BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 291
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 291 (Wieckowski)
As Amended June 1, 2011
2/3 vote
ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 9-0
APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Wieckowski, Miller, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Campos, Chesbro, Davis, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Feuer, | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| |Bonnie Lowenthal, | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| |Morrell, Valadao | |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Solorio, Wagner |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Extends for two years the fees paid by owners of
underground petroleum storage tank (UPST) to pay for clean-up of
leaking tanks. Specifically, this bill extends for two years a
temporary fee paid per gallon on motor vehicle fuel (petroleum
storage fee) that the owner of an underground storage tank must
pay from 1.4 mils to 2 mils per gallon through January 1, 2014.
EXISTING LAW under the Barry Keene Underground Storage Tank
Cleanup Act of 1989 (Act):
1)Authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to
provide grants and loans to gas station owners to assist
operator in meeting the underground tank clean-up.
2)Established a fee of 2 mils per gallon of motor vehicle fuel
that the owner of an underground storage tank must pay for
each gallon of petroleum that is stored in an underground
tank.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, annual underground storage tank per-gallon fee
revenue of approximately $180 million, through 2013, to the
SWRCB �Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund (USTCF)].
COMMENTS :
AB 291
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The Act created the USTCF program. The USTCF program is
administered by the SWRCB and is designed to contribute to the
protection of California's public health, safety, and water
quality through: 1) establishing a mechanism for owners and
operators of USTs to meet federal financial responsibility
requirements; and, 2) reimbursing eligible UST owners and
operators for corrective action costs incurred in the cleanup of
soil and groundwater contamination resulting from the
unauthorized release of petroleum from USTs.
Currently, the USTCF program is supported by a 2 mils per gallon
fee collected quarterly from petroleum UST owner/operators by
the State Board of Equalization. The fee currently generates
about $270 million per year for claims reimbursement and other
authorized accounts including: 1) the Emergency, Abandoned, and
Recalcitrant (EAR) Account; 2) the Commingled Plume (CP)
Account; 3) the OSCF; 4) the RUST program; and, 5) the Drinking
Water Treatment and Research Fund (DWTRF). With the exception
of the DWTRF, which is administered by the Department of Public
Health, these accounts are all managed by the SWRCB.
USTCF claims are paid in priority order based on criteria
established in statute: "A" or first priority is given to
homeowners; "B" or second priority is for small business,
non-profit, or small local government agencies with revenue
below a specified level; "C" or third priority is given to
parties with fewer than 500 employees; and, "D" or lowest
priority is given to all other claimants, including major
corporations and larger local governmental agencies.
Over the life of the USTCF, some 19,300 claims for reimbursement
have been filed with the program, and $2.5 billion has been paid
to claimants. Cleanups have been completed at over 6,800 sites,
and costs at another 4,100 active sites are currently being
paid. A closed site indicates the contaminants have been
investigated, monitored, and removed to a level protective of
health, safety, and the environment, and allows the property to
continue in its current use or return to productive use to the
benefit the community. The rate of new claims is on a declining
trend, with only 208 being filed in fiscal year 2008-09.
Prior legislation : AB 1188 (Ruskin) Chapter 649, Statutes of
2009, increases the specified petroleum storage fee by $0.006
per gallon of petroleum stored, between January 1, 2010, and
December 31, 2011. By operation of existing law, the revenue
AB 291
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resulting from the increase is required to be deposited in the
USTCF and be available, upon appropriation, for expenditure for
the reimbursement of tank owners for the coast of cleaning up
leaking underground storage tanks.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
FN: 0001196