Title GOV, California Gov. Code

The Governor shall ensure that the state fully and adequately responds to all oil spills in waters of the state. The administrator, acting at the direction of the Governor, shall implement activities relating to oil spill response, including drills and preparedness and oil spill …

If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the …

(a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (b), in coordination with all appropriate federal, state, and local government entities, the administrator shall periodically carry out announced and unannounced drills to test response and cleanup operations, equipment, contingency plans…

In addition to Section 8670.10, the administrator, in cooperation with the United States Coast Guard, shall establish a schedule of drills and exercises required pursuant to Section 155.4052 of Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The administrator shall make publicly ava…

(a) The administrator shall conduct studies and evaluations necessary for improving oil spill response, containment, and cleanup and oil spill wildlife rehabilitation in waters of the state and oil transportation systems. The administrator may expend moneys from the Oil Spill Pre…

On or before January 1, 2022, the administrator shall hold a technology workshop that shall include the topic of technology for addressing nonfloating oil spills. The administrator shall consider information gained from technology workshops, as well as available scientific and te…

(a) The administrator shall periodically evaluate the feasibility of requiring new technologies to aid in prevention, response, containment, cleanup, and wildlife rehabilitation. (b) (1) On or before January 1, 2017, the administrator shall submit a report to the Legislature, pur…

(a) The administrator shall license all oil spill cleanup agents, and shall adopt regulations governing the expedited testing, licensing, and use of oil spill cleanup agents. The administrator shall utilize toxicity and efficacy tests and other information from government and pri…

The administrator shall prepare and periodically revise regulations regarding licensing of oil spill cleanup agents. The authority of the administrator shall be substituted for the authority of the State Water Resources Control Board and cross references shall be corrected. The a…

If dispersants are used in response to an oil spill in state waters, the administrator shall provide written notification of their use to the Legislature within three days of the use. The administrator shall provide the Legislature with written justification of that use, includin…

The administrator shall coordinate the oil spill prevention and response programs and facility, tank vessel, and nontank vessel safety standards of the state with federal programs as appropriate and to the maximum extent possible. (Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 35, Sec. 15. (SB 861…

(a) The administrator shall ensure that he or she has available for support, either under direct employment, elsewhere in state government, or through contract for private or governmental services, personnel who are fully trained and familiar with oil spill response, containment,…

(a) The administrator, subject to the Governor, has the primary authority to direct prevention, removal, abatement, response, containment, and cleanup efforts with regard to all aspects of any oil spill in waters of the state, in accordance with any applicable facility or vessel …

(a) The administrator may adopt regulations to implement this chapter pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3). (b) (1) An emergency regulation adopted pursuant to amendments made to this chapter by Senate …

(a) The administrator shall carry out programs to provide training for individuals in response, containment, and cleanup operations and equipment, equipment deployment, and the planning and management of these programs. These programs may include training for members of the Calif…

The administrator may offer grants to a local government, federally recognized tribe, or other public entity with jurisdiction over or directly adjacent to waters of the state to provide oil spill response equipment to be deployed by a local spill response manager certified pursu…

The administrator may use volunteer workers in response, containment, restoration, wildlife rehabilitation, and cleanup efforts for oil spills in waters of the state. The volunteers shall be deemed employees of the state for the purpose of workers’ compensation under Article 2 (c…

(a) The administrator shall enter into discussions on behalf of the state with the States of Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington, for the purpose of developing interstate agreements regarding oil spill prevention and response. The agreements shall address, including, but not l…

The administrator shall take any action necessary and appropriate to promote the adoption of statutes or regulations by the federal government that establish all of the following requirements: (a) Each tank ship using ports in the state shall have alarms on the bridge that give w…

(a) The administrator shall adopt regulations regarding the equipment, personnel, and operation of vessels to and from marine terminals that are used to transfer oil. (b) The regulations shall be adopted, and thereafter periodically revised, to ensure the best achievable protecti…

The administrator may, for purposes of efficiency, safety, or implementation consistency, provide for services to vessels, ports, and port users which are necessary to achieve requirements mandated pursuant to this article. The administrator may establish or authorize reimburseme…

(a) The administrator shall adopt regulations governing tugboat escorts for tank ships and tank barges entering, leaving, or navigating in the harbors of the state. The regulations shall be adopted, and thereafter periodically revised, to ensure the best achievable protection of …

(a) The administrator may inspect or cause to be inspected on a regular basis all vessels. (b) The administrator shall evaluate and periodically review the adequacy of the vessel inspection programs conducted by the Coast Guard and any other federal, state, or local agency. The e…

(a) The administrator shall periodically conduct a comprehensive review of all oil spill contingency plans. The administrator shall do both of the following: (1) Segment the state into appropriate areas as necessary. (2) Evaluate the oil spill contingency plans for each area to d…

(a) For the purposes of this section, “vessel” means a vessel, as defined in Section 21 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, of 300 gross registered tons or more. (b) Any party responsible for a vessel shall notify the Coast Guard within one hour of a disability if the disabled ve…

(a) As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Vessels” means vessels as defined in Section 21 of the Harbors and Navigation Code. (2) “VTS system” means a vessel traffic service system. (b) The administrator shall negotiate an agreement with t…

Any vessel that is not in compliance with the time schedules and requirements relating to double hulls set forth in the federal Oil Pollution Prevention, Response, Liability and Compensation Act of 1990 shall be prohibited from docking, loading, or unloading at any marine termina…

(a) The administrator shall establish Harbor Safety Committees for harbors and adjacent regions of San Diego; Los Angeles/Long Beach; Port Hueneme; San Francisco; and Humboldt Bay. (b) The administrator shall determine the geographic area for each harbor safety committee. (c) The…

(a) Each harbor safety committee established pursuant to Section 8670.23 shall be responsible for planning for the safe navigation and operation of tank ships, tank barges, and other vessels within each harbor. Each committee shall prepare a harbor safety plan, encompassing all v…

(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that because the administrator must rely on the expertise provided by volunteer members of the harbor safety committees and be guided by their recommendations in making decisions that relate to the public safety, members of the harbor…

(a) The administrator shall evaluate all pilotage areas in the state. This evaluation shall include all of the following: (1) The effectiveness of the state licensing program. (2) The policies and procedures for investigating pilot incidents by either the Coast Guard or the State…

(a) A person who, without regard to intent or negligence, causes or permits any oil to be discharged in or on the waters of the state shall immediately contain, clean up, and remove the oil in the most effective manner that minimizes environmental damage and in accordance with th…

(a) (1) Without regard to intent or negligence, any party responsible for the discharge or threatened discharge of oil in waters of the state shall report the discharge immediately to the Office of Emergency Services pursuant to Section 25510 of the Health and Safety Code. (2) If…

Any local or state agency responding to an oil spill shall notify the Office of Emergency Services, if notification is required under Section 8670.25.5, Section 13272 of the Water Code, or any other notification procedure adopted in the California oil spill contingency plan has n…

(a) (1) All potentially responsible parties for an oil spill and all of their agents and employees and all state and local agencies shall carry out response and cleanup operations in accordance with the applicable contingency plan, unless directed otherwise by the administrator, …

(a) The administrator, taking into consideration the facility or vessel contingency plan requirements of the State Lands Commission, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the California Coastal Commission, and other state and federal agencies, shall adopt and implement regulation…

An operator shall maintain a level of readiness that will allow effective implementation of the applicable contingency plans. (Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 1248, Sec. 17. Effective September 24, 1990.)

(a) In accordance with the rules, regulations, and policies established by the administrator pursuant to Section 8670.28, an owner or operator of a facility, small marine fueling facility, or mobile transfer unit, or an owner or operator of a tank vessel, nontank vessel, or vesse…

(a) An oil spill response organization may apply to the administrator for a rating of that OSRO’s response capabilities. The administrator shall establish rating levels for classifying OSROs pursuant to subdivision (b). (b) (1) Upon receiving a completed application for rating, t…

(a) The administrator may review each oil spill contingency plan that has been approved pursuant to Section 8670.29 to determine whether it complies with Sections 8670.28 and 8670.29. (b) If the administrator finds the approved oil spill contingency plan is deficient, the plan sh…

(a) Each oil spill contingency plan required under this article shall be submitted to the administrator for review and approval. (b) The administrator shall review each submitted contingency plan to determine whether it complies with the administrator’s rules, policies, and regul…

(a) A spill management team (SMT) may apply to the administrator for a certification of that SMT’s response capabilities. The administrator shall establish criteria for certifying SMTs based on an SMT’s capacity to respond to spills and manage spills effectively pursuant to this …

(a) If the operator of a tank ship or tank barge for which a contingency plan has not been approved desires to have the tank ship or tank barge enter waters of the state, the administrator may give approval by telephone or facsimile machine for the entry of the tank ship or tank …

This article shall not apply to any tank vessel, nontank vessel, or vessel carrying oil as a secondary cargo that enters waters of the state because of imminent danger to the lives of crew members or if entering waters of the state will substantially aid in preventing an oil spil…

(a) The administrator, taking into consideration the California oil spill contingency plan, shall promulgate regulations regarding the adequacy of oil spill elements of area plans required pursuant to Section 25503 of the Health and Safety Code. In developing the regulations, the…

The administrator shall, within five working days after receipt of a contingency plan prepared pursuant to Section 8670.28 or 8670.35, post a notice that the plan is available for review. The administrator shall send a copy of the plan within two working days after receiving a re…