BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 358
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 358 (Smyth)
As Amended September 1, 2011
2/3 vote. Urgency
----------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(June 2, 2011) |SENATE: |38-1 |(September 6, 2011) |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|COMMITTEE VOTE: |7-0 |(September 7, 2011) |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
| | | | | |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: E.S. & T.M.
SUMMARY : Provides for the reporting and review of underground
storage tank (UST) cleanup.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of the bill and
instead:
1)Require Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs) and local
agencies to submit information to the State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB) related to the oversight and management of
USTs in a manner consistent with existing electronic reporting
requirements. Provide SWRCB with emergency regulation authority
to establish the reporting system.
2)Establish authority of an owner or operator of an UST, overseen
by local implementing agencies (LIAs) that have implemented a
corrective action plan to petition SWRCB to close the site.
3)Establish authority for the SWRCB to close sites overseen by LIAs
under its existing five year review process. Before closing or
requiring closure of an underground storage tank case, the
amendments require the SWRCB to provide an opportunity for
RWQCBs, local agency, water replenishment district, municipal
water district, or county water district to petition to prevent
the closure of the case.
4)Expedite UST claims submittal, processing and payment. With
AB 358
Page 2
limited exceptions, establish a one-year deadline for filing
remaining claims on sites subject to a uniform closure letter
issued by the lead agency. Require the notification to the
responsible party of the one year filing deadline.
5)Limit the annual claims reimbursement for sites recommended for
closure pursuant to the five-year review process at $10,000
unless the SWRCB determines additional work is necessary for
closure, or to protect public health and safety.
6)Provide that this is an urgency measure requiring a two-thirds
vote, and allowing the bill to take effect immediately upon
enactment.
7)Provides that the enactment of this bill is contingent on the
approval of AB 291 (Wieckowski), which extends the sunset of a
portion of the tax paid by underground petroleum storage tank
operators, to January 1, 2014.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Regulates, generally, the storage of hazardous substances in USTs
and requires USTs that are used to store hazardous substances to
meet certain requirements, including that the primary containment
be product tight and that the tank's secondary containment meet
specified standards.
2)Requires, under the existing Barry Keene Underground Storage Tank
Cleanup Trust Fund Act of 1989 (Act), owners and operators of
petroleum USTs to take corrective action on an unauthorized
release of petroleum, including requirements for the preparation
of a work plan. The Act provides for the issuance of a specified
closure letter relative to the completion of an investigation and
corrective action for a petroleum UST.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill required the adoption of
emergency regulations by the SWRCB to establish standards for high
risk leaking USTs.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible costs.
AB 358
Page 3
COMMENTS : This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and
the Assembly approved provisions were deleted.
According to the author, the goal of this bill is to ensure that
all local agencies that perform UST project oversight and
remediation have the same lines of responsibility and review in
following state policies on closure of UST sites. This stems from
the fact that there are two variations of local agency oversight
obligation which is a remnant of the Legislature creating Certified
Unified Permitting Agencies (CUPAs) in the late 1990s. The author
contends that the LIAs have substandard closure rates and this bill
will significantly improve those rates.
The SWRCB is working with stakeholders to make improvements in
administration of the fund. The 2010 Budget contained Supplemental
Report language that directed SWRCB to provided updates on its
progress in implementation of findings from a February 2010 audit
of the Fund. That audit contained many findings, including that
there is a lack of incentive to get cases cleaned up quickly and
efficiently. The lack of closure incentive applied to all three
major parties: the responsible party or claimant, whose site
cleanup bills are paid by the Fund; the consultant, who can
continue to bill hours as long as the case is active; and the
regulator, who generally prefers to close only cases that have
minimal or no risk associated with the site closure. Due, in part,
to these disincentives, over 43% of the active claims have been
open for ten years or more. The SWRCB directed staff to undertake
specific steps to get cases to closure more quickly and
efficiently.
As part of the solution, SWRCB established two stakeholder task
forces to review both the regulatory side and the payment side of
the UST Program, and make suggestions for improvements or changes.
They are also working on a "low risk" closure policy that is likely
to expedite the closure process as well. The changes in this bill
are consistent with the audit recommendations and do not appear to
conflict with the proposed low-risk closure policy currently under
review.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
FN: 0002809
AB 358
Page 4