BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 681
Author: Wieckowski (D)
Amended: 7/7/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 06/27/11
AYES: Simitian, Strickland, Blakeslee, Hancock, Kehoe,
Lowenthal, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-0, 08/25/11
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Lieu, Pavley,
Price, Runner, Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant
SUBJECT : Aboveground storage tanks: enforcement
SOURCE : California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators
DIGEST : This bill revises the definition of aboveground
storage tank (AST) found in the Aboveground Petroleum
Storage Act, to include tanks located in underground areas,
as defined. The bill requires the Certified Unified
Program Agencies (CUPAs) to implement the act in accordance
with the regulations adopted by the Office of the State
Fire Marshal and authorizes the Office of the State Fire
Marshal to adopt these regulations, thereby imposing a
state-mandated local program by imposing new requirements
upon local agencies with regard to the act. The bill also
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requires the office to interpret the act and oversee the
implementation of the act by CUPAs and makes conforming
changes in that regard.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Under the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act:
A. Provides a definition of ASTs.
B. Requires that CUPAs to implement the Act.
C. Establishes the Environmental Protection Trust Fund
to provide resources to train and assist CUPAs with
implementation of the Act and sunsets expenditures on
June 1, 2011.
D. Establishes civil penalties for violation of the
Act and allocates those penalties back to the Fund.
1.Describes the process for the development of adoption and
interpretation of statewide standards and requirements
for programs administration by the CUPAs
2.Under the federal Spill Prevention Control and
Countermeasure rule provided in the U.S. Code of Federal
Regulations (40 C.F.R. part 112) establishes requirements
regarding storage tanks.
This bill:
1.Defines "underground area" as an underground room or
space, such as a basement, cellar, shaft, pit or vault,
providing enough space for physical inspection of the
exterior of the tank situation on or above the surface of
the floor.
2.Requires that a tank in an "underground area" that is
exempt from underground tank regulation be regulated as
an aboveground tank.
3.Authorizes the Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to
adopt regulations and transfers interpretation and
oversight of the AST program from the CUPAs to the OSFM.
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4.Extends Environmental Protection Trust Fund expenditures
until June 1, 2013, and provides that unexpended funds be
deposited in the Unified Program Account for further
support for CUPAs AST activities.
Related Legislation
AB 1130 (Laird) Chapter 626, Statutes of 2007, transferred
the responsibility for the implementation, enforcement, and
administration of the Act from the State Water Resources
Control Board to the CUPAs. AB 1130 authorized the
expenditure of a portion of the moneys in the Environmental
Protection Trust Fund, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, in an amount determined by the Secretary for
Environmental Protection in consultation with the CUPAs, to
a training account established and maintained by the
Secretary to be used for purposes of training CUPA
personnel in the requirements of the Act. AB 1130 also
allocates all remaining funds to the CUPAs for expenditure
to implement the Act, but limits to 80 percent or less the
allocation to a CUPA in advance of actual expenditure by
the CUPA. It made conforming changes to ensure consistency
with the federal Spill Prevention Control and
Countermeasure rule provided in the U.S. Code of Federal
Regulations (40 C.F.R. part 112).
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the
Office of the State Fire Marshal indicates that the cost to
develop and adopt regulations and provide ongoing oversight
and assistance to the California Unified Program Agencies
will be about $250,000 per year. Under current law, the
California Environmental Protection Agency is authorized to
impose fees on tank owners, and additional fees from owners
would cover those costs. The bill also extends the
authority of the California Environmental Protection Agency
to expend funds from the Environmental Protection Trust
Fund for grants to California Unified Program Agencies for
training. The remaining balance in that fund is about $1
million.
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SUPPORT : (Verified 8/25/11)
California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators (source)
California Fire Chiefs Association
California Professional Firefighters
Clean Water Action
Department of Defense, Regional Environmental Coordinator,
Region 9
Environmental Working Group
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/25/11)
California Independent Oil Marketers Association (CIOMA)
Western States Petroleum Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the sponsor, this
bill makes important enhancements which will improve the
regulation of aboveground petroleum storage tanks in the
State. This bill aligns the Act with federal requirements
by explicitly stating that a tank located in an underground
area that is exempt from regulations as an underground
storage tank is regulated as an aboveground storage tank
under the Act. This is to ensure that all below grade
"vaulted" petroleum tanks not covered by underground
storage tanks laws are covered by the Act.
This bill designates the Office of the State Fire Marshal
as the agency with authority to adopt regulations to
implement the Act and interpret and oversee the
implementation of this chapter by the CUPAs. The State
Water Resources Control Board had responsibility until the
responsibility was granted to the CUPAs. Because the
regulation of these tanks is primarily a fire prevention
function, the OSFM is the most appropriate agency to
provide oversight
This bill also extends the date that CUPAs can receive
grant allocations from the Environmental Protection Trust
Fund which was established to fund initial implementation
of the Act by CUPAs. This is necessary for the California
Environmental Protection Agency to be authorized to
disperse the balance of the funds to the CUPAs.
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This bill also adds criminal and administrative penalties
to make the Act penalty provisions consistent with the
other laws consolidated in the CUPA program. This is a
cornerstone of the Unified Program consistency. When the
program was transferred to the CUPAs, this authority was
not transferred or restated
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : CIOMA states that this bill
"makes a significant change in the oversight of the state's
aboveground storage tanks act; moving oversight from
Cal/EPA to the State Fire Marshal's Office. It also
provides new enforcement authority/penalties to local
agencies in their role of annual AST inspections. The
author's office has been asked to make this a two-year
measure, giving the regulated community adequate time to:
(1) determine if the SFM is the best and most-appropriate
agency for the oversight obligation; and (2) accomplish
review of newly enacted aboveground tank obligations placed
on local agencies before new enforcement/penalty provisions
are empowered."
DLW:nl 8/29/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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