The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) Each year, billions of gallons of crude oil and petroleum
products are transported by vessel, railroad, truck, or pipeline
over, across, under, and through the waters of this state.
(b) Recent accidents in southern California, Alaska, other parts
of the nation, and Canada, have shown that transportation of oil can
be a significant threat to the environment of sensitive areas.
(c) Existing prevention programs are not able to reduce
sufficiently the risk of significant discharge of petroleum into
state waters.
(d) Response and cleanup capabilities and technology are unable to
remove consistently the majority of spilled oil when major oil
spills occur in state waters.
(e) California's lakes, rivers, other inland waters, coastal
waters, estuaries, bays, and beaches are treasured environmental and
economic resources that 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
rail tank cars, tank trucks, 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 state 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 state waters.
(k) Those who transport oil through or near the 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 and the United States Environmental
Protection Agency, to the greatest degree possible.
(m) California has approximately 1,100 miles of coast, including
four marine sanctuaries that 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.
(n) California has approximately 158,500 square miles of interior
area where there are approximately 6,800 miles of pipeline used for
oil distribution, 5,800 miles of class I railroad track, and 172,100
miles of maintained roads.
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 natural resources and state
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 the natural resources of the state.
(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) "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.
(e) "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.
(f) "Environmentally sensitive area" means an area defined
pursuant to the applicable area contingency plans or geographic
response plans, as created and revised by the Coast Guard, the United
States Environmental Protection Agency, and the administrator.
(g) (1) "Facility" means any of the following located in state
waters or located where an oil spill may impact state waters:
(A) A building, structure, installation, or equipment used in oil
exploration, oil well drilling operations, oil production, oil
refining, oil storage, oil gathering, oil processing, oil transfer,
oil distribution, or oil transportation.
(B) A marine terminal.
(C) A pipeline that transports oil.
(D) A railroad that transports oil as cargo.
(E) A drill ship, semisubmersible drilling platform, jack-up type
drilling rig, or any other floating or temporary drilling platform.
(2) "Facility" does not include any of the following:
(A) A vessel, except a vessel located and used for any purpose
described in subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1).
(B) An owner or operator 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.
(C) Operations on a farm, nursery, logging site, or construction
site that are either of the following:
(i) Do not exceed 20,000 gallons in a single storage tank.
(ii) Have a useable tank storage capacity not exceeding 75,000
gallons.
(D) A small craft refueling dock.
(h) "Local government" means a chartered or general law city, a
chartered or general law county, or a city and county.
(i) (1) "Marine terminal" means any 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 (n) of Section 25270.2 of the Health and Safety Code.
(j) "Mobile transfer unit" means 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 waters of the
state.
(k) "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.
(l) "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.
(m) "Nontank vessel" means a vessel of 300 gross tons or greater
that carries oil, but does not carry that oil as cargo.
(n) "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.
(o) "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.
(p) "Oil spill contingency plan" or "contingency plan" means the
oil spill contingency plan required pursuant to Article 5 (commencing
with Section 8670.28).
(q) (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) "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.
(r) (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 facility, a person who owns, has an ownership
interest in, or operates the facility.
(C) Except as provided in subparagraph (D), in the case of a
vessel or 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 facility immediately beforehand.
(D) An entity of the state or local government that acquired
ownership or control of a vessel or facility, when the entity of the
state or local government has caused or contributed to a spill or
discharge of oil into waters of the state.
(2) "Owner" or "operator" does not include a person who, without
participating in the management of a vessel or facility, holds
indicia of ownership primarily to protect the person's security
interest in the vessel or facility.
(3) "Operator" does not include a person who owns the land
underlying a facility or the facility itself if the person is not
involved in the operations of the facility.
(s) "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.
(t) "Pipeline" means a pipeline used at any time to transport oil.
(u) "Railroad" means a railroad, railway, rail car, rolling stock,
or train.
(v) "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.
(w) "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 facility, or a person or entity accepting
responsibility for the vessel or facility.
(x) "Small craft" means a vessel, other than a tank ship or tank
barge, that is less than 20 meters in length.
(y) "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.
(z) "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.
(aa) "Spill," "discharge," or "oil spill" means a release of any
amount of oil into waters of the state that is not authorized by a
federal, state, or local government entity.
(ab) "Tank barge" means a vessel that carries oil in commercial
quantities as cargo but is not equipped with a means of
self-propulsion.
(ac) "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.
(ad) "Tank vessel" means a tank ship or tank barge.
(ae) "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.
(af) "Vessel carrying oil as secondary cargo" means a vessel that
does not carry oil as a primary cargo, but does carry oil as cargo.
The administrator may establish minimum oil volume amounts or other
criteria by regulations.
(ag) "Waters of the state" or "state waters" means any surface
water, including saline waters, marine waters, and freshwaters,
within the boundaries of the state but does not include groundwater.