BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2739
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Date of Hearing: May 19, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2739 (Blakeslee) - As Amended: April 27, 2010
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response
(OSPR) to prepare, by January 1, 2011, a sunken vessel imminent
threat assessment and strategic response plan, to be submitted
to the Legislature.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time costs in 2011-12 to the Department of Fish and Game
(DFG), in the range of $100,000 to $250,000, to develop a plan
for imminent threat assessment and strategic response. (Oil
Spill Prevention and Administration Fund (OSPAF)).
2)Cost pressure of an unknown amount to conduct imminent threat
assessments based on information contained in the plan
developed pursuant to this bill. DFG reports that an actual
imminent threat assessment could cost as much as $1 million.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author contends this bill will leave the state
prepared to respond to oil released from sunken vessels known
to be resting on the floor of the California coast.
2)Background .
a) The Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response .
Operating within DFG, OSPR works to prevent, minimize, and
respond to oil and other materials spills in marine waters
and inland habitats. OSPR was created by
Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response
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Act (Chapter 1248, Statutes of 1990 (AB 2040, Lempert)).
The office is funded by a surcharge on each barrel of oil
imported into the state, revenue from which is place into
the Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund (OSPAF).
According to the Department of Finance, one of the
authorized uses of OSPAF monies is studies on improved oil
spill prevention and response.
Under current state law, the party responsible for the
source of an oil spill is required to fully reimburse the
state for all state costs in connection with an oil spill.
If there is no responsible party and if federal funds do
not cover cleanup costs, the state Oil Spill Response Trust
Fund, which has a current balance of $58 million, can be
used to cover cleanup costs.
b) The Luckenbach, Montebello and Mystery Tar Balls from
the Deep . Oil-laden sunken vessels rest along the seafloor
of the California coast. For example, the S.S. Jacob
Luckenbach was bound for Korea when, in 1947, it collided
with another ship and sank, along with nearly half a
million gallons of bunker fuel. The Luckenbach rests under
180 feet of water southwest of San Francisco and, it is
believed, rocks upon the sea floor when storms cause the
sea to swell. Though it has been more than five decades
since the Luckenbach sank, the hapless freighter is blamed
for two recent oil releases-the Point Reyes Tarball
Incident of 1997-98 and the San Mateo Mystery Spill of
2001-02.
At least one other oil-filled tanker-the S.S.
Montebello-lies near to our shore on the deep sea floor.
Before lifting anchor in 1941, the Montebello was loaded
with over three million gallons of crude and 100,000
gallons of bunker fuel. As the Montebello steamed into
federal waters, it was struck by torpedoes fired by a
Japanese submarine. The Montebello and its unctuous load
fell to the bottom of the sea. It rests there today,
approximately six miles off Moonstone Beach in Cambria.
The type of bunker fuel carried by the Montebello is
particularly sludgy and thick, and the ship rests in water
that is much deeper and colder than the water containing
the Luckenbach. Should the Montebello leak, containment
would be particularly difficult, though no one knows
whether the steamer still holds oil in its hulls.
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3)There is neither registered support nor opposition to this
bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081