BILL NUMBER: AB 234 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 9, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 2, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 15, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 23, 2010
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 amend Sections 8670.40 and 8670.41 of, and to add
Section 8670.17.3 to, the Government Code, and to add
Section 6226 to and repeal Section 6226 of the
Public Resources Code, relating to oil spills.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 234, as amended, Huffman. Oil spill prevention and response:
transfer of oil: State Lands Commission.
(1) 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 the administrator to adopt regulations
governing oil transfers that would require a transfer unit, as
defined, to provide, at the point of transfer, appropriate equipment
and supplies for the containment and removal of spills of oil in
water adjacent to the transfer site. The regulations would require
the transfer unit, prior to beginning an oil transfer, to preboom
each oil transfer for the duration of the transfer, unless prebooming
is determined not to be safe and effective.
(2) Existing law imposes an oil spill prevention and
administration fee in an amount determined by the administrator to
implement oil spill prevention activities, but not to exceed $0.05
per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products, on persons owning
crude oil or petroleum products at a marine terminal. The fee is
deposited into the Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund in
the State Treasury. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, money in
the fund is available for specified purposes.
This bill would revise that fee to an amount not to exceed $0.06
per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products. The bill would also
authorize the administrator to adjust the maximum fee
annually as measured by the California Consumer Price Index.
(3) Existing law requires the administrator to charge a nontank
vessel owner or operator a reasonable fee, to be collected with each
application to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility, in
an amount that is based upon the administrator's costs in
implementing certain provisions relating to nontank vessels. Revenue
from the fee is deposited into the Oil Spill Prevention and
Administration Fund for appropriation by the Legislature for
specified purposes.
This bill would establish that fee at $3,000 per nontank vessel.
(4) Under existing law, the State Lands Commission has
jurisdiction over state lands and ungranted tidelands and submerged
lands owned by the state.
This bill would require the State Lands Commission, on or before
July 1, 2011 March 1, 2011 , to report
to the Legislature on regulatory action, pending or already taken,
and statutory recommendations for the Legislature to ensure maximum
safety and prevention of harm during offshore oil drilling. This
provision would be repealed on January 1, 2015.
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) "Boom" means flotation boom or other effective barrier
containment material suitable for containment of oil that is
discharged onto the surface of water.
(2) "Transfer unit" means a vessel involved in a bunkering or
lightering operation with another vessel .
(b) The administrator shall adopt regulations governing oil
transfers that would require a transfer unit to provide, at the point
of transfer, appropriate equipment and supplies for the containment
and removal of spills of oil in water adjacent to the transfer site.
These regulations shall require the transfer unit, prior to beginning
an oil transfer, to preboom each oil transfer for the duration of
the transfer, unless prebooming is determined not to be safe and
effective according to subdivision (d). The regulations shall be
adopted, and thereafter periodically revised, to ensure the best
achievable protection of the public health and safety and the
environment.
(c) The regulations in subdivision (b) shall include, but are not
limited to, all of the following:
(1) Minimum boom amounts to which a vessel shall have access.
(2) Requirements for the transfer unit to periodically check the
boom positioning and adjust 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.
(3) Requirements for positing of boom to provide maximum
containment of any oil spilled into the water.
(4) Alternatives to prebooming when prebooming is determined not
to be safe and effective pursuant to subdivision (d) including, but
not limited to, minimum boom amounts and boom positioning
requirements, availability of an oil spill tracking system in the
event of a spill, and response preparedness requirements.
(d) The regulations in subdivision (b) shall include requirements
for a transfer unit to develop thresholds for each location at which
it conducts oil transfers to determine when it is safe and effective
to preboom on a case-by-case basis.
(1) The thresholds shall be based on all of the following:
(A) Personnel safety.
(B) Sea state values in feet, including typical wave periods.
(C) Water current velocity.
(D) Wind speed.
(E) Other conditions such as vessel traffic, fishing activities,
and other factors that influence oil transfers.
(2) The transfer unit shall develop a safe and effective
determination threshold report that includes a summary of the safe
and effective threshold values as well as information and analysis to
support the values. The report shall be submitted to the Office of
Spill Prevention and Response for review and approval.
(e) The regulations shall include a standard method for the vessel
operator to communicate to the Office of Spill Prevention and
Response when an operation was not preboomed, a process for reviewing
the notifications, and a course of action when a vessel operator did
not preboom, but the office determines it would have been safe and
effective to preboom.
SEC. 2. Section 8670.40 of the Government Code is amended to read:
8670.40. (a) The State Board of Equalization shall collect a fee
in an amount determined by the administrator to be sufficient to
carry out the purposes set forth in subdivision (e), and a reasonable
reserve for contingencies. The annual assessment may
shall not exceed six cents ($0.06) per barrel of
crude oil or petroleum products. The administrator may adjust the
maximum fee annually for inflation, as measured by the
California Consumer Price Index.
(b) (1) The oil spill prevention and administration fee shall be
imposed upon a person owning crude oil at the time that the crude oil
is received at a marine terminal from within or outside the state,
and upon a person owning petroleum products at the time that those
petroleum products are received at a marine terminal from outside
this state. The fee shall be collected by the marine terminal
operator from the owner of the crude oil or petroleum products based
on each barrel of crude oil or petroleum products so received by
means of a vessel operating in, through, or across the marine waters
of the state. In addition, an operator of a pipeline shall pay the
oil spill prevention and administration fee for each barrel of crude
oil originating from a production facility in marine waters and
transported in the state by means of a pipeline operating across,
under, or through the marine waters of the state. The fees shall be
remitted to the board by the terminal or pipeline operator on the
25th day of the month based upon the number of barrels of crude oil
or petroleum products received at a marine terminal or transported by
pipeline during the preceding month. A fee shall not be imposed
pursuant to this section with respect to crude oil or petroleum
products if the person who would be liable for that fee, or
responsible for its collection, establishes that the fee has been
collected by a terminal operator registered under this chapter or
paid to the board with respect to the crude oil or petroleum product.
(2) An owner of crude oil or petroleum products is liable for the
fee until it has been paid to the board, except that payment to a
marine terminal operator registered under this chapter is sufficient
to relieve the owner from further liability for the fee.
(3) On or before January 20, the administrator shall annually
prepare a plan that projects revenues and expenses over three fiscal
years, including the current year. Based on the plan, the
administrator shall set the fee so that projected revenues, including
interest, are equivalent to expenses as reflected in the current
Budget Act and in the proposed budget submitted by the Governor. In
setting the fee, the administrator may allow for a surplus if the
administrator finds that revenues will be exhausted during the period
covered by the plan or that the surplus is necessary to cover
possible contingencies. The administrator shall notify the board
of the adjusted fee rate, which shall be rounded to no more than
four decimal places, to be effective the first day of the month
beginning not less than 30 days from the date of the notification.
(c) The moneys collected pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
deposited into the fund.
(d) The board shall collect the fee and adopt regulations for
implementing the fee collection program.
(e) The fee described in this section shall be collected solely
for all of the following purposes:
(1) To implement oil spill prevention programs through rules,
regulations, leasing policies, guidelines, and inspections and to
implement research into prevention and control technology.
(2) To carry out studies that may lead to improved oil spill
prevention and response.
(3) To finance environmental and economic studies relating to the
effects of oil spills.
(4) To reimburse the member agencies of the State Interagency Oil
Spill Committee for costs arising from implementation of this
chapter, Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 8574.1) of Chapter 7 of
this code, and Division 7.8 (commencing with Section 8750) of the
Public Resources Code.
(5) To implement, install, and maintain emergency programs,
equipment, and facilities to respond to, contain, and clean up oil
spills and to ensure that those operations will be carried out as
intended.
(6) To respond to an imminent threat of a spill in accordance with
the provisions of Section 8670.62 pertaining to threatened
discharges. The cumulative amount of an expenditure for this purpose
shall not exceed the amount of one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000) in a fiscal year unless the administrator receives the
approval of the Director of Finance and notification is given to the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Commencing with the 1993-94
fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter, it is the intent of the
Legislature that the annual Budget Act contain an appropriation of
one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) from the fund for the purpose
of allowing the administrator to respond to threatened oil spills.
(7) To reimburse the board for costs incurred to implement this
chapter and to carry out Part 24 (commencing with Section 46001) of
Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(8) To reimburse the costs incurred by the State Lands Commission
in implementing the Oil Transfer and Transportation Emission and Risk
Reduction Act of 2002 (Division 7.9 (commencing with Section 8780)
of the Public Resources Code).
(9) To cover costs incurred by the Oiled Wildlife Care Network
established by Section 8670.37.5 for training and field collection,
and search and rescue activities, pursuant to subdivision (g) of
Section 8670.37.5.
(f) The moneys deposited in the fund shall not be used for
responding to an oil spill.
SEC. 3. Section 8670.41 of the Government Code is amended to read:
8670.41. (a) The administrator shall charge a nontank vessel
owner or operator a fee, to be collected with each application to
obtain a certificate of financial responsibility, in the amount of
three thousand dollars ($3,000) per nontank vessel for the
administrator's costs in implementing this chapter relating to
nontank vessels.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the administrator may charge
a reduced fee under this section for nontank vessels determined by
the administrator to pose a reduced risk of pollution, including, but
not limited to, vessels used for research or training and vessels
that are moored permanently or rarely move.
(c) The administrator shall deposit all revenue derived from the
fees imposed under this section in the Oil Spill Prevention and
Administration Fund established in the State Treasury under Section
8670.38.
(d) Revenue derived from the fees imposed under this section shall
be spent for the purposes listed in subdivision (e) of Section
8670.40, and may shall not be used for
responding to an oil spill.
SEC. 4. Section 6226 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
6226. (a) On or before July March
1, 2011, the commission shall report to the Legislature on regulatory
action, pending or already taken, and statutory recommendations for
the Legislature to ensure maximum safety and prevention of harm
during offshore oil drilling. The report shall include, but not be
limited to, all of the following:
(1) A comprehensive set of requirements for offshore oil drilling
rigs operating in state waters to have fully redundant and
functioning safety systems to prevent a failure of a blowout
preventer from causing a major oil spill.
(2) A complete description of a response plan to control a blowout
and manage the accompanying discharge of hydrocarbons, including
both of the following:
(A) The technology and timeline for regaining control of a well.
(B) The strategy, organization, and resources necessary to avoid
harm to the environment and human health from hydrocarbons.
(3) Requirements for the use of the best available and safest
technologies and practices, if the failure of equipment would have a
significant effect on safety, health, or the environment.
(b) (1) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall
be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
section is repealed on January 1, 2015.