Version:

Under existing law, a wireless telecommunications collocation facility, as specified, is subject to a city or county discretionary permit and is required to comply with specified criteria, but a collocation facility, which is the placement or installation of wireless facilities, including antennas and related equipment, on or immediately adjacent to a wireless telecommunications collocation facility, is a permitted use not subject to a city or county discretionary permit.

This bill would permit the use of a small cell, as defined, without a city or county discretionary permit or aesthetic review in all zoning districts, subject only to a building permit or administrative permit, as applicable. The bill would require a city or county to issue those permits, as applicable, within 60 days, except as specified.

Under existing law, a city or county, as a condition of approval of an application for a permit for construction or reconstruction of a development project for a wireless telecommunications facility, may not require an escrow deposit for removal of a wireless telecommunications facility or any component thereof, unreasonably limit the duration of any permit for a wireless telecommunications facility, or require that all wireless telecommunications facilities be limited to sites owned by particular parties within the jurisdiction of the city or county, as specified.

This bill would require the city or county to renew a permit with a duration of less than 10 years for an equivalent duration unless the city or county finds that wireless telecommunications facility does not comply with the codes and permit conditions applicable at the time the permit was initially approved. The bill would also prohibit a city or county from precluding the leasing or licensing of a site owned by the city or county for the installation of a small cell, except as specified. The bill would authorize a city or county to impose a fee associated with a permit application for construction or reconstruction of a development project for a wireless telecommunications facility only if similar fees are charged within the city or county for similar types of commercial development. By imposing new duties on local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

The Administrative Procedure Act governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. Existing law provides that, if a state agency makes a finding that the adoption of a regulation or order of repeal is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare, the regulation or order of repeal may be adopted as an emergency regulation or order of repeal. Under existing law, a regulation, amendment, or order of repeal adopted as an emergency regulation remains in effect no more than 180 days unless the adopting agency and the Office of Administrative Law comply with certain requirements.

This bill would instead require that certain emergency regulations adopted by the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation effective February 5, 2016, remain in effect until the adoption, amendment, or repeal of the regulations is promulgated by the division pursuant to the act. The bill would repeal this provision on January 1, 2019.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Version:

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1.Section 65850.6 of the Government Code is amended to read:65850.6.

(a)A collocation facility shall be a permitted use not subject to a city or county discretionary permit if it satisfies the following requirements:

(1)The collocation facility is consistent with requirements for the wireless telecommunications collocation facility pursuant to subdivision (b) on which the collocation facility is proposed.

(2)The wireless telecommunications collocation facility on which the collocation facility is proposed was subject to a discretionary permit by the city or county and an environmental impact report was certified, or a negative declaration or mitigated negative declaration was adopted for the wireless telecommunications collocation facility in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code), the requirements of Section 21166 do not apply, and the collocation facility incorporates required mitigation measures specified in that environmental impact report, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration.

(b)A wireless telecommunications collocation facility, where a subsequent collocation facility is a permitted use not subject to a city or county discretionary permit pursuant to subdivision (a), shall be subject to a city or county discretionary permit issued on or after January 1, 2007, and shall comply with all of the following:

(1)City or county requirements for a wireless telecommunications collocation facility that specifies types of wireless telecommunications facilities that are allowed to include a collocation facility, or types of wireless telecommunications facilities that are allowed to include certain types of collocation facilities; height, location, bulk, and size of the wireless telecommunications collocation facility; percentage of the wireless telecommunications collocation facility that may be occupied by collocation facilities; and aesthetic or design requirements for the wireless telecommunications collocation facility.

(2)City or county requirements for a proposed collocation facility, including any types of collocation facilities that may be allowed on a wireless telecommunications collocation facility; height, location, bulk, and size of allowed collocation facilities; and aesthetic or design requirements for a collocation facility.

(3)State and local requirements, including the general plan, any applicable community plan or specific plan, and zoning ordinance.

(4)The California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) through certification of an environmental impact report, or adoption of a negative declaration or mitigated negative declaration.

(c)The city or county shall hold at least one public hearing on the discretionary permit required pursuant to subdivision (b) and notice shall be given pursuant to Section 65091, unless otherwise required by this division.

(d)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)Collocation facility means the placement or installation of wireless facilities, including antennas, and related equipment, on, or immediately adjacent to, a wireless telecommunications collocation facility.

(2)Small cell means a wireless telecommunications facility with antennas of no more than six cubic feet in volume each and associated equipment with a cumulative volume no larger than 21 cubic feet on all poles and structures and 28 cubic feet on all nonpole structures. An associated electric meter, concealment, telecom demarcation box, ground-based enclosure, battery backup power system, grounding equipment, power transfer switch, cutoff switch, cable, or conduit may be located outside the primary equipment enclosure and is not included in the calculation of the equipment volume. Volume is a measure of the exterior displacement, not the interior volume, of the enclosure. Any equipment that is concealed from public view in or behind an otherwise approved structure or concealment is not included in the volume calculations.

(2)

(3)Wireless telecommunications facility means equipment and network components such as towers, utility poles, transmitters, base stations, and emergency power systems that are integral to providing wireless telecommunications services.

(3)

(4)Wireless telecommunications collocation facility means a wireless telecommunications facility that includes collocation facilities.

(e) The Legislature finds and declares that a small cell and a collocation facility, as defined in this section, has have a significant economic impact in California and is are not a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution, but is are a matter of statewide concern.

(f)With respect to the consideration of the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions, the review by the city or county shall be limited to that authorized by Section 332(c)(7) of Title 47 of the United States Code, or as that section may be hereafter amended.

(g)Notwithstanding any other law, a small cell is a permitted use not subject to a city or county discretionary permit or aesthetic review in all zoning districts, subject only to issuance of a building permit if required to confirm compliance with Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, as applicable, or an administrative encroachment permit. The city or county shall issue the applicable building permit or administrative permit no later than 60 days after the submission of an application for a small cell facility. The time period for issuance may be tolled within the first 30 days after the submission of an application for a small cell facility if the city or county notifies the applicant that the application is incomplete, identifies all missing information, and specifies the code provision, ordinance, application instruction, or otherwise publicly stated procedure that requires the information to be submitted. If the city or county does not toll the time period for issuance or issue the associated permit or permits within 60 days after the submission of an application for a small cell facility, the associated permit or permits shall be deemed issued.

SEC. 2.Section 65964 of the Government Code is amended to read:65964.

(a)As a condition of approval of an application for a permit for construction or reconstruction for a development project for a wireless telecommunications facility, as defined in Section 65850.6, a city or county shall not do any of the following:

(a)

(1)Require an escrow deposit for removal of a wireless telecommunications facility or any component thereof. However, a performance bond or other surety or another form of security may be required, so long as the amount of the bond security is rationally related to the cost of removal. In establishing the amount of the security, the city or county shall take into consideration information provided by the permit applicant regarding the cost of removal.

(b)

(2)Unreasonably limit the duration of any permit for a wireless telecommunications facility. Limits of less than 10 years are presumed to be unreasonable absent public safety reasons or substantial land use reasons. A permit with a duration of less than 10 years shall be renewed for an equivalent duration unless the city or county makes a finding that the wireless telecommunications facility does not comply with the codes and permit conditions applicable at the time the permit was initially approved. However, cities and counties may establish a build-out period for a site.

(c)

(3)Require that all wireless telecommunications facilities be limited to sites owned by particular parties within the jurisdiction of the city or county.

(4)Preclude the leasing or licensing of a site owned by the city or county for installation of a small cell, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 65850.6. Sites shall be made available under fair and reasonable terms and conditions and offered on a nondiscriminatory basis to all lessees or licensees of similar sites, towers, utility poles, transmitters, base stations, and emergency power systems. Due to the unique duties and infrastructure requirements for the swift and effective deployment of firefighters, this subdivision does not apply to a collocation or siting application for a wireless telecommunications facility where the project is proposed for placement on fire department facilities.

(b)A city or county may charge a reasonable permit, application, consulting, or other fee associated with the submission, review, processing, or approval of an application for a permit for construction or reconstruction for a development project for a wireless telecommunications facility, but only if a similar fee is required for similar types of commercial development within the city or county.

SEC. 3.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SECTION 1.

Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, including subdivisions (e) and (h) of Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, the emergency regulations amending Section 1724.9 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations adopted by the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation effective February 5, 2016, shall remain in effect until the adoption, amendment, or repeal of the regulations is promulgated by the division pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SEC. 2.

Section 1 of this act shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 3.

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to ensure that emergency regulations implementing protective standards for all underground gas storage projects in the state remain in effect, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.

Date	Status
May 27, 2016	In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Jun 22, 2016	In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Jun 20, 2016	In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
Jun 15, 2016	Re-referred to Coms. on E., U., & C. and GOV. & F.
Jun 13, 2016	Withdrawn from committee.
Jun 13, 2016	Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
Jun 13, 2016	From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on N.R. & W.
Jun 9, 2016	Referred to Com. on N.R. & W.
May 27, 2016	Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 67. Noes 0. Page 4961.).
May 27, 2016	Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Senate.
Feb 19, 2016	Introduced. To print.
May 19, 2016	Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.
May 18, 2016	From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 20. Noes 0.) (May 18).
May 9, 2016	Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
May 5, 2016	Read second time and amended.
May 4, 2016	From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (May 3).
Apr 21, 2016	In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
Mar 10, 2016	Referred to Com. on NAT. RES.
Feb 22, 2016	Read first time.
Feb 21, 2016	From printer. May be heard in committee March 22.

Date	Description	Location	Votes
May 27, 2016	AB 2788 GATTO Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session	Assembly Floor	67 0 13 Passed
May 18, 2016	Do pass. To Consent Calendar.	Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations	20 0 0 Passed
May 3, 2016	Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]	Assembly Standing Committee on Natural Resources	9 0 0 Passed

Key

Pro

Against

Did Not Vote

Date of Hearing: May 18, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2788

Author:(Gatto) – As Amended Ver:May 5, 2016

Policy Committee:

Natural Resources

Vote:

9 - 0

Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources’ (DOGGR) emergency regulations related to underground gas storage projects to remain in effect until the regulations are either made permanent, amended, or repealed. This bill sunsets January 1, 2019.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Minor administrative savings resulting from the extension of the emergency regulation deadline.

COMMENTS:

Purpose. According to the author, this bill was introduced in response to the natural gas leak discovered in Porter Ranch, California in October, 2015 at the Aliso Canyon storage facility. This gas leak has been called the largest natural disaster since the BP oil spill due to the large amounts of methane released into the atmosphere.

As a result, Governor Brown declared a state of emergency in the Porter Ranch area, and DOGGR issued emergency regulations to ensure additional gas leaks would not occur. This bill extends the operative period of the emergency regulations to ensure the most protective measures remain in effect as agencies take substantive time to analyze, understand, and address the incident.

Emergency Regulations. The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) was established in the 1940s in part due to California's landmark laws regarding the regulation of clean air, water, and energy efficiency. The Office of Administrative Law (OAL) was established by statute in 1979 to administer the APA. The creation of the oversight agency was in response to an unprecedented growth in the number of administrative regulations and the Legislature's desire to avoid unnecessary burden on Californians. Forming the OAL was viewed as a compromise and alternative to proposals to give the Legislature the ability to review and modify executive branch regulations.

The APA allows an agency to adopt emergency regulations through an expedited process to remain in effect for 180 days. Up to two 90-day re-adoptions are allowed if the state agency is making progress towards adopting permanent regulations. Emergency regulations can become permanent if the promulgating agency adopts the emergency regulation through the regular rulemaking process within the time period the emergency regulations are still in effect.

On February 5, 2016, DOGGR adopted emergency regulations to improve the regulation of gas storage wells. The regulations include additional data reporting requirements, testing of the gas storage facility, and the submission of a Risk Management Plan by the Operator to DOGGR to assess the integrity and risk associated with their gas storage project.

Until January 1, 2019, this bill requires the emergency regulations to remain in effect until

regulations are made permanent, amended, or repealed.

Aliso Canyon Gas Leak. The Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility is owned by the SoCalGas and is located in Los Angeles County just north of Porter Ranch. SoCalGas is a gas corporation regulated by the PUC.

On October 23, 2015, SoCalGas detected a methane gas leak at its Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility at Well # SS-25. Following an initial evaluation and several attempts to stop the leak, SoCalGas began drilling a relief well in order to plug the leaking well. The initial attempts to plug the leak failed, and the leak lasted 112 days before being permanently capped on February 18, 2016.

A study in the journal Science confirmed that the methane gas leak was not only the largest in California's history, but also the second largest in the nation. According to the lead author of the study, as much as 60 metric tons of methane spewed from the leak each hour.

The leak displaced over 5,000 households, requiring families to move into temporary housing and hotels provided by SoCalGas.

Since October 25, 2016, no natural gas has been injected into the facility. However, on April 13, 2016, residents living near the natural gas storage field complained of a strong odor raising the question on whether another problem exists at the facility.

Related Legislation. Numerous bills have been introduced to respond to the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility leak. SB 380 (Pavley) imposes an immediate moratorium on natural gas injection and a restriction on natural gas production at the Aliso Canyon storage facility until certain conditions are met. This bill is on the Governor's desk for signature.

SB 887 (Pavley) requires DOGGR to prescribe standards for natural gas storage wells and requires annual inspections. This bill is pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 1902 (Wilk) extends the statute of limitations for civil actions resulting from exposure to hazardous materials from the Aliso Canyon gas leak. This bill failed passage in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

AB 1903 (Wilk) directs the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to study the long-term health impacts of the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak. This bill is currently in this committee’s Suspense file.

AB 1904 (Wilk) requires the OEHHAto evaluate and report to the Legislature on natural gas odorants and potential alternatives by January 1, 2018. This bill is currently in this committee’s Suspense file.

AB 1905 (Wilk) requires the Natural Resources Agency, on or before July 1, 2017, to complete an independent scientific study on natural gas injection and storage practices and facilities. This bill is currently in this committee’s Suspense file.

SB 887 (Pavley) requires DOGGR to prescribe standards for natural gas storage wells and requires annual inspections. This bill is pending in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: May 3, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES

Das Williams, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2788 (

Author:Gatto) – As Introduced Ver:February 19, 2016

SUBJECT: Natural gas storage: emergency regulations (Urgency)

SUMMARY: Requires Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources’ (DOGGR) emergency regulations related to underground gas storage projects to remain in effect until the regulations are either made permanent, amended, or repealed.

EXISTING LAW:

Establishes DOGGR as the state’s oil and gas regulator.
Requires the state’s Oil and Gas Supervisor (Supervisor) to supervise the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells, and the operation, maintenance, and removal or abandonment of tanks and facilities attendant to oil and gas production.
Allows DOGGR to apply to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to receive “primacy” to operate the Class II Underground Injection Control (UIC) program for oil and gas injection wells at the state level. The US EPA granted primacy and delegated authority to DOGGR to operate the UIC program in 1983.
Pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), allows an agency to adopt emergency regulations that remain in effect for 180 days. Authorizes the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to approve two re-adoptions of emergency regulations for a period not to exceed 90 days. Allows the agency to make regulations permanent if the agency adopts the emergency regulation through the regular rulemaking process within the time period the emergency regulations are in effect.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS:

Author’s statement:

AB 2788 was introduced in response to the natural gas leak discovered in Porter Ranch, California in October, 2015 at the Aliso Canyon storage facility. This gas leak has been called the largest natural disaster since the BP oil spill due to the large amounts of methane released into the atmosphere. In addition, mercaptans, or odorants added to the gas for leak detection purposes, migrated into surrounding neighborhoods and contributed to headaches, nose bleeds, and nausea for many community members. As a result, Governor Brown declared a state of emergency in the Porter Ranch area, and DOGGR issued emergency regulations to ensure additional gas leaks would not occur. Under normal circumstances, emergency regulations would dissolve after 180 days. This bill would make these emergency regulations permanent to ensure the most protective measures remain in effect as agencies take substantive time to analyze, understand, and address the incident.

Aliso Canyon Leak. On October 23, 2015, a natural gas storage well, known as “SS-25” owned by Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) and located in the Aliso Canyon storage field in close proximity to the Porter Ranch neighborhood in Los Angeles County began leaking natural gas. The leak continued until it was initially controlled on February 11, 2016, and the well was successfully sealed on February 18, 2016. During the four months the well leaked, there were numerous attempts to control it. All attempts to stop the leak from the top of the well failed. A relief well was finally able to stop the natural gas leak by plugging the leaking well at its base. According to a recent study, the leak at Aliso Canyon was the largest natural gas leak recorded in the United States, doubling the methane emission rate of the entire Los Angeles basin. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential more than 80 times as powerful as carbon dioxide.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District has received thousands of complaints regarding the odor. Complaints by residents suggest that mercaptans, which are odorants required to be added to natural gas, have been present in Porter Ranch at varying levels since the gas leak started. Some people may experience adverse health effects to the strong odors of mercaptans, such as nausea and headaches. In mid-November, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, citing public health concerns associated with the use of odorants in the natural gas, ordered SoCal Gas to provide temporary housing relocation assistance to affected residents. Over 5,000 Porter Ranch households were relocated due to the leak. Now that the leak has been stopped, residents are returning home, regulators are investigating the cause of the leak, and a comprehensive safety review of the other 114 wells at the field has begun.

Natural Gas Storage Facilities. Natural gas providers inject natural gas into large underground reservoirs for storage before later withdrawing the gas for sale during peak load periods. These underground reservoirs often contained oil or gas that has already been extracted. Natural gas providers utilize these facilities to reduce the cost of procurement and to maintain adequate supply of natural gas during peak times. While the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regulates natural gas providers, natural gas transmission lines, and the permitting of natural gas storage facilities, it is DOGGR that regulates the wells that natural gas is injected into and withdrawn from. Gas storage injection wells are the only type of injection wells in DOGGR’s UIC program that are not part of the primacy agreement with US EPA. DOGGR’s UIC program regulates 14 active gas storage facilities in 12 separate fields across the state to ensure well construction and integrity, appropriateness of the injection site, and zonal isolation of the injections. Each natural gas storage facility may contain dozens of active gas storage wells. Many of these natural gas storage wells are near residential development, similar to the Aliso Canyon facility. Some natural gas storage facilities have been in operation since the 1940s and approximately half of the active wells are over 40 years old. Many of the older wells were not built to today’s well construction standards and lack the best technology available to operate safely.
DOGGR’s UIC Problems. In 1974, the Safe Drinking Water Act gave the US EPA the authority and responsibility to control underground injection to protect underground drinking water sources. In 1983, a primacy agreement was signed that allowed DOGGR to implement the US EPA’s UIC program for oil and gas wells in California. DOGGR’s handling of the portion of the UIC program delegated to it by the US EPA has come under criticism in recent years. A 2011 US EPA audit of DOGGR’s UIC program implementation concluded that DOGGR was misclassifying underground sources of drinking water and doing an insufficient job monitoring the UIC program. In June 2014, it was discovered that DOGGR was approving injection wells in nonexempt aquifers. This included injections into aquifers that were not properly exempted, but also included injections into aquifers that were never exempt. California Environmental Protection Agency’s (CalEPA) review found that DOGGR’s district offices were approving projects without review from DOGGR and were making errors identifying the injectable zone of exempt aquifers. This included misidentifying the borders and depth of the aquifer and allowing expansion of productive limits over time beyond boundaries established in the Primacy Application.

Last year, SB 83 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 24, Statutes of 2015, required the Secretary of CalEPA and the Secretary of Natural Resources Agency (NRA) to appoint an independent review panel (Panel), on or before January 1, 2018. The Panel will evaluate the regulatory performance of DOGGR’s administration of the UIC program and make recommendations on how to improve its effectiveness. The recommendations the Panel can make include: requests for additional resources; needed statutory or regulatory changes; proposals for program reorganization; and, whether to transfer the UIC program to the State Water Resources Control Board. In October 2015, DOGGR released a plan titled “Renewal Plan For Oil and Gas Regulation,” which was intended to address concerns over its handling of the UIC program and its regulation of oil and gas in general. The plan called for the review of all injection projects and the review and updating of all UIC regulations. Many of those regulations had not been changed in decades. Concerns have been raised that DOGGR has not required adequate inspections, maintenance, or upgrades for older natural gas storage wells to prevent leaks. DOGGR indicates they were already in the process of updating their gas storage regulations when the leak occurred.

State Actions. On January 6, 2016, the Governor issued a proclamation of a state of emergency, which directed several state agencies to act in response to the Aliso Canyon gas leak. These actions included all of the following:
1. Direction to DOGGR to continue prohibiting all injections into the Aliso Canyon facility;
2. Direction to CPUC and California Energy Commission (CEC) to reduce the pressure of the facility by withdrawing gas;
3. Directing the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to require real-time monitoring of emissions;
4. Direction to the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to review public health concerns, and ensure energy and natural gas reliability;
5. Direction to DOGGR to promulgate emergency regulations to require new safety and reliability measures for underground natural gas storage facilities; and,
6. Direction to DOGGR, CPUC, ARB, and CEC to assess the long-term viability of natural gas storage facilities.

On February 5, 2016, DOGGR adopted emergency regulations to improve the regulation of gas storage wells. The regulations include additional data reporting from the operator, testing of the gas storage facility, and the submission of a Risk Management Plan by the Operator to DOGGR to assess the integrity and risk associated with their gas storage project.

This bill. This bill would require DOGGR’s emergency regulations to remain in effect until the agency either permanently adopts, amends, or appeals the regulations. The author states, “This bill would suspend the APA and allow these emergency regulations to remain in effect beyond 180 days in order to provide ample time for permanent regulations to be adopted though the appropriate administrative procedures.” However, if DOGGR never adopted permanent regulations, the emergency regulations would be permanent without going through the normal APA process. The normal APA process provides for more public review and a more through OAL review of the regulations than the emergency rulemaking process. The author and committee may wish to consider amending the bill to sunset its provisions in two years to clarify that DOGGR must eventually go through the APA process. In addition, the author and committee may wish to consider amending the bill to specify that the emergency regulations were effective February 5, 2016.
Related Legislation.

AB 1905 (Wilk) requires NRA, on or before July 1, 2017, to complete an independent scientific study on natural gas injection and storage practices and facilities. This bill is currently on the suspense file in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 380 (Pavley) imposes an immediate moratorium on natural gas injection and a restriction on natural gas production at the Aliso Canyon storage facility until certain conditions are met. This bill is on the Assembly Floor.

SB 887 (Pavley) revises requirements for natural gas storage facilities. This bill is awaiting hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None on file

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092

Discussed in Hearing

11MIN

Assembly Standing Committee on Natural Resources

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Amended Senate (6/13/2016)