BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 900
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
900 (Jackson)
As Amended August 17, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 32-5
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+-------------------|
|Natural |9-0 |Williams, Jones, | |
|Resources | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Gomez, Hadley, Harper, | |
| | |McCarty, Mark Stone, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+-------------------|
|Appropriations |15-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, | |
| | |Chang, Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Jones, | |
| | |Obernolte, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Weber, Wood, | |
| | |McCarty | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SB 900
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SUMMARY: Requires, upon appropriation of funding by the
Legislature, that the State Lands Commission (SLC) administer a
coastal hazard removal and remediation program (program).
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires SLC, within two years of an appropriation of funds,
to administer the program to do the following:
a) Complete an in-depth inventory of legacy oil and gas
wells and other coastal hazards along the California
coastline and determine high-priority hazards and legacy
oil and gas wells to remediate;
b) Survey, study, and monitor oil seepage in state waters
and tidelands under its jurisdiction to determine oil
seepage locations, rates, and environmental impacts; and,
c) Begin the process of remediating improperly abandoned
legacy oil and gas wells that have a high risk of leaking
oil and, with any remaining funds, remove other identified
coastal hazards.
2)In cooperation with the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal
Resources (DOGGR), authorizes SLC seek to abandon (properly
close) legacy oil and gas wells that present a hazard to
public health and safety and the environment.
3)Requires SLC to annually report to the Legislature the
activities and accomplishments of the program.
SB 900
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4)Appropriates specified funds to SLC for the implementation of
the program and authorizes SLC to seek and accept gifts,
bequests, devises, or donations to fund the program.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill transfers $500,000 from the General Fund to
the Land Bank Fund (LBF) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017-18 and up to
$2 million per year thereafter to ensure the unencumbered funds
in the LBF are available to the SLC for program implementation.
One-time SLC cost of approximately $100,000 to complete the
in-depth inventory of legacy wells (LBF). Annual SLC costs of
approximately $50,000 to survey and monitor oil seepage and
annual SLC costs of approximately $200,000 to remove coastal
hazards (LBF). Unknown costs to plug and abandon legacy wells,
potentially in the $1 million per well range if the well is in
the tidal zone (LBF). This includes CEQA compliance (which can
be hundreds of thousands of dollars). DOGGR costs are
absorbable.
COMMENTS: SLC is an independent commission comprised of the
Lieutenant Governor, the State Controller, and the Director of
Finance. Established in 1938, SLC manages the state's four
million acres of tidelands and submerged lands and the beds of
navigable rivers, streams, lakes, bays, estuaries, inlets, and
straits. In the marine context, SLC has broad authority over
sovereign lands, 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.
Weather systems and extreme storms can cause dangerous coastal
hazards to surface on shorelines. When funding is available,
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SLC removes coastal hazards. Coastal hazards can include
remnants of coastal structures, piers, oil wells, pilings,
deteriorated electric cables, and old pipes. Many coastal
hazards are located on public trust lands set aside for
commerce, navigation, fishing, and recreation, and can impede
coastal use and threaten public health and safety.
The Summerland Oil Field in Santa Barbara County was the world's
first offshore oil drilling operation and predates any
regulatory framework. While the visual infrastructure has been
removed, the wells were not properly capped and continue to leak
oil into the ocean and Santa Barbara's beaches.
SLC has developed a limited coastal hazard removal program that
has operated when funding has been available. The program was
initiated when an inventory performed in the mid-1980s found
over 400 coastal hazards in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and
Ventura Counties. While some hazards were traced to responsible
parties, most were not and consequently became the
responsibility of the state. SLC has completed eight hazard
removal projects since 2001. In August, 2015, SLC directed
staff to conduct an initial assessment of the Becker Onshore
Well (in the Summerland Oil Field).
SLC also inventories and remediates abandoned mine hazards on
state school lands, in consultation with the Department of Fish
and Wildlife and the State Office of Historic Preservation.
Analysis Prepared by:
Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0004295
SB 900
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