BILL NUMBER: AB 234 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 16, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 9, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 1, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE DECEMBER 16, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 16, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 9, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 18, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 6, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Huffman
FEBRUARY 5, 2009
An act to add Section 8670.17.3 to the Government Code, relating
to oil spills.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 234, as amended, Huffman. Oil spill prevention and response:
transfer of oil.
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 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 requires the administrator to adopt and implement regulations
regarding the equipment, personnel, and operation of vessels to and
from marine terminals that are used to transfer oil.
This bill would require a transfer unit, as defined, or an oil
transfer operation, as defined, to provide at the point of transfer
of oil appropriate equipment and supplies for the containment and
removal of oil spills in water adjacent to a transfer site. The
bill would specify requirements to preboom an oil transfer
and alternative measures, if it is determined not to be safe or
effective to preboom. The bill would also require the transfer
unit or oil transfer operation to have, among other things, equipment
compatible with a vessel traffic advisory control system and a high
level alarm and tank overflow overfill
alarm to alert crew.
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 8670.17.3 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
8670.17.3. (a) For purposes of this section, the following
definitions apply:
(1) "#1 and #2 grade oils" have the same meaning as defined in
Section 841(a) of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(2) "Boom" has the same meaning as defined in Section 841(b) of
Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(2) "Boom" means flotation boom or other effective barrier
containment material suitable for containment of oil that is
discharged onto the surface of water.
(3) "Marine terminal" means a facility, including a mobile
transfer unit, other than a vessel, located on or adjacent to marine
waters in California, used for transferring oil to or from a tank
vessel or barge. The term includes all parts of the facility,
including, but not limited to, structures, equipment, and
appurtenances thereto used or capable of being used to transfer oil
to or from a tank vessel or barge. A marine terminal includes all
piping not integrally connected to a tank facility.
(4) "Oil transfer operation" means any of the following:
(A) An oil transfer, other than an internal vessel transfer,
regardless of the quantity of oil being transferred, conducted within
California marine waters, or a shore-based transfer where a spill
could impact California marine waters.
(B) A drydock-associated oil transfer including, but not limited
to, an oil transfer to or from a tank vessel or nontank vessel in
drydock.
(C) An oil transfer to or from a portable or fixed tank within a
drydock.
(D) An oil transfer to or from a drydock.
(E) A vessel engaged in an oil transfer operation.
(5) "Tank facility" means any one or combination of aboveground
storage tanks, including piping that is integral to the tank, that
contains crude oil or its fraction and that is used by a single
business entity at a single location or site. A pipe is integrally
related to an aboveground storage tank if the pipe is connected to
the tank and meets any of the following:
(A) The pipe is within the dike or containment area.
(B) The pipe is connected to the first flange or valve after the
piping exits the containment area.
(C) The pipe is connected to the first flange or valve on the
exterior of the tank, if state or federal law does not require a
containment area.
(6) "Transfer unit" means a tank vessel, nontank vessel, or marine
facility from which oil is transferred to another vessel or marine
facility that is not a marine terminal during an oil transfer
operation. "Transfer unit" does not include any of the following:
(A) An oil transfer to or from a marine terminal.
(B) An onshore facility as defined in subdivision (l) of Section
8750 of the Public Resources Code.
(C) A nontank vessel with a carrying capacity of less than 250
barrels.
(D) A public vessel as defined in Section 2701 of Title 33 of the
United States Code.
(E) A small craft refueling dock as defined in subdivision (ab) of
Section 8670.3.
(b) (1) A transfer unit or an oil transfer operation shall provide
at the point of transfer of oil appropriate equipment and supplies
for the containment and removal of spills of both persistent oil and
#1 and #2 grade oils in water adjacent to the transfer site. Prior to
beginning the oil transfer operation, if it is determined to be
safe and effective, the transfer unit or oil transfer
operation shall preboom each oil transfer for the duration of the
entire transfer operation.
(2) In order to preboom transfers, the transfer unit or oil
transfer operation shall have, prior to the transfer, access to a
boom four times the length of the largest vessel involved in the
transfer or 2,000 feet in length, whichever is less.
(3) The transfer unit shall deploy the boom so that it completely
surrounds the vessel and , the point of
transfer, and the facility or terminal dock area directly
involved in the oil transfer operation, or the transfer unit or oil
transfer operation may preboom the portion of the vessel and transfer
area that will provide for maximum containment of any oil spilled
into the water.
(4) The boom shall be deployed with a minimum stand-off of
five four feet away from the sides of a
vessel measured at the waterline. This stand-off may be modified for
short durations needed to meet the operational needs of a vessel,
facility, or terminal.
(5) The transfer unit or oil transfer operation shall periodically
check the boom positioning and adjust it as necessary throughout the
duration of the transfer, and specifically during tidal changes and
significant wind or wave events , to maintain maximum
containment of any oil spilled into the water .
(6) Within one hour of an oil spill, the transfer unit or oil
transfer operation shall be able to complete deployment of the
remaining boom, should it be necessary for containment, protection,
or recovery purposes.
(c) If it is determined not to be safe or effective to preboom
pursuant to subdivision (b), a transfer unit or oil transfer
operation may use the following alternative measures:
(1) To meet the alternative measures requirements, the deliverer
shall have access to boom two times the length of the largest vessel
involved in the transfer, or 2,000 feet, whichever is less.
(2) The deliverer shall have the ability to safely track the spill
in low visibility conditions. The tracking system shall be onsite
within 30 minutes of being made aware of a spill.
(3) Within 30 minutes of being made aware of a spill, the
deliverer shall be able to deploy boom to enclose the water surface
area adjacent to the receiving unit to provide a common containment
area for either the entire receiving unit and the point of transfer
or those portions of the receiving unit or seawall from which oil may
spill into the water, and where the hull of the transfer unit or
seawall is capable of acting as an effective barrier on the side of
the receiving unit.
(4) Within one hour of being made aware of a spill, the deliverer
shall have both of the following:
(A) Additional boom two times the length of the largest vessel
involved in the transfer, or 2,000 feet, whichever is less, available
for containment, protection, or recovery.
(B) A skimming system onsite. The skimming system shall be in
standby status and be capable of 50 barrels of recovery and 100
barrels of storage.
(d) By July 1, 2011, a transfer unit or transfer operation shall
develop and submit for approval to the Office of Oil Spill Prevention
and Response a safe and effective threshold determination report
that describes the environmental factors that will be used to
determine thresholds for when it is safe and effective to preboom at
each location at which it conducts oil transfers. These threshold
values shall be used by a deliverer to determine whether or not it is
safe and effective to preboom each transfer, on a case-by-case
basis. A transfer unit or transfer operation shall submit a report
for review and approval for each location at which an oil transfer
operation is conducted. The report shall include all of the following
information:
(1) Name of company submitting the report and point of contact.
(2) Summary of safe and effective threshold values.
(3) The body of the report shall include information used to
support the values which shall be based upon onsite environmental
monitoring data recorded at specific times, dates, and locations. The
values and the supporting data shall address, at a minimum, all of
the following site-specific information:
(A) Personnel safety.
(B) Sea state values in feet, including typical wave periods.
(C) Water current velocity such as peak currents, sustained
currents in hourly increments, and direction of flow, during typical
oil transfer operations.
(D) Wind speed in knots, and prevailing directions.
(E) Other conditions such as vessel traffic, fishing activities,
and other factors that influence oil transfer operations.
(4) A transfer unit or oil transfer operation shall provide a
detailed analysis of the proposed threshold values for a transfer
location including all of the following:
(A) Methodology of the analysis.
(B) Equipment used to measure data collected.
(C) Supporting data, references, graphs, tables, pictures, and
other relevant information.
(e) (1) The Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response shall
develop a process for reviewing and responding to a safe and
effective threshold determination report. That process shall take
into consideration, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A) Personnel safety.
(B) Operating environment of the oil transfer location such as
site-specific meteorological, water current velocity, and other
monitoring data to support the threshold values determination.
(C) Accepted industry standards regarding the performance of boom
and associated response equipment in various operating environments.
(D) Types of oil transfer operations including bunkering, cargo
operations, transfer rates, and other factors that influence oil
transfer operations.
(2) The office shall respond to the filer of the report, within
100 days, with a letter approving, conditionally approving, or
disapproving the report.
(3) The office may require a new review and approval process for
the report after a spill by the facility.
(4) The office shall establish a standardized mechanism for a
transfer unit or oil transfer operation to communicate back to the
office after each operation in the event it uses the alternative
booming measures pursuant to subdivision (c).
(c)
(f) The transfer unit or oil transfer operation shall
have functional equipment that is compatible with any vessel traffic
advisory control system that is established along the California
coast.
(d)
(g) A transfer unit engaged in an oil transfer
operation shall be equipped with a properly functioning high level
alarm and tank overflow overfill alarm
to alert crew pursuant to Section 39.20-7 of Title 46 of the
Code of Federal Regulations . The high level alarm and tank
overflow overfill alarm shall do all of
the following:
(1) Be independent of each other.
(2) Alarm in the event of loss of power to the alarm system or
failure of electrical circuitry to the tank level sensor.
(3) Be able to be checked at the tank for proper operation prior
to each transfer or contain an electronic self-testing feature that
monitors the condition of the alarm circuitry and sensor.
(4) Have audible and visible alarm indicators that can be seen and
heard on the vessel where the oil transfer operation is controlled.
(5) Alarm early enough to allow the person in charge of the oil
transfer operation to stop the transfer operation before an overflow
occurs.
(e) The transfer unit or oil transfer operation, while in marine
waters, shall at all times have at least one person on the bridge who
is able to communicate fluently and effectively both in English and
in the language of the master of the vessel.