Title GOV — California Gov. Code

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.

(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…

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…

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.

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 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…

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. Renewable fuels, created from nonpetroleum rene…

(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 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) (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, …

An operator shall maintain a level of readiness that will allow effective implementation of the applicable contingency plans.

(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…

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 …

(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…

(a) To reduce the damages and costs from spills, the administrator shall develop an outreach program to provide assistance to the operators of small craft refueling docks. (b) The program shall include both of the following: (1) Voluntary inspections by the administrator. The adm…

(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 do…

(a) The Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury. The money in the fund is available for appropriation by the Legislature and may only be used for the purposes of this chapter, Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 8574.1) of Chapter 7, …

(a) The administrator shall administer the fund in accordance with this article. (b) The administrator may develop and adopt any rules, regulations, and guidelines determined to be necessary to carry out and enforce this article.

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 sha…

(a) For each fiscal year, consistent with this article, the administrator shall submit, as a proposed appropriation in the Governor’s Budget, an amount up to three million two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($3,250,000) for the purpose of equipping, operating, and maintaining the…

(a) The administrator shall charge a nontank vessel owner or operator a reasonable fee, to be collected with each application to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility, in an amount that is based upon the administrator’s costs in implementing this chapter relating to no…

(a) The administrator and the State Lands Commission, independently, shall contract with the Department of Finance for the preparation of a detailed report that shall be submitted on or before January 1, 2013, and no less than once every four years thereafter, to the Governor and…

(a) The Oil Spill Response Trust Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340, the money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the administrator for expenditure, without regard to fiscal years, for the purposes of this article. (b) For the pur…

The following shall be deposited into the fund: (a) The fee required pursuant to Section 8670.48. (b) Any federal funds received to pay for response, containment, abatement, and rehabilitation costs from an oil spill in waters of the state. (c) Any money borrowed by the Treasurer…

(a) The administrator may raise the fees specified in Section 8670.48 to a maximum of one dollar ($1) per barrel, provided that the fee may only be raised by maximum increments of twenty-five cents ($0.25) not more frequently than once every three months. The administrator shall …

(a) (1) The administrator may only expend money from the fund to pay for any of the following, subject to the lien established in Section 8670.53.2: (A) To pay the cost of obtaining financial security as authorized by paragraph (5) of subdivision (k) and subdivision (o) of Sectio…

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) Money from the fund may only be expended to cover the costs incurred by the state and local governments and agencies for any of the following: (1) Responding promptly to, containing, and cleaning up the discharge, if those efforts are any of the following: (A) Undertaken purs…

(a) (1) Upon learning of an oil spill, the administrator shall immediately designate the responsible party, who, if that designation is not challenged, shall immediately, widely advertise the manner in which it shall accept and pay claims. (2) If the designation of the administra…

Section 10295 and Sections 10336 to 10381, inclusive, of the Public Contract Code shall not apply to agreements entered into by the Treasurer in connection with making or issuing of any financial arrangements, including the issuance of bonds or other obligations, authorized by th…

(a) The Oil Spill Technical Advisory Committee, hereafter in this article, the committee, is hereby established to provide public input and independent judgment of the actions of the administrator. The committee shall consist of 14 members, of whom eight shall be appointed by the…

(a) The committee shall convene a taskforce, including appropriate state and federal governmental representatives, nongovernmental organizations, oil spill response organizations, and commercial fishing and other potential vessels of opportunity, to evaluate and make recommendati…

(a) (1) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (d), and subject to subdivision (c), a person, including, but not limited to, an oil spill response organization, its agents, subcontractors, or employees, shall not be liable under this chapter or the laws of the state to any pe…

(a) When the administrator determines that any person has engaged in, is engaged in, or threatens to engage in, any acts or practices which constitute a violation of any provision of this chapter, Division 7.8 (commencing with Section 8750) of the Public Resources Code, or any ru…

Every civil action commenced pursuant to this chapter or Division 7.8 (commencing with Section 8750) of the Public Resources Code at the request of the administrator shall be brought by the city attorney, the district attorney, or the Attorney General in the name of the people of…

(a) Any civil action brought pursuant to this chapter, or pursuant to Division 7.8 (commencing with Section 8750) of the Public Resources Code, shall be brought in the county in which the spill, discharge, or violation occurred, the county in which the principal place of business…