SECTIONS 8670.1-8670.5 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 8670.1-8670.5

8670.1. This chapter, Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 8574.1)
of Chapter 7 of the Government Code, and Division 7.8 (commencing
with Section 8750) of the Public Resources Code shall be known, and
may be cited as, the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and
Response Act.

8670.2. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) Each year, billions of gallons of crude oil and petroleum
products are transported by vessel or pipeline across and through the
marine waters of this state.
(b) Recent accidents in southern California, Alaska, and other
parts of the nation have shown that marine transportation of oil can
be a significant threat to the environment of sensitive coastal
areas.
(c) Existing prevention programs are not able to reduce
sufficiently the risk of significant discharge of petroleum into
marine waters.
(d) Response and cleanup capabilities and technology are unable to
remove consistently the majority of spilled oil when major oil
spills occur in marine waters.
(e) California's coastal waters, estuaries, bays, and beaches are
treasured environmental and economic resources which the state cannot
afford to place at undue risk from an oil spill.
(f) Because of the inadequacy of existing cleanup and response
measures and technology, the emphasis must be put on prevention, if
the risk and consequences of oil spills are to be minimized.
(g) Improvements in the design, construction, and operation of
tank ships, terminals, and pipelines; improvements in marine safety;
maintenance of emergency response stations and personnel; and
stronger inspection and enforcement efforts are necessary to reduce
the risks of and from a major oil spill.
(h) A major oil spill in marine waters is extremely expensive
because of the need to clean up discharged oil, protect sensitive
environmental areas, and restore ecosystem damage.
(i) Immediate action must be taken to improve control and cleanup
technology in order to strengthen the capabilities and capacities of
cleanup operations.
(j) California government should improve its response and
management of oil spills that occur in marine waters.
(k) Those who transport oil through the marine waters of the state
must meet minimum safety standards and demonstrate financial
responsibility.
(l) The federal government plays an important role in preventing
and responding to petroleum spills and it is in the interests of the
state to coordinate with agencies of the federal government,
including the Coast Guard, to the greatest degree possible.
(m) California has approximately 1,100 miles of coast, including
four marine sanctuaries which occupy 88,767 square miles. The
weather, topography, and tidal currents in and around California's
coastal ports and waterways make vessel navigation challenging. The
state's major ports are among the busiest in the world. Approximately
700 million barrels of oil are consumed annually by California, with
over 500 million barrels being transported by vessel. The
peculiarities of California's maritime coast require special
precautionary measures regarding oil pollution.

8670.3. Unless the context requires otherwise, the following
definitions shall govern the construction of this chapter:
(a) "Administrator" means the administrator for oil spill response
appointed by the Governor pursuant to Section 8670.4.
(b) (1) "Best achievable protection" means the highest level of
protection that can be achieved through both the use of the best
achievable technology and those manpower levels, training procedures,
and operational methods that provide the greatest degree of
protection achievable. The administrator's determination of which
measures provide the best achievable protection shall be guided by
the critical need to protect valuable coastal resources and marine
waters, while also considering all of the following:
(A) The protection provided by the measure.
(B) The technological achievability of the measure.
(C) The cost of the measure.
(2) The administrator shall not use a cost-benefit or
cost-effectiveness analysis or any particular method of analysis in
determining which measures provide the best achievable protection.
The administrator shall instead, when determining which measures
provide best achievable protection, give reasonable consideration to
the protection provided by the measures, the technological
achievability of the measures, and the cost of the measures when
establishing the requirements to provide the best achievable
protection for coastal and marine resources.
(c) (1) "Best achievable technology" means that technology that
provides the greatest degree of protection, taking into consideration
both of the following:
(A) Processes that are being developed, or could feasibly be
developed anywhere in the world, given overall reasonable
expenditures on research and development.
(B) Processes that are currently in use anywhere in the world.
(2) In determining what is the best achievable technology pursuant
to this chapter, the administrator shall consider the effectiveness
and engineering feasibility of the technology.
(d) "Dedicated response resources" means equipment and personnel
committed solely to oil spill response, containment, and cleanup that
are not used for any other activity that would adversely affect the
ability of that equipment and personnel to provide oil spill response
services in the timeframes for which the equipment and personnel are
rated.
(e) "Director" means the Director of Fish and Game.
(f) "Environmentally sensitive area" means an area defined
pursuant to the applicable area contingency plans, as created and
revised by the Coast Guard and the administrator.
(g) "Inland spill" means a release of at least one barrel (42
gallons) of oil into inland waters that is not authorized by any
federal, state, or local governmental entity.
(h) "Inland waters" means waters of the state other than marine
waters, but not including groundwater.
(i) "Local government" means a chartered or general law city, a
chartered or general law county, or a city and county.
(j) (1) "Marine facility" means any facility of any kind, other
than a tank ship or tank barge, that is or was used for the purposes
of exploring for, drilling for, producing, storing, handling,
transferring, processing, refining, or transporting oil and is
located in marine waters, or is located where a discharge could
impact marine waters unless the facility is either of the following:
(A) Subject to Chapter 6.67 (commencing with Section 25270) or
Chapter 6.75 (commencing with Section 25299.10) of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety Code.
(B) Placed on a farm, nursery, logging site, or construction site
and does not exceed 20,000 gallons in a single storage tank.
(2) For the purposes of this chapter, "marine facility" includes a
drill ship, semisubmersible drilling platform, jack-up type drilling
rig, or any other floating or temporary drilling platform.
(3) For the purposes of this chapter, "marine facility" does not
include a small craft refueling dock.
(k) (1) "Marine terminal" means any marine facility used for
transferring oil to or from a tank ship or tank barge.
(2) "Marine terminal" includes, for purposes of this chapter, all
piping not integrally connected to a tank facility, as defined in
subdivision (m) of Section 25270.2 of the Health and Safety Code.
(l) "Marine waters" means those waters subject to tidal influence,
and includes the waterways used for waterborne commercial vessel
traffic to the Port of Sacramento and the Port of Stockton.
(m) "Mobile transfer unit" means a small marine fueling facility
that is a vehicle, truck, or trailer, including all connecting hoses
and piping, used for the transferring of oil at a location where a
discharge could impact marine waters.
(n) "Nondedicated response resources" means those response
resources identified by an Oil Spill Response Organization for oil
spill response activities that are not dedicated response resources.
(o) "Nonpersistent oil" means a petroleum-based oil, such as
gasoline or jet fuel, that evaporates relatively quickly and is an
oil with hydrocarbon fractions, at least 50 percent of which, by
volume, distills at a temperature of 645 degrees Fahrenheit, and at
least 95 percent of which, by volume, distills at a temperature of
700 degrees Fahrenheit.
(p) "Nontank vessel" means a vessel of 300 gross tons or greater
that carries oil, but does not carry that oil as cargo.
(q) "Oil" means any kind of petroleum, liquid hydrocarbons, or
petroleum products or any fraction or residues therefrom, including,
but not limited to, crude oil, bunker fuel, gasoline, diesel fuel,
aviation fuel, oil sludge, oil refuse, oil mixed with waste, and
liquid distillates from unprocessed natural gas.
(r) "Oil spill cleanup agent" means a chemical, or any other
substance, used for removing, dispersing, or otherwise cleaning up
oil or any residual products of petroleum in, or on, any of the
waters of the state.
(s) "Oil spill contingency plan" or "contingency plan" means the
oil spill contingency plan required pursuant to Article 5 (commencing
with Section 8670.28).
(t) (1) "Oil Spill Response Organization" or "OSRO" means an
individual, organization, association, cooperative, or other entity
that provides, or intends to provide, equipment, personnel, supplies,
or other services directly related to oil spill containment,
cleanup, or removal activities.
(2) A "rated OSRO" means an OSRO that has received a satisfactory
rating from the administrator for a particular rating level
established pursuant to Section 8670.30.
(3) "OSRO" does not include an owner or operator with an oil spill
contingency plan approved by the administrator or an entity that
only provides spill management services, or who provides services or
equipment that are only ancillary to containment, cleanup, or removal
activities.
(u) "Onshore facility" means a facility of any kind that is
located entirely on lands not covered by marine waters.
(v) (1) "Owner" or "operator" means any of the following:
(A) In the case of a vessel, a person who owns, has an ownership
interest in, operates, charters by demise, or leases, the vessel.
(B) In the case of a marine facility, a person who owns, has an
ownership interest in, or operates the marine facility.
(C) Except as provided in subparagraph (D), in the case of a
vessel or marine facility, where title or control was conveyed due to
bankruptcy, foreclosure, tax delinquency, abandonment, or similar
means to an entity of state or local government, a person who owned,
held an ownership interest in, operated, or otherwise controlled
activities concerning the vessel or marine facility immediately
beforehand.
(D) An entity of the state or local government that acquired
ownership or control of a vessel or marine facility, when the entity
of the state or local government has caused or contributed to a spill
or discharge of oil into marine waters.
(2) "Owner" or "operator" does not include a person who, without
participating in the management of a vessel or marine facility, holds
indicia of ownership primarily to protect the person's security
interest in the vessel or marine facility.
(3) "Operator" does not include a person who owns the land
underlying a marine facility or the facility itself if the person is
not involved in the operations of the facility.
(w) "Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock
company, or corporation, including, but not limited to, a government
corporation, partnership, and association. "Person" also includes a
city, county, city and county, district, and the state or any
department or agency thereof, and the federal government, or any
department or agency thereof, to the extent permitted by law.
(x) "Pipeline" means a pipeline used at any time to transport oil.
(y) "Reasonable worst case spill" means, for the purposes of
preparing contingency plans for a nontank vessel, the total volume of
the largest fuel tank on the nontank vessel.
(z) "Responsible party" or "party responsible" means any of the
following:
(1) The owner or transporter of oil or a person or entity
accepting responsibility for the oil.
(2) The owner, operator, or lessee of, or a person that charters
by demise, a vessel or marine facility, or a person or entity
accepting responsibility for the vessel or marine facility.
(aa) "Small craft" means a vessel, other than a tank ship or tank
barge, that is less than 20 meters in length.
(ab) "Small craft refueling dock" means a waterside operation that
dispenses only nonpersistent oil in bulk and small amounts of
persistent lubrication oil in containers primarily to small craft and
meets both of the following criteria:
(1) Has tank storage capacity not exceeding 20,000 gallons in any
single storage tank or tank compartment.
(2) Has total usable tank storage capacity not exceeding 75,000
gallons.
(ac) "Small marine fueling facility" means either of the
following:
(1) A mobile transfer unit.
(2) A fixed facility that is not a marine terminal, that dispenses
primarily nonpersistent oil, that may dispense small amounts of
persistent oil, primarily to small craft, and that meets all of the
following criteria:
(A) Has tank storage capacity greater than 20,000 gallons but not
more than 40,000 gallons in any single storage tank or storage tank
compartment.
(B) Has total usable tank storage capacity not exceeding 75,000
gallons.
(C) Had an annual throughput volume of over-the-water transfers of
oil that did not exceed 3,000,000 gallons during the most recent
preceding 12-month period.
(ad) "Spill" or "discharge" means a release of at least one barrel
(42 gallons) of oil into marine waters that is not authorized by a
federal, state, or local government entity.
(ae) "State Interagency Oil Spill Committee" means the committee
established pursuant to Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 8574.1)
of Chapter 7.
(af) "California oil spill contingency plan" means the California
oil spill contingency plan prepared pursuant to Article 3.5
(commencing with Section 8574.1) of Chapter 7.
(ag) "Tank barge" means a vessel that carries oil in commercial
quantities as cargo but is not equipped with a means of
self-propulsion.
(ah) "Tank ship" means a self-propelled vessel that is constructed
or adapted for the carriage of oil in bulk or in commercial
quantities as cargo.
(ai) "Tank vessel" means a tank ship or tank barge.
(aj) "Vessel" means a watercraft or ship of any kind, including
every structure adapted to be navigated from place to place for the
transportation of merchandise or persons.
(ak) "Vessel carrying oil as secondary cargo" means a vessel that
does not carry oil as a primary cargo, but does carry oil in bulk as
cargo or cargo residue.

8670.4. There shall be an administrator for oil spill response. The
administrator shall be a chief deputy director of the Department of
Fish and Game. The administrator shall be appointed by the Governor
and shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The appointment by
the Governor shall be subject to the advice and consent of the
Senate. The compensation of the administrator shall be fixed by the
Governor pursuant to law.

8670.5. The Governor shall ensure that the state fully and
adequately responds to all oil spills in marine waters. The
administrator, acting at the direction of the Governor, shall
implement activities relating to oil spill response, including drills
and preparedness and oil spill containment and cleanup. The
administrator shall also represent the state in any coordinated
response efforts with the federal government.