Article 5.5. Financial Responsibility of California Government Code >> Division 1. >> Title 2. >> Chapter 7.4. >> Article 5.5.
(a) A tank vessel or vessel carrying oil as a secondary
cargo shall not be used to transport oil across waters of the state
unless the owner or operator has applied for and obtained a
certificate of financial responsibility issued by the administrator
for that vessel or for the owner of all of the oil contained in and
to be transferred to or from that vessel.
(b) An operator of a marine terminal within the state shall not
transfer oil to or from a tank vessel or vessel carrying oil as a
secondary cargo unless the operator of the marine terminal has
received a copy of a certificate of financial responsibility issued
by the administrator for the operator of that vessel or for all of
the oil contained in and to be transferred to or from that vessel.
(c) An operator of a marine terminal within the state shall not
transfer oil to or from any vessel that is or is intended to be used
for transporting oil as cargo to or from a second vessel unless the
operator of the marine terminal has first received a copy of a
certificate of financial responsibility issued by the administrator
for the person responsible for both the first and second vessels or
all of the oil contained in both vessels, as well as all the oil to
be transferred to or from both vessels.
(d) An owner or operator of a facility where a spill could impact
waters of the state shall apply for and obtain a certificate of
financial responsibility issued by the administrator for the facility
or the oil to be handled, stored, or transported by the facility.
(e) Pursuant to Section 8670.37.58, nontank vessels shall obtain a
certificate of financial responsibility.
The certificate of financial responsibility shall be
conclusive evidence that the person or entity holding the certificate
is the party responsible for the specified vessel, facility, or oil
for purposes of determining liability pursuant to this chapter.
(a) To receive a certificate of financial
responsibility for a tank vessel or for all of the oil contained
within that 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 waters of the state. The administrator
shall not set a standard that is less than the expected costs from a
reasonable worst case oil spill into waters of the state.
(c) (1) To receive a certificate of financial responsibility for a
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 waters of
the state that results from the operations of the facility. The
administrator shall consider criteria including, but not necessarily
limited to, the amount of oil that could be spilled into waters of
the state 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 shall adopt regulations to implement this
section.
(a) For the purposes of this chapter, financial
responsibility may be demonstrated by evidence of insurance, surety
bond, letter of credit, qualifications as a self-insurer, or any
combination thereof or other evidence of financial responsibility.
(b) In adopting requirements under this article, the administrator
may specify policy or other contractual terms, conditions, or
defenses which are necessary or which are unacceptable in
establishing evidence of financial responsibility, in order to
effectuate the purposes of this article.
(a) An owner or operator of more than one tank vessel,
vessel carrying oil as a secondary cargo, nontank vessel, or facility
shall only be required to obtain one certificate of financial
responsibility for all of those vessels and facilities owned or
operated.
(b) If a person holds a certificate for more than one tank vessel,
vessel carrying oil as a secondary cargo, nontank vessel, or
facility and a spill or spills occurs from one or more of those
vessels or facilities for which the owner or operator may be liable
for damages in an amount exceeding 5 percent of the financial
resources reflected by the certificate, as determined by the
administrator, the certificate shall immediately be considered
inapplicable to any vessel or facility not associated with the spill.
In that event, the owner or operator shall demonstrate to the
satisfaction of the administrator the amount of financial ability
required pursuant to this article, as well as the financial ability
to pay all damages that arise or have arisen from the spill or spills
that have occurred.
If the administrator determines that, because of a
spill outside of the state or some other action or potential
liability, the holder of a certificate may not have the financial
resources to pay damages for the spill or liability and have
resources remaining available to meet the requirements of this
chapter, the administrator may suspend the certificate.
No certificate of financial responsibility shall have a
term greater than two years. The administrator may issue
certificates for shorter periods where appropriate.
(a) A nontank vessel shall not enter waters of the
state unless the nontank vessel owner or operator has provided to the
administrator evidence of financial responsibility that
demonstrates, to the administrator's satisfaction, the ability to pay
at least three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) to cover
damages caused by a spill, and the owner or operator of the nontank
vessel has obtained a certificate of financial responsibility from
the administrator for the nontank vessel.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the administrator may
establish a lower standard of financial responsibility for a nontank
vessel that has a carrying capacity of 6,500 barrels of oil or less,
or for a nontank vessel that is owned and operated by California or a
federal agency and has a carrying capacity of 7,500 barrels of oil
or less. The standard shall be based upon the quantity of oil that
can be carried by the nontank vessel and the risk of an oil spill
into waters of the state. The administrator shall not set a standard
that is less than the expected cleanup costs and damages from an oil
spill into waters of the state.
(c) The administrator may adopt regulations to implement this
section.