BILL ANALYSIS �
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2011-2012 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: AB 2005 HEARING DATE: June 12, 2012
AUTHOR: Garrick URGENCY: Yes
VERSION: May 1, 2012 CONSULTANT: Katharine Moore
DUAL REFERRAL: Environmental QualityFISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: Oil spills: nontank vessels: contingency plans and
financial responsibility
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
In response to concern following significant oil spills, the
Legislature passed the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill
Prevention and Response Act (Act) (SB 2040, c. 1248, Statutes of
1990) (Government Code (GOV) �8670.1 et seq., and others). The
Act created the Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR)
in the Department of Fish and Game (department) whose mission is
to provide the best achievable protection of California's
natural resources by preventing, preparing for, and responding
to spills of oil and other deleterious materials; and to restore
and enhance affected resources, including wildlife.
Nontank vessel owners or operators whose vessel is greater than
300 gross tons in size must meet several regulatory requirements
before operating in the state's marine waters. (A nontank
vessel is a vessel that carries oil, but no oil cargo. For
example, a sailboat may not be a nontank vessel, but a 40 m
motor yacht is.) Nontank vessel owners or operators must have a
Marine Oil Spill Contingency Plan, a Certificate of Financial
Responsibility (COFR), and pay the nontank vessel fee. The
contingency plan must be filed for review at least 7 days before
entry, and the COFR application must be submitted at least 10
days before entry. A COFR must be applied for bi-annually and
requires that the owner or operator has the financial ability to
pay at least $300 million for clean-up and other costs arising
from an oil spill. Information on the department's web-site
indicates that the review time is often "7 days or less,
depending upon the situation," but OSPR has 21 calendar days to
review a COFR application and 180 days to review and approve or
disapprove a submitted contingency plan.
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The America's Cup is the third largest sporting competition by
some measures after the Olympics and soccer's World Cup. San
Francisco is the host city for the 34th edition of the sailing
competition. The final match is scheduled from September 7 -
22, 2013 and is preceded by the Louis Vuitton Cup (the racing
series to determine the challenger) scheduled from July 4 -
September 1, 2013. Recent estimates indicate the Cup's economic
impact will be on the order of $1 billion. The department's
web-page has a link guiding those vessel owners interested in
attending the America's Cup to the requirements for entering
California's marine waters.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill would:
Provide that a nontank vessel that weighs between 300 -
400 gross tons and is not in commercial service shall have
96 hours prior to the vessel's arrival in state waters to
provide to OSPR's administrator evidence of financial
responsibility, payment of the nontank vessel fee, and
information regarding the vessel's particulars (e.g. size
and dimensions).
Requires that other materials required by OSPR must be
submitted within 14 days of arrival in state waters.
Sunset on January 1, 2015
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the author, conflicting state law for applying to
nontank vessels over 300 gross tons and US Coast Guard
regulations for similar vessels over 400 gross tons "coupled
with lack of notification and a rigid time-frame has made it
increasingly difficult for out of country yachts to comply with
�oil spill-related] requirements before entering California
waters. This has led to the industry's avoidance of visiting
California and a significant loss of revenue to coastal cities
and towns." The author continues that "several opportunities to
improve the process have been identified by OSPR and are in the
process, however it was decided that the only real solution to
rectify this situation before the America's Cup event in San
Francisco, is through legislation."
COMMENTS
This is an urgency measure in order not to hinder the planning
for or arrival of nontank vessels in California's marine waters
for the America's Cup races.
Nontank vessels and oil spills. According to the department,
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"oil spills from nontank vessels pose a serious threat to
California's marine environment and nontank vessels constitute a
significant portion of OSPR's workload. As an example, OSPR
processes over 950 nontank vessel contingency plans, as compared
to approximately 350 tank vessel plans. Several significant
spills in California waters were from nontank vessels including
the M/V Stuyvesant (1997) and M/V Kure (1999) spills in Humboldt
Bay, and the M/V Cosco Busan (2007) spill in San Francisco Bay."
Additional regulations . Nontank vessels over 300 gross tons in
California's marine waters may be subject to additional federal
and state regulations beyond those addressed by this bill. For
example, if the vessel carries ballast water it would have to
follow the State Lands Commission's invasive species
regulations.
Related legislation
AB 1112 (Huffman, c. 583, Statutes of 2011) authorized raising
the per barrel assessment fee for Oil Spill Prevention and
Administrative Fund from $0.05 to $0.065 until January 1,
2015.
AB 1601 (Huffman, 2012) would place a cap on the nontank
vessel COFR fee at $3,250 but allow for raising the fee based
upon the Consumer Price Index up to the cap. (to be heard in
Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee on June 26, 2012)
SB 1192 (Evans, 2012) would require a minimum $3,500 nontank
vessel COFR fee with the exception of a reduced fee for
lower-risk vessels, and change the per barrel assessment fee
to $0.068 until January 1, 2015 when it would be reduced to
$0.053. (pending Assembly action.)
SUPPORT
California Association of Harbor Masters and Port Captains
California Marine Parks and Harbors Association
California Yacht Brokers Association
Marina Recreation Association
Northern California Marina Association
Western Boaters Safety Group
OPPOSITION
None Received
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