BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1130|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1130
Author: Laird (D)
Amended: 8/1/07 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 7/10/07
AYES: Simitian, Runner, Aanestad, Florez, Kuehl,
Lowenthal, Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-0, 8/22/07
AYES: Torlakson, Cox, Cedillo, Corbett, Florez, Kuehl,
Oropeza, Runner, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aanestad, Ashburn, Battin, Dutton,
Ridley-Thomas, Simitian, Wyland, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 6/6/07 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Aboveground storage tanks
SOURCE : State Water Resources Control Board
DIGEST : This bill transfers responsibility for the
aboveground storage tank inspection program and fee
collection from the State Water Resources Control Board and
the Regional Water Quality Control Boards to the local
certified Unified Program Agencies.
ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
CONTINUED
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1.Requires the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB)
to adopt an inspection schedule for aboveground storage
tank (AST) facilities and authorizes Regional Water
Quality Control Boards (RWQCB) to conduct inspections.
2.Requires SWRCB and RWQCBs to inspect facilities to ensure
a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure is in
place, tanks are not leaking, and a monitoring program is
undertaken, if necessary.
3.Requires owners and operators of ASTs to file a storage
statement and submit a biennial registration fee.
Requires SWRCB to deposit these fees in the Environmental
Protection Trust Fund and use the money to support an
inspection program.
4.Requires the Secretary for the California Environmental
Protection Agency (CalEPA) to adopt regulations and
implement the Unified Hazardous Waste and Hazardous
Materials Management Regulatory Program. A local city or
county agency that meets specified requirements can be
authorized to assume enforcement duties of the program as
a Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA).
5.Under the CUPA program, authorizes local city and county
agencies to unify the administration and enforcement of
six environmental programs - the hazardous waste,
aboveground and underground storage tank, hazardous
materials inventory, extremely hazardous materials
accidental release, and hazardous materials/fire code
programs.
6.Defines "unified program agency" or "UPA" as the CUPA, or
its participating agencies (PAs), to the extent each PA
has been designated by the CUPA, to enforce the unified
program.
This bill transfers responsibility for the aboveground
storage tank inspection program and fee collection from the
SWRCB and the RWQCBs to the CUPAs, and makes other
conforming changes to the program. This bill authorizes a
portion of the EPTF funds, as determined by the California
Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), to be allocated
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to each CUPAs according to a formula and process determined
by CalEPA in consultation with the CUPAs. Up to 80 percent
of each of the CUPA's allocations could be distributed to
it in advance of actual expenditure for start-up costs
associated with staff training and for the CUPAs to
recommence the inspection program as soon as possible.
This bill provides a "fee holiday" until 2010, at which
time owners and operators of AST will be required to resume
paying the fee. The fees will be established by the CUPAs,
as part of the single fee system, as specified, at a level
sufficient to pay the necessary and reasonable costs
incurred by the CUPAs in administering the AST. The CUPAs
will be required to implement the fee accountability
program, as specified. This bill will give the CUPAs the
discretion to provide a waiver of the fees where a state or
local government agency submits a tank facility statement.
Comments
According to the sponsor, SWRCB, this proposal transferred
the responsibility for the AST Inspection Program to local
environmental health and fire departments sanctioned under
law as CUPAs. The AST Inspection Program has remained
dormant since 2002 when the Budget Act eliminated funding
from SWRCB's budget during fiscal year 2002-03 as a cost
saving measure, which halted all inspection activities.
According to SWRCB, it was anticipated that changes to
existing statutes would occur and AST facility inspections
would become a local responsibility under the CUPA
umbrella. To date, however, there have been no changes to
existing law, so responsibility remains with SWRCB. Thus,
no ASTs are being inspected which increases the threat that
ASTs will leak and threaten water quality. This bill
transfers responsibility of the inspection program and fee
collection to the CUPAs and reactivates the AST compliance
program. SB 77 (Ducheny), authorized the use of all of the
monies in the EPTF ($7.5 million) for the authorized
purposes of those monies, but the CUPAs would administer
the program, not SWRCB.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
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According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2007-08 2008-09
2009-10 Fund
Fund distribution minor and
absorbableSpecial*
Local mandate not reimbursable
* Environmental Protection Trust Fund -- revenues
from fees and penalties
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/27/07)
State Water Resources Control Board (source)
California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators
Contra Costa Health Services
Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Association of
Environmental Health Administrators (CAEHA) states that
this transfer is critical and long overdue, CAEHA states
that the funding authority and staff positions for the
SWRCB and RWQCBs were eliminated from the state budget due
to the state's fiscal crisis. It was the Legislature's
intent at the time that the program be transferred to the
local CUPAs, in order to continue regular inspections of
ASTs. Because the transfer has not occurred, no tank
inspections have been conducted in almost five years.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Aghazarian, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Benoit, Berg, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Brownley, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre,
De Leon, DeSaulnier, DeVore, Duvall, Dymally, Emmerson,
Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fuentes, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garcia, Garrick, Hancock, Hayashi, Hernandez, Horton,
Houston, Huff, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Karnette, Keene,
Krekorian, La Malfa, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu,
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Ma, Maze, Mendoza, Mullin, Nakanishi, Nava, Niello,
Parra, Plescia, Portantino, Price, Richardson, Sharon
Runner, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Solorio,
Spitzer, Strickland, Swanson, Torrico, Tran, Villines,
Walters, Wolk, Nunez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Soto
TSM:do 8/29/07 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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