BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2005
Author: Garrick (R)
Amended: 8/6/12 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES & WATER COMM. : 9-0, 6/12/12
AYES: Pavley, La Malfa, Cannella, Evans, Fuller, Kehoe,
Padilla, Simitian, Wolk
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 7/2/12
AYES: Simitian, Strickland, Blakeslee, Hancock, Kehoe,
Lowenthal, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 5/25/12 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Oil spills: nontank vessels: contingency
plans and financial
responsibility
SOURCE : Marine Group Boat Works
DIGEST : This bill requires, until January 1, 2014, the
owner or operator of a nontank vessel within a specific
range of gross tonnage that is not used for commercial
purposes to submit , as specified, evidence of financial
responsibility, payment of the applicable fee, graywater
information, sewage information, and vessel particulars at
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least 96 hours prior to the vessel's arrival in the marine
waters of the state, and to submit other required documents
within 14 days after the arrival of the vessel. This bill
exempts from these requirements a vessel with insufficient
graywater and sewage holding capacity to store graywater
and sewage while the vessel is in marine waters of the
state and any vessel for which a contingency plan has
previously been denied or revoked.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, under the
Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response
Act:
1. Requires the Governor to establish a state oil spill
contingency plan (Government Code (GOV) Section 8574.1
et seq.), establishes oil spill response and contingency
planning requirements (GOV Section 8670.1 et seq.), and
establishes oil spill prevention, response, containment,
and cleanup programs (Public Resources Code Section 8750
et seq.).
2. Requires the Office of Spill Prevention and Response
(OSPR) administrator to adopt and implement regulations
governing the adequacy of oil spill contingency plans to
be prepared and implemented, taking into consideration
marine facility or vessel contingency plan requirements
of the national and California contingency plans, the
State Lands Commission, State Fire Marshal, and
California Coastal Commission. The regulations must,
among other things, (a) ensure that standards set for
response, containment, and cleanup equipment are
maintained and regularly improved to protect state
resources; and (b) ensure that each oil spill
contingency plan demonstrates that all protection
measures are being taken to reduce the possibility of an
oil spill occurring as a result of the operation of the
marine facility or vessel. (GOV Section 8670.28)
3. Creates the Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund
to be used for the above purposes, requires the OSPR
administrator to administer the fund, and requires the
Board of Equalization to collect a fee in an amount
determined by the administrator to be sufficient to
carry out certain purposes. The amount of the fee
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cannot exceed $0.065 per barrel of crude oil or
petroleum products, and $0.05 per barrel beginning
January 1, 2015. The fee is collected by marine
terminal operators from the owner of crude oil or
petroleum products based on each barrel of those
products received by means of a vessel operating in,
through, or across marine waters of the state. (GOV
Sections 8670.38, 8670.39, and 8670.40)
4. Requires the OSPR administrator to charge a nontank
vessel owner or operator a reasonable fee, to be
collected with each application to obtain a certificate
of financial responsibility, in an amount that is based
on the administrator's costs in implementing the above
requirements relating to nontank vessels. Before
January 1, 2005, the fee must be $2,500 or less per
vessel. (GOV Section 8670.41)
5. Prohibits a nontank vessel that is required to have an
oil spill contingency plan from entering marine waters
of the state unless the vessel owner or operator has
provided evidence of financial responsibility to the
administrator that demonstrates the ability to pay at
least $300 million to cover damages caused by a spill,
and the vessel owner or operator has obtained a
certificate of financial responsibility from the
administrator. The administrator may establish a lower
financial responsibility standard for a nontank vessel
that has a carrying capacity of 6,500 barrels of oil or
less. (GOV Section 8670.37.58). Evidence of financial
responsibility must be received by the OSPR
administrator at least 10 calendar days prior to
operating or entering marine waters. (14 California
Code of Regulations Section 791.6(b)). The oil spill
contingency plan must be submitted to the OSPR
administrator at least five working days prior to
entering marine waters. (14 California Code of
Regulations Section 826.01(b)(1)(A))
This bill, under the oil spill response and contingency
planning requirements (GOV Section 8670.1 et seq.) of the
Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act:
1. Requires an owner of, or operator of, a nontank vessel
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that is not used for commercial purposes and that weighs
between 300 and 400 gross tons to submit the following
to the OSPR administrator at least 96 hours prior to
arrival in the marine waters of the state,
notwithstanding other oil spill response and contingency
planning requirements:
Evidence of financial responsibility.
Payment of the nontank vessel fee.
Vessel particulars, such as the size and
dimensions of the vessel, and any other information
required by the administrator.
2. Requires the owner or operator of a nontank vessel that
is not used for commercial purposes to submit other
documents required under the oil spill response and
contingency planning requirements (including the oil
spill contingency plan) within 14 days after arrival of
the vessel.
3. Sunsets on January 1, 2014.
Background
In response to concern following significant oil spills,
the Legislature passed the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil
Spill Prevention and Response Act (SB 2040, Chapter 1248,
Statutes of 1990; GOV Section 8670.1 et seq., and others).
The Act created the OSPR in the Department of Fish and Game
(DFG) 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-meter 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
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plan must be filed for review at least seven 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
DFG'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.
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. DFG'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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/8/12)
Marine Group Boat Works (source)
California Association of Harbor Masters and Port Captains
California Marine Parks and Harbors Association
California Yacht Brokers Association
Marine Recreation Association
Northern California Marina Association
Western Boaters Safety Group
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author,
conflicting state law for applying to nontank vessels over
300 gross tons and U.S. 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
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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."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 5/25/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng,
Feuer, Fong, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Hagman, Halderman, Harkey,
Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao,
Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Atkins, Bill Berryhill, Fletcher,
Fuentes, Grove, Hall, Knight, Ma, Perea, Silva
CTW/RM:m 8/8/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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