a regular basis. Additionally, it notes
that the Refugio oil spill in 2015 highlighted the state's lack
of reliable data on the amount of natural oil seepage in state
waters which underscores the importance of the study and
monitoring provision regarding natural seepage that is in this
bill.
Prepared by:William Craven / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
5/31/16 21:58:34
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