BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2564
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Date of Hearing: July 2, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 2564 (Ma) - As Amended: June 26, 2012
SUBJECT : Environmental quality: pipelines: project applicants
SUMMARY : Expands an existing California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA) exemption for pipeline projects from one mile to
eight miles.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires lead agencies with the principal responsibility for
carrying out or approving a proposed project to prepare a
negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration, or
environmental impact report for this action, unless the
project is exempt from CEQA (CEQA includes various statutory
exemptions, as well as categorical exemptions in the CEQA
Guidelines).
2)Provides that CEQA does not apply to a pipeline project less
than one mile in length within a public street or highway or
any other public right-of-way for the installation of a new
pipeline or the maintenance, repair, restoration,
reconditioning, relocation, replacement, removal, or
demolition of an existing pipeline. Excludes any surface
facility related to the operation of the underground pipeline.
3)Provides that CEQA does not apply to a pipeline project less
than eight miles in length consisting of inspection,
maintenance, repair, restoration, reconditioning, relocation,
replacement, or removal of an existing intrastate liquid
pipeline subject to the Pipeline Safety Act, subject to
specified conditions, including:
a) Construction and excavation activities are not
undertaken over more than one half mile at a time.
b) The section of pipeline is not less than eight miles
from any section that has received an exemption in the past
12 months.
c) Project activities are undertaken within an existing
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right-of-way and the right-of-way is restored to its
pre-project condition.
d) The diameter of the pipeline is not increased.
4)Requires the CEQA Guidelines to include a list of classes of
projects that have been determined by the Secretary of the
Natural Resources Agency to not to have a significant effect
on the environment and that shall be exempt from CEQA.
Included in this list of "categorical exemptions" are:
a) Repair and maintenance of existing public or private
facilities, involving negligible or no expansion of use,
including existing facilities of both investor and publicly
owned utilities used to provide electric power, natural
gas, sewerage, or other public utility services.
(Guidelines Section 15301)
b) Replacement or reconstruction of existing facilities on
the same site with the same purpose and capacity, including
existing utility systems and/or facilities involving
negligible or no expansion of capacity. (Guidelines
Section 15302)
5)Require each gas utility to prepare and submit to the Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) a proposed comprehensive pressure
testing implementation plan and implementation timeline for
all intrastate transmission lines to either pressure test
those lines or to replace all segments of intrastate
transmission lines that were not pressure tested or that lack
sufficient details related to performance of pressure testing.
THIS BILL :
1)Establishes a new exemption for any pipeline project less than
eight miles in length within a public street or highway or any
other public right-of-way for the installation of a new
pipeline or the maintenance, repair, restoration,
reconditioning, relocation, replacement, removal, or
demolition of an existing pipeline.
2)Eliminates the exclusion of surface facilities from the
existing one-mile exemption and the new eight-mile exemption,
and instead includes any valve, flange, meter, or other
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equipment attached to the pipeline.
3)Requires the person undertaking the project to provide written
notice to any public agency with discretionary permit and land
use authority 10 days prior to undertaking the project.
4)Contains findings regarding natural gas pipeline safety,
including statutory and PUC requirements for pressure testing
and replacement established in response to the September 9,
2010 pipeline rupture, explosion and fire in San Bruno.
5)Defines "natural gas pipeline safety enhancement project" as
an activity undertaken by a public utility as part of a
program to enhance the safety of intrastate natural gas
pipelines in accordance with a decision, rule, or regulation
adopted by the PUC.
6)Requires public agencies to allow a natural gas pipeline
safety enhancement project applicant to pay for a contract
with a third party to assist the public agency in reviewing
the project.
7)Contains an urgency clause.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Background. CEQA provides a process for evaluating the
environmental effects of applicable projects undertaken or
approved by public agencies. If a project is not exempt from
CEQA, an initial study is prepared to determine whether the
project may have a significant effect on the environment. If
the initial study shows that there would not be a significant
effect on the environment, the lead agency must prepare a
negative declaration. If the initial study shows that the
project may have a significant effect on the environment, the
lead agency must prepare an EIR.
Generally, an EIR must accurately describe the proposed
project, identify and analyze each significant environmental
impact expected to result from the proposed project, identify
mitigation measures to reduce those impacts to the extent
feasible, and evaluate a range of reasonable alternatives to
the proposed project. Prior to approving any project that has
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received environmental review, an agency must make certain
findings. If mitigation measures are required or incorporated
into a project, the agency must adopt a reporting or
monitoring program to ensure compliance with those measures.
CEQA includes limited exemptions for relatively small-scale
pipeline maintenance and installation projects. A general
exemption is available for projects under one mile in length.
A more specific exemption is available for projects up to
eight miles in length involving maintenance and replacement,
but not expansion, of pipelines regulated under the Pipeline
Safety Act (e.g., petroleum pipelines).
2)Purpose of the bill. According to the author:
AB 2564 takes two important steps to facilitate approved
natural gas pipeline safety programs. First, AB 2564
addresses potential permitting roadblocks by creating a
CEQA accommodation consistent with the precedent provided
for hazardous liquid pipelines which extends the one-mile
CEQA exemption to eight miles. And second, AB 2564 would
require public agencies to establish a process that would
allow an applicant for a gas pipeline safety enhancement
project the option of paying additional fees to assist the
public agency in expediting its permit analysis.
This bill does not alter the process of complying with the
permits required in local jurisdictions. This bill simply
exempts some of these pipeline safety projects from going
through what can be an extensive CEQA process that can
cause significant delay in getting this public safety work
done without incremental benefit to the environment. AB
2564 seeks to expedite pipeline safety, comply with permits
required by local governments, and respects the
environment, so that terrible catastrophes like San Bruno
do not happen again.
3)Bill is broader than necessary to address near-term natural
gas pipeline safety projects. Though the rationale offered in
support of this bill relates entirely to natural gas pipeline
safety, the bill would apply to any pipeline project under
eight miles, regardless of the purpose of the pipeline, the
purpose of the project, the location of the pipeline, the
project's effect on the environment, or any previous adjacent
application of exemptions. In other words, many of the limits
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in current law that apply to the categorical exemptions for
utility projects, or the statutory exemptions for pipeline
projects, would no longer apply under this bill.
In order to limit the bill to its stated purpose and retain
some level of public review of common environmental issues
associated with the PUC's initiative to improve natural gas
pipeline safety over the next several years, the author and
the committee may wish to consider the following amendments:
a) Limit the eight-mile exemption to natural gas pipeline
projects undertaken pursuant to an order of the PUC for the
purpose of addressing an identified public safety threat.
b) Require the PUC to prepare a program EIR for its
pipeline safety enhancement project, focused on issues
common to the project as a whole, including worker safety
and risks of fire and explosion.
c) Exclude projects in "resource areas" such as parks, open
space, protected habitat areas, and lands subject to
conservation or agricultural easements.
d) Require the right-of-way to be restored to its
pre-project condition.
e) Prohibit segmenting larger projects to qualify for the
exemption.
f) Sunset January 1, 2017
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Council of Engineering Companies
Burn Institute
California Chamber of Commerce
California Fire Chiefs Association
California Professional Firefighters
California Public Utilities Commission
Carlsbad Fire Department
Chino Valley Fire District
City of Glendale Fire Department
City of Montclair Fire Department
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El Monte/South El Monte Chamber of Commerce
Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce
Kings County Fire Department
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
San Diego County Fire Chiefs Association
Sempra Energy
Southern California Gas Company
Tulare County Fire Department
Opposition
California Native Plant Society
Central Valley Air Quality Coalition
Clean Water Action
Planning and Conservation League
Sierra Club California
Analysis Prepared by : Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092