Amended in Senate April 28, 2016

Amended in Senate March 31, 2016

Senate Bill No. 1083

Introduced by Senator Allen

(Coauthor: Senator Jackson)

February 17, 2016

An act to amend Section 8574.7 of the Government Code, relating to oil spills.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1083, as amended, Allen. California oil spill contingency plan.

The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act generally requires the administrator for oil spill response, 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 cleanup, and to represent the state in any coordinated response efforts with the federal government. Existing law directs the Governor to require the administrator to amend, not in conflict with the National Contingency Plan, the California oil spill contingency plan to provide for the best achievable protection of waters of the state and to include specified elements.

This bill would require a communications element, as specified, to be developed by the administrator and included in the California oil spill contingency plan.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 8574.7 of the Government Code is
amended to read:

8574.7.  

The Governor shall require the administrator, not in
conflict with the National Contingency Plan, to amend the
California oil spill contingency plan to provide for the best
achievable protection of waters of the state. “Administrator” for
purposes of this section means the administrator appointed by the
Governor pursuant to Section 8670.4. The plan shall consist of all
of the following elements:

(a) A state response element that specifies the hierarchy for state
and local agency response to an oil spill. The element shall define
the necessary tasks for the oversight and control of cleanup and
removal activities associated with an oil spill and shall specify
each agency’s particular responsibility in carrying out these tasks.
The element shall also include an organizational chart of the state
oil spill response organization and a definition of the resources,
capabilities, and response assignments of each agency involved
in cleanup and removal actions in an oil spill.

(b) A regional and local planning element that shall provide the
framework for the involvement of regional and local agencies in
the state effort to respond to an oil spill and shall ensure the
effective and efficient use of regional and local resources, as
appropriate, in all of the following:

(1) Traffic and crowd control.

(2) Firefighting.

(3) Boating traffic control.

(4) Radio and communications control and the provision of
access to equipment.

(5) Identification and use of available local and regional
equipment or other resources suitable for use in cleanup and
removal actions.

(6) Identification of private and volunteer resources or personnel
with special or unique capabilities relating to oil spill cleanup and
removal actions.

(7) Provision of medical emergency services.

(8) Consideration of the identification and use of private working
craft and mariners, including commercial fishing vessels and
licensed commercial fishing men and women, in containment,
cleanup, and removal actions.

(c) A coastal protection element that establishes the state
standards for coastline protection. The administrator, in
consultation with the Coast Guard and Navy and the shipping
industry, shall develop criteria for coastline protection. If
appropriate, the administrator shall consult with representatives
from the States of Alaska, Washington, and Oregon; the Province
of British Columbia in Canada; and the Republic of Mexico. The
criteria shall designate at least all of the following:

(1) Appropriate shipping lanes and navigational aids for tankers,
barges, and other commercial vessels to reduce the likelihood of
collisions between tankers, barges, and other commercial vessels.
Designated shipping lanes shall be located off the coastline at a
distance sufficient to significantly reduce the likelihood that
disabled vessels will run aground along the coast of the state.

(2) Ship position reporting and communications requirements.

(3) Required predeployment of protective equipment for
sensitive environmental areas along the coastline.

(4) Required emergency response vessels that are capable of
preventing disabled tankers from running aground.

(5) Required emergency response vessels that are capable of
commencing oil cleanup operations before spilled oil can reach
the shoreline.

(6) An expedited decisionmaking process for dispersant use in
coastal waters. Prior to adoption of the process, the administrator
shall ensure that a comprehensive testing program is carried out
for any dispersant proposed for use in California marine waters.
The testing program shall evaluate the toxicity and effectiveness
of the dispersants.

(7) Required rehabilitation facilities for wildlife injured by
spilled oil.

(8) An assessment of how activities that usually require a permit
from a state or local agency may be expedited or issued by the
administrator in the event of an oil spill.

(d) An environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas element
that shall provide the framework for prioritizing and ensuring the
protection of environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas.
The environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas element shall
be developed by the administrator, in conjunction with appropriate
local agencies, and shall include all of the following:

(1) Identification and prioritization of environmentally and
ecologically sensitive areas in state waters and along the coast.
The identification and prioritization of environmentally and
ecologically sensitive areas shall not prevent or excuse the use of
all reasonably available containment and cleanup resources from
being used to protect every environmentally and ecologically
sensitive area possible. Environmentally and ecologically sensitive
areas shall be prioritized through the evaluation of criteria,
including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Risk of contamination by oil after a spill.

(B) Environmental, ecological, recreational, and economic
importance.

(C) Risk of public exposure should the area be contaminated.

(2) Regional maps depicting environmentally and ecologically
sensitive areas in state waters or along the coast that shall be
distributed to facilities and local and state agencies. The maps shall
designate those areas that have a particularly high priority for
protection against oil spills.

(3) A plan for protection actions required to be taken in the
event of an oil spill for each of the environmentally and
ecologically sensitive areas and protection priorities for the first
24 to 48 hours after an oil spill shall be specified.

(4) The location of available response equipment and the
availability of trained personnel to deploy the equipment to protect
the priority environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas.

(5) A program for systemically testing and revising, if necessary,
protection strategies for each of the priority environmentally and
ecologically sensitive areas.

(6) Any recommendations for action that cannot be financed or
implemented pursuant to existing authority of the administrator.
Those recommendations shall also be reported to the Legislature
along with recommendations for financing those actions.

(e) A reporting element that requires the reporting of spills of
any amount of oil in or on state waters.

(f) (1) A communications element that shall provide the
framework for efficient and timely communications within the
unified command; between local, state, and federal agencies; and
with the public. This element shall be developed by the
administrator, with the administrator requesting input from local
agencies, and shall include all of the following:

(A) A process for developing and maintaining a database of
local public information officers in each coastal county.

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(B) A process to ensure timely and accurate information is
provided to the news media and social media consistent with both
of the following:

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(i) The administrator, for incidents where the administrator has
the authority to do so, may appoint a lead public information officer
or joint information center manager, who shall be state personnel.

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(ii) The administrator, for incidents where the administrator has
the authority to do so, shall retain final approval authority for news
releases or other material created on behalf of the unified command
for the purpose of communicating with the public.

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(C)

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begin insert (B) end insert  A mechanism to ensure critical information from local
agencies or local nongovernmental organizations can be shared
with relevant members of the unified command.

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(D)

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begin insert (C) end insert  A process for early community outreach in affected areas
that ensures the public has up-to-date and timely information on
the oil spill, including a protocol for informing each community,
city, county, and city and county of the name of the responsible
party and of the right of affected parties to file claims against the
responsible party.

(2) The administrator shall incorporate this element within the
California oil spill contingency planning framework established
by federal and state law and regulation, to the extent feasible.