BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1566
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Date of Hearing: April 18, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1566 (Wieckowski) - As Amended: March 27, 2012
Policy Committee: Environmental
Safety and Toxic Materials Vote: 8-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill revises the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA)
Program. Specifically, this bill:
1)Redefines "aboveground storage tank" to include certain
petroleum-containing tanks located in underground areas, such
as basements, cellars and pits.
2)Charges the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) with
regulating and overseeing implementation of the APSA Program,
establishing an advisory committee of regulated parties and
other stakeholders and provide training to local agencies.
3)Establishes an APSA violation administrative penalty of up to
$5,000 for a first offence, and up to $10,000 for each
subsequent offence, for each day of the violation.
4)Directs administrative penalty monies to be deposited in a
unified program account established by the Certified Unified
Program Agency (CUPA) that issues the penalty, to be used by
the CUPA to carry out the unified program.
5)Provides that a person who knowingly violates the APSA,
following reasonable notice of violation, is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Ongoing costs of approximately $225,000, to $300,000,
equivalent to two scientific positions (about $200,000
annually) plus administrative costs such as travel and
equipment, to OSFM to oversee local implementation of the APST
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Program, provide outreach, establish and administer advisory
committee and adopt regulations, if necessary (Unified Program
Account).
2)Annual APSA surcharge revenue, paid by regulated parties,
sufficient to cover OSFM's annual costs (Unified Program
Account).
3)Potential annual administration penalty revenue of an unknown
amount (Local revenue).
COMMENTS
1)Rationale. The bill's sponsor-the California Association of
Environmental Health Administrators-contends endowing the OSFM
with regulatory authority over the APSA program would align
the program with other similar programs, create statewide
regulatory consistency and ease compliance. The sponsor
further asserts altering the definition of "aboveground
storage tank" will align the APSA Program with federal
regulations, again easing compliance. Finally, the sponsor
contends addition of criminal penalties and making explicit
the authority to levy administrative penalties conforms the
APST Program to other similar programs.
2)Background. Current law establishes the Unified Program,
which provides uniform, statewide programs for six distinct
hazardous waste program elements, including the Underground
Storage Tank (UST) Program and the Aboveground Petroleum
Storage Act Program. Under the Unified Program, the Secretary
for Environmental Protection certifies a local entity, such as
a city or a county and known as a CUPA, to implement the
program element within its respective jurisdiction.
The Secretary for Environmental Protection is authorized to
calculate a Unified Program surcharge to cover the state costs
of overseeing local implementation of the various Unified
Program elements. The surcharge is collected by the CUPAs, as
part of a single Unified Program fee on each regulated party,
and deposited in the Environmental Protection Trust Fund.
Most of the Unified Program elements are overseen by a state
agency, oftentimes referred to as a lead agency, that ensures
CUPAs implement the Unified Program appropriately and
consistently. For example, the Department of Toxic Substances
Control is the lead agency for the Hazardous Waste Generator
element of the Unified Program.
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The lead state agency for each Unified Program element can
accesses funds in the EPTF to cover its Unified Program
oversight costs.
In 2008, legislation (Chapter 626, Statutes of 2007)
transferred responsibility for implementation of the APSA
Program from the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB)
and the regional boards to the CUPAs and better aligned the
program with federal regulations. The legislation also made
the balance of funds in the EPTF available, upon appropriation
and administered by the Secretary, to the CUPAs for APSA
Program training until July 1, 2011, a date extended by two
years by subsequent legislation (Chapter 574, Statutes of
2011). Currently, there is no state agency with responsibility
for overseeing the APSA Program element of the Unified
Program.
3)Underground, but Not Underground. This bill recasts the
definition of "aboveground" tanks to include certain
petroleum-containing tanks located in underground areas, such
as basements, cellars and pits. Current law defines such
tanks as "underground tanks," which, by definition, are hidden
from view and largely inaccessible to visual monitoring. UST
regulatory requirements, therefore, are stringent and costly
when compared to APSA regulatory requirements. It seems
appropriate to reclassify as "aboveground," tanks located in
underground structures and that are wholly, or mostly,
available to visual inspection. It is less obvious that other
tanks, such as motor vehicle fuel tanks, that sit on the
ground and the bottoms of which are unavailable for visual
inspection, should be reclassified as "aboveground." Several
parties, including the author's office, indicate this issue is
under discussion.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081