BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1701
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1701 (Wieckowski and Smyth)
As Amended March 27, 2012
Majority vote
ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 8-0APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Wieckowski, Miller, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Campos, Chesbro, Davis, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Donnelly, Feuer, Morrell | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Solorio, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Provides for state certification of cities and
counties to oversee the cleanup of underground storage tanks
(USTs). Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a city or county to apply to the State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to be certified to implement
the local UST cleanup programs.
2)Provides that only a certified city or county is authorized to
implement the local UST oversight cleanup program after July
1, 2013.
3)Authorizes the SWRCB to certify a city or county that it
determines is qualified to oversee or perform the abatement
and require the SWRCB to adopt procedures and criteria for
certifying cities and counties. Requires local agency
certification by the SWRCB to include a review, at a minimum,
of all of the following factors of the city or county
capacity:
a) Adequacy of the technical expertise possessed by the
city or county;
b) Adequacy of staff resources;
c) Adequacy of budget resources and funding mechanisms;
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d) Training requirements;
e) Past performance in implementing and enforcing
corrective action requirements; and,
f) Record keeping and accounting systems.
4)Provides that if a local agency is not certified by the SWRCB,
after July 1, 2013, the SWRCB shall assign UST remediation
cases from that city or county to either the Regional Water
Quality Control Board (RWQCB) or to a certified local program.
5)Removes obsolete provisions of the UST cleanup program,
including the authority for the Santa Clara Valley Water
Agency to operate as the local UST oversight agency and for
the funding of these activities by the SWRCB.
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 the Secretary of the California Environmental
Protection Agency to establish a unified hazardous waste and
hazardous materials management regulatory program, known as
the Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA), as a means of
consolidating the local rules or local ordinances relating to
the generation or handling of hazardous waste or hazardous
materials, as specified pursuant to Chapter 6.11 of the Health
and Safety Code.
3)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.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill would result in minor, absorbable net costs
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to the SWRCB. The SWRCB will incur workload, approximately
equivalent to one staff member annually, to certify cities and
counties and to review qualifications for certification. The
SWRCB expects this workload largely to be offset by a reduction
in workload resulting from replacement of the existing, and time
consuming, contract-by-contract-based local programs with more
standardized state certification.
COMMENTS :
Need for the bill . According to the author, "Leaks from
underground storage tanks (UST) represent a threat to California
groundwater and land resources. Even a small amount of
petroleum released from a leaking UST can contaminate
groundwater. The multiple local agencies with responsibility
for cleanup oversight result in highly varied local requirements
and processes for the cleanup of underground tanks. This
variability has led to delays in site cleanups and increased
state and business costs."
On November 30, 2011, the Assembly Environmental Safety and
Toxic Materials Committee conducted an oversight hearing on the
state and local regulation and management of USTs containing
hazardous materials including petroleum. The hearing held in
San Jose reviewed policies and actions to increase the
efficiency and timeliness of UST cleanups. One of the findings
from the hearing was the need to standardize local agency
oversight of cleanups to provide timely closure of sites.
Oversight of UST cleanup is currently carried out by a range of
State and local agencies including nine RWQCBs, 22 local
oversight programs (LOPs), and over 90 local implementing
agencies (LIAs). The multiple local agencies with
responsibility for cleanup oversight result in highly varied
local requirements and processes for the cleanup of USTs. This
variability has led to delays in site cleanups and increased
state and business costs.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965 FN:
0003300
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