BILL ANALYSIS
AB 248
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 248
AUTHOR: Bonnie Lowenthal
AMENDED: May 13, 2009
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: June 22, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Randy Pestor
SUBJECT : BALAST WATER MANAGEMENT
SUMMARY :
Existing law , under the Marine Invasive Species Act:
1) Requires the master, owner, operator, agent, or person in
charge of a vessel carrying or capable of carrying ballast
water to take various steps to minimize the uptake and
release of nonindigenous species. (Public Resources Code
71204). The master, owner, operator, agent, or person in
charge of a vessel carrying or capable of carrying ballast
water must provide certain information to the State Lands
Commission (SLC) in electronic or written form when
departing each port in the state using a form developed by
the U.S. Coast Guard (e.g., vessel name, number, and type;
owner or operator; gross tonnage; ballast water
information). (71205(a), (c)).
2) Requires the master, owner, operator, agent, or person in
charge of a vessel subject to the Act to meet reporting
requirements relating to ballast water and hull fowling,
and maintain records containing certain information (e.g.,
date and geographic location of all inwater cleaning of
submerged portion of vessel, antifouling paint
information). The information must be provided to the SLC
annually upon request using a form developed by the SLC.
(71205 (e),(f)).
This bill :
1) Makes technical amendments to the 71205(a), (c) reporting
requirements.
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2) Requires the master, owner, operator, or person in charge
of a vessel to retain a copy of the 71205(f) form on board
the vessel for two years and requires any maintained
records to include additional information required by the
SLC by rule or regulation.
3) Requires the master, owner, operator, or person in charge
of a vessel with a ballast water treatment system that has
discharged ballast water at a California port to provide
certain information on a form developed by SLC (e.g.,
manufacturer and product name of treatment system, name and
organization that approved the system, number and volume of
tank using the ballast water treatment system, additional
information required by the SLC by rule or regulation).
(71205(g))
4) Requires the master, owner, operator, or person in charge
of a vessel that has a ballast water treatment system to
maintain records in written or electronic form that
includes certain information (e.g., material safety data
sheets for chemicals used in the system; system
manufacturer's technical guides and publications;
documentation that system meets environmental regulations;
ballast water treatment system performance log containing
certain information, including timing of starting and
stopping the system, malfunctions, maintenance; additional
information required by the SLC by rule or regulation).
(71205(h)).
5) Makes technical clarifying amendments.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "The bill is
attempting to solve the lack of data available to the [SLC]
on the installation and usage of ballast water treatment
systems. Current law specifies that ships must record and
transmit to the [SLC] their ballast water management
activities, including retention on board the ship,
mid-ocean ballast exchanging, or discharging into treatment
facilities. They are not required to record or transmit
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detailed information on any treatment systems they are
using. Beginning January 1, 2010, new ships under 5000
metric tons that visit California ports will be required to
meet California's ballast water performance standards.
Most vessels will need to install ballast water treatment
systems in order to meet the performance standards. The
[SLC] needs to collect information about treatment
installation and usage.
The author notes that "The [SLC] does not have the authority
to alter the existing ballast water management form to
incorporate a section on ballast water treatment systems
because the form belongs to the U.S. Coast Guard. This
bill would allow the [SLC] to collect its own form and
require the keeping of certain other records related to
using ballast water treatment systems."
2) SLC recommendations . According to the SLC's draft "2009
Assessment of the Efficacy, Availability and Environmental
Impacts of Ballast Water Treatment Systems for Use in
California Waters" dated November 2008, SLC recommends
legislation: a) authorizing SLC to amend ballast water
reporting requirements by regulation; and b) supporting
continued research promoting technology development and
performance evaluation through general funds, grants, or
fees.
AB 248 revises certain existing reporting requirements while
adding new requirements for owners or operators of vessels
with an installed ballast water treatment system. These
amendments also allow additional information to be required
by the SLC by rule or regulation.
3) Related legislation . AB 121 (Simitian) Chapter 488,
Statutes of 2003, prohibits owners or operators of large
passenger vessels from releasing sewage sludge and oily
bilgewater into state marine waters and marine sanctuaries
under certain conditions. AB 471 (Simitian), Chapter 706,
Statutes of 2004, prohibits cruise ship onboard
incineration within three miles of the California coast.
AB 906 (Nakano) Chapter 494, Statutes of 2003, prohibits
the release of hazardous waste and "other waste" ( i.e. ,
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photography lab chemicals, dry cleaning chemicals, medical
waste) from large passenger vessels into state marine
waters and marine sanctuaries under certain conditions. AB
2093 (Nakano) Chapter 710, Statutes of 2004, prohibits a
large passenger vessel owner or operator from releasing
graywater into state marine waters if certain conditions
are met. AB 2672 (Simitian) Chapter 764, Statutes of 2004,
prohibits a large passenger vessel owner or operator from
releasing sewage into state marine waters if certain
conditions are met. SB 771 (Simitian) Chapter 588,
Statutes of 2005, enacted the California Clean Coast Act
that consolidated the above provisions under the Act,
applied the requirements to oceangoing ships with certain
conditions and reporting requirements, and made various
other related amendments. SB 497 (Simitian) Chapter 292,
Statutes of 2006, revised spill notification procedures and
clarified certain terms. SB 614 (Simitian) of 2009
clarifies certain provisions of the California Clean Coast
Act by defining "marine waters of the state" and extending
certain sunset dates.
AB 703 (Lempert) Chapter 849, Statutes of 1999, enacted the
Ballast Water Management for Control of Nonindigenous
Species Law. AB 433 (Nation) Chapter 491, Statutes of
2003, specifies that the Ballast Water Management for
Control of Nonindigenous Species Law is cited as the Marine
Invasive Species Act, and revised various requirements for
ballast water management practices to minimize release of
nonindigenous species. SB 497 (Simitian) Chapter 292,
Statutes of 2006, made several amendments to the California
Clean Coast Act and the Marine Invasive Species Act. AB
740 (Laird) Chapter 370, Statutes of 2007, added various
requirements relating to hull fouling. SB 1781 (Committee
on Environmental Quality) Chapter 696, Statutes of 2008,
replaced a general reference for ballast water requirements
in a SLC report with a specific implementation schedule;
extended the implementation date for ballast water
requirements for new vessels with ballast water capacity
less that 5000 metric tons from January 1, 2009 to January
1, 2010; and changed the date for SLC to submit a review of
the ballast water to the Legislature from on or before
January 1, 2009, to on or before January 1, 2010. AB 169
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(Levine) of 2008 was similar to the introduced version of
AB 248, but was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger because
he was "only signing bills that are the highest priority
for California" after the 2008-09 Budget delay.
4) Reporting requirement issues . If a ballast water treatment
system has been installed on a vessel and the owner or
operator complies with the AB 248 72405(g) reporting
requirements for those vessels, will it still be necessary
for owners and operators of those vessels to provide all
ballast water information required under 71205(c)?
5) Clarification needed . Amendments are needed to: a) allow
the 71205(g) information to be provided in electronic or
written form; b) strike "at a California port or place of
call" on page 6, lines 6 and 7, and insert: "in waters of
the state;" and c) after "system" on page 6, line 16,
insert: "and that was discharged in waters of the state."
SOURCE : State Lands Commission
SUPPORT : Association of California Water Agencies,
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
OPPOSITION : None on file