Amended in Senate April 2, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1319

Introduced by Senator Pavley

February 21, 2014

An act to amend begin delete Section 8574.7 end delete begin insert Sections 8670.37.53 and 8670.55 end insert of the Government Code, relating to oil spills.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1319, as amended, Pavley. Oil spills: oil spill prevention and response.

The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act begin delete generally requires the administrator for oil spill response, acting at the direction of the Governor, to implement activities relating to oil spill response, including emergency drills and preparedness, and oil spill containment and cleanup, and to represent the state in any coordinated response efforts with the federal government. Existing law directs the governor to require the administrator to amend, not in conflict with the National Contingency Plan, the California oil spill contingency plan to add a marine oil spill contingency planning section containing specified elements, including, among others, an environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas element. end delete begin insert prohibits a person from operating a marine facility unless the owner or operator of the marine facility has obtained a certificate of financial responsibility. To receive a certificate of financial responsibility from the administrator for oil spill response, the act requires the owner or operator of a marine facility to make a specified showing of financial resources to the satisfaction of the administrator. The act authorizes the administrator to issue a certificate of financial responsibility on a lesser showing of financial resources for a period of not longer than 3 years if the administrator makes specified findings. The act establishes the Oil Spill Technical Advisory Committee and requires the committee to provide recommendations to the administrator and other specified state entities regarding the implementation of the act. end insert

This bill would begin delete add an additional element that considers the variability in physical and chemical properties of oil transported within and to the state and its waters to the marine oil spill contingency planning section of the California oil spill contingency plan. end delete begin insert reduce the time period for which the administrator is authorized to issue a certificate of financial responsibility based on the lesser showing to a maximum of 2 years. The bill would require the committee to monitor and evaluate the modes of transportation of oil into and within the state and the properties of the oil to identify necessary changes in oil spill response and preparedness programs. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert The Legislature finds and declares both of the
following: end insert

begin insert

(a) Shifts in how oil is transported to and within the state change
the accompanying risks and potential locations of oil spills.

end insert begin insert

(b) Properties of crude oil transported to and within the state
prior to refining may change over time and alter the risks posed
by an oil spill to human and environmental health and safety and
in responding to an oil spill.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 8670.37.53 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

8670.37.53.  

(a) To receive a certificate of financial
responsibility for a tank vessel or for all of the oil contained within
begin delete such a end delete begin insert the tank end insert vessel, the applicant shall demonstrate to the
satisfaction of the administrator the financial ability to pay at least
one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) for any damages that may
arise during the term of the certificate.

(b) The administrator may establish a lower standard of financial
responsibility for small tank barges, vessels carrying oil as a
secondary cargo, and small marine fueling facilities. The standard
shall be based on the quantity of oil that can be carried or stored
and the risk of spill into marine waters. The administrator shall
not set a standard that is less than the expected costs from a
reasonable worst case oil spill into marine waters.

(c) (1) To receive a certificate of financial responsibility for a
marine facility, the applicant shall demonstrate to the satisfaction
of the administrator the financial ability to pay for any damages
that might arise during a reasonable worst case oil spill into marine
waters that results from the operations of the marine facility. The
administrator shall consider criteria including, but not necessarily
limited to, the amount of oil that could be spilled into marine waters
from the facility, the cost of cleaning up spilled oil, the frequency
of operations at the facility, and the damages that could result from
a spill.

(2) The administrator may issue a certificate for a marine facility
upon a lesser showing of financial resources for a period of not
longer than begin delete three end delete begin insert two end insert years if the administrator finds all of the
following:

(A) The marine facility was operating on January 1, 1991.

(B) Continued operation is necessary to finance abandonment
of the marine facility.

(C) The financial resources the operator is able to demonstrate
are reasonably sufficient to cover the damages from foreseeable
spills from the facility.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 8670.55 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

8670.55.  

(a)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert The committee shall provide
recommendations to the administrator, the State Lands
Commission, the California Coastal Commission, and the San
Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission on
any provision of this chapter including the promulgation of all
rules, regulations, guidelines, and policies.

begin insert

(2) Pursuant to paragraph (1), the committee shall monitor and
evaluate the modes of transportation of oil into and within the
state and the properties of the oil to identify any necessary changes
in oil spill response and preparedness programs to meet the goals
of this chapter.

end insert

(b) The committee may, at its own discretion, study, comment
on, or evaluate, any aspect of oil spill prevention and response in
the state. To the greatest extent possible, these studies shall be
coordinated with studies being done by the federal government,
the administrator, the State Lands Commission, the State Water
Resources Control Board, and other appropriate state and
international entities. Duplication with the efforts of other entities
shall be minimized.

(c) The committee may attend any drills called pursuant to
Section begin delete 8601.10 end delete begin insert 8670.10 end insert or any oil spills, if practicable.

(d) The committee shall report biennially to the Governor and
the Legislature on its evaluation of oil spill response and
preparedness programs within the state and may prepare and send
any additional reports it determines to be appropriate to the
Governor and the Legislature.

(e) On or before August 1, 2005, the committee shall review
the Department of Finance report required under Section 8670.42
and prepare and submit to the Governor and the Legislature
comments on the report, including, but not limited to,
recommendations for improving the state’s oil spill prevention,
response, and preparedness program.

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(f) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2012.

end delete

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 8574.7 of the Government Code is
amended to read:

8574.7.  

The Governor shall require the administrator, not in
conflict with the National Contingency Plan, to amend the
California oil spill contingency plan by adding a marine oil spill
contingency planning section that provides for the best achievable
protection of the coast and marine waters. “Administrator” for
purposes of this section means the administrator appointed by the
Governor pursuant to Section 8670.4. The marine oil spill
contingency planning section shall consist of all of the following
elements:

(a) A state marine response element that specifies the hierarchy
for state and local agency response to an oil spill. The element
shall define the necessary tasks for oversight and control of cleanup
and removal activities associated with a marine oil spill and shall
specify each agency’s particular responsibility in carrying out these
tasks. The element shall also include an organizational chart of
the state marine oil spill response organization and a definition of
the resources, capabilities, and response assignments of each
agency involved in cleanup and removal actions in a marine oil
spill.

(b) A regional and local planning element that shall provide the
framework for the involvement of regional and local agencies in
the state effort to respond to a marine oil spill, and shall ensure
the effective and efficient use of regional and local resources in
all of the following:

(1) Traffic and crowd control.

(2) Firefighting.

(3) Boating traffic control.

(4) Radio and communications control and provision of access
to equipment.

(5) Identification and use of available local and regional
equipment or other resources suitable for use in cleanup and
removal actions.

(6) Identification of private and volunteer resources or personnel
with special or unique capabilities relating to marine oil spill
cleanup and removal actions.

(7) Provision of medical emergency services.

(8) Consideration of the identification and use of private working
craft and mariners, including commercial fishing vessels and
licensed commercial fishing men and women, in containment,
cleanup, and removal actions.

(c) A coastal protection element that establishes the state
standards for coastline protection. The administrator, in
consultation with the Coast Guard and Navy and the shipping
industry, shall develop criteria for coastline protection. If
appropriate, the administrator shall consult with representatives
from the States of Alaska, Washington, and Oregon, the Province
of British Columbia in Canada, and the Republic of Mexico. The
criteria shall designate at least all of the following:

(1) Appropriate shipping lanes and navigational aids for tankers,
barges, and other commercial vessels to reduce the likelihood of
collisions between tankers, barges, and other commercial vessels.
Designated shipping lanes shall be located off the coastline at a
distance sufficient to significantly reduce the likelihood that
disabled vessels will run aground along the coast of the state.

(2) Ship position reporting and communications requirements.

(3) Required predeployment of protective equipment for
sensitive environmental areas along the coastline.

(4) Required emergency response vessels that are capable of
preventing disabled tankers from running aground.

(5) Required emergency response vessels that are capable of
commencing oil cleanup operations before spilled oil can reach
the shoreline.

(6) An expedited decisionmaking process for dispersant use in
coastal waters. Prior to adoption of the process, the administrator
shall ensure that a comprehensive testing program is carried out
for any dispersant proposed for use in California marine waters.
The testing program shall evaluate toxicity and effectiveness of
the dispersants.

(7) Required rehabilitation facilities for wildlife injured by
spilled oil.

(8) An assessment of how activities that usually require a permit
from a state or local agency may be expedited or issued by the
administrator in the event of an oil spill.

(d) An environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas element
that shall provide the framework for prioritizing and ensuring the
protection of environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas.
The environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas element shall
be developed by the administrator, in conjunction with appropriate
local agencies, and shall include all of the following:

(1) Identification and prioritization of environmentally and
ecologically sensitive areas in marine waters and along the coast.
Identification and prioritization of environmentally and ecologically
sensitive areas shall not prevent or excuse the use of all reasonably
available containment and cleanup resources from being used to
protect every environmentally and ecologically sensitive area
possible. Environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas shall
be prioritized through the evaluation of criteria, including, but not
limited to, all of the following:

(A) Risk of contamination by oil after a spill.

(B) Environmental, ecological, recreational, and economic
importance.

(C) Risk of public exposure should the area be contaminated.

(2) Regional maps depicting environmentally and ecologically
sensitive areas in marine waters or along the coast that shall be
distributed to facilities and local and state agencies. The maps shall
designate those areas that have particularly high priority for
protection against oil spills.

(3) A plan for protection actions required to be taken in the
event of an oil spill for each of the environmentally and
ecologically sensitive areas and protection priorities for the first
24 to 48 hours after an oil spill shall be specified.

(4) The location of available response equipment and the
availability of trained personnel to deploy the equipment to protect
the priority environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas.

(5) A program for systemically testing and revising, if necessary,
protection strategies for each of the priority environmentally and
ecologically sensitive areas.

(6) Any recommendations for action that cannot be financed or
implemented pursuant to existing authority of the administrator,
which shall also be reported to the Legislature along with
recommendations for financing those actions.

(e) An element that considers the variability in physical and
chemical properties of oil transported to, and within, the state and
its waters.

end delete