State California GC Sec 8574.1-8574.10 Oil spills GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 8574.1-8574.10 8574.1. In addition to any other authority conferred upon the Governor by this chapter, the Governor shall establish a California oil spill contingency plan pursuant to this article. 8574.2. Any plan established pursuant to this article shall provide for an integrated and effective state procedure to combat the results of major oil spills within the state. Such plan shall provide for specified state agencies to implement the plan. 8574.3. State agencies granted authority to implement a plan adopted under this article may use volunteer workers. The volunteers shall be deemed employees of the state for the purpose of workers' compensation under Article 2 (commencing with Section 3350) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 4 of the Labor Code. Any payments for workers' compensation under this section shall be made from the account specified in Section 8574.4. 8574.4. State agencies designated to implement the contingency plan shall account for all state expenditures made under the plan with respect to each oil spill. Expenditures accounted for under this section from an oil spill in marine waters shall be paid from the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund created pursuant to Section 8670.46. All other expenditures accounted for under this section shall be paid from the State Water Pollution Cleanup and Abatement Account in the State Water Quality Control Fund provided for in Article 3 (commencing with Section 13440) of Chapter 6 of Division 7 of the Water Code. If the party responsible for the spill is identified, that party shall be liable for the expenditures accounted for under this section, in addition to any other liability which may be provided for by law, in an action brought by the Attorney General. The proceeds from any such action for a spill in marine waters shall be paid into the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund. 8574.7. The Governor shall require the administrator, in consultation with the State Interagency Oil Spill Committee and not in conflict with the National Contingency Plan, to amend the California oil spill contingency plan by adding a marine oil spill contingency planning section which provides for the best achievable protection of the coast and marine waters. The marine oil spill contingency planning section shall consist of all of the following elements: (a) A state marine response element that specifies the hierarchy for state and local agency response to an oil spill. The element shall define the necessary tasks for oversight and control of cleanup and removal activities associated with a marine oil spill and shall specify each agency's particular responsibility in carrying out these tasks. The element shall also include an organizational chart of the state marine oil spill response organization and a definition of the resources, capabilities, and response assignments of each agency involved in cleanup and removal actions in a marine oil spill. (b) A regional and local planning element which shall provide the framework for the involvement of regional and local agencies in the state effort to respond to a marine oil spill, and shall ensure the effective and efficient use of regional and local resources in all of the following: (1) Traffic and crowd control. (2) Firefighting. (3) Boating traffic control. (4) Radio and communications control and provision of access to equipment. (5) Identification and use of available local and regional equipment or other resources suitable for use in cleanup and removal actions. (6) Identification of private and volunteer resources or personnel with special or unique capabilities relating to marine oil spill cleanup and removal actions. (7) Provision of medical emergency services. (c) A coastal protection element which establishes the state standards for coastline protection. The administrator, in consultation with the State Interagency Oil Spill Committee, the Coast Guard and Navy, and the shipping industry, shall develop criteria for coastline protection. If appropriate, the administrator shall consult with representatives from the States of Alaska, Washington, and Oregon, the Province of British Columbia in Canada, and the Republic of Mexico. The criteria shall designate at least all of the following: (1) Appropriate shipping lanes and navigational aids for tankers, barges, and other commercial vessels to reduce the likelihood of collisions between tankers, barges, and other commercial vessels. Designated shipping lanes shall be located off the coastline at a distance sufficient to significantly reduce the likelihood that disabled vessels will run aground along the coast of the state. (2) Ship position reporting and communications requirements. (3) Required predeployment of protective equipment for sensitive environmental areas along the coastline. (4) Required emergency response vessels which are capable of preventing disabled tankers from running aground. (5) Required emergency response vessels which are capable of commencing oil cleanup operations before spilled oil can reach the shoreline. (6) An expedited decisionmaking process for dispersant use in coastal waters. Prior to adoption of the process, the administrator shall ensure that a comprehensive testing program is carried out for any dispersant proposed for use in California marine waters. The testing program shall evaluate toxicity and effectiveness of the dispersants. (7) Required rehabilitation facilities for wildlife injured by spilled oil. (8) An assessment of how activities that usually require a permit from a state or local agency may be expedited or issued by the administrator in the event of an oil spill. (d) An environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas element which shall require the administrator, in conjunction with appropriate local agencies, to prepare and distribute to facilities and local and state agencies, regional maps depicting environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas in marine waters or along the coast. The maps shall designate those areas which have particularly high priority for protection against oil spills. The administrator shall specify protective requirements to be taken in the event of an oil spill for each environmentally and ecologically sensitive area. (e) The administrator shall complete the marine oil spill contingency planning section by January 1, 1993. Any recommendations for action that cannot be financed or implemented pursuant to the existing authority of the administrator shall be reported to the Legislature along with recommendations for financing those actions. (f) "Administrator," for purposes of this section, means the administrator appointed by the Governor pursuant to Section 8670.4. 8574.8. The administrator shall submit to the Governor and the Legislature the amended California oil spill contingency plan required, pursuant to Section 8574.7, by January 1, 1993. The administrator shall thereafter submit revised plans every three years. 8574.9. (a) The State Interagency Oil Spill Committee shall consist of all of the following persons: (1) The administrator named by the Governor pursuant to Section 8670.4. (2) The Chairperson of the State Lands Commission, or his or her designee. (3) The Chairperson of the California Coastal Commission, or his or her designee. (4) The Chairperson of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, or his or her designee. The chairperson of the commission shall only have voting and decisionmaking authority regarding matters under the jurisdiction of the commission. (5) A designated representative from all of the following agencies: (A) The Office of Emergency Services. (B) The State Water Resources Control Board. (C) The Department of Justice. (D) The California Highway Patrol. (E) The California National Guard. (F) The Division of Oil and Gas in the Department of Conservation. (G) The Department of Toxic Substances Control. (H) The Department of Transportation. (I) The Department of Parks and Recreation. (J) The Department of Water Resources. (K) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. (L) The State Fire Marshal. (M) The California regional water quality control boards (one representative). (N) The Resources Agency. (O) The California Environmental Protection Agency. (P) The California Conservation Corps. (Q) The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. (R) The Division of Occupational Safety and Health in the Department of Industrial Relations. (b) The administrator shall be the chairperson of the committee. The administrator shall ensure that personnel serve as staff to the committee. 8574.10. (a) The Review Subcommittee of the State Interagency Oil Spill Committee is hereby established. As used in this chapter, "review subcommittee" means the Review Subcommittee of the State Interagency Oil Spill Committee. The Director of Fish and Game, who shall serve as chair of the review subcommittee, the Executive Officer of the State Lands Commission, the Executive Director of the California Coastal Commission, the State Fire Marshal, the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, the Executive Director of the State Water Resources Control Board, and the Executive Director of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, or their designees, shall constitute the members of the review subcommittee. The representative of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission only shall have voting and decisionmaking authority regarding matters under the jurisdiction of the commission. The administrator may serve as the designee of the Director of Fish and Game. (b) All regulations and guidelines adopted pursuant to Chapter 7.4 (commencing with Section 8670.1) and Division 7.8 (commencing with Section 8750) of the Public Resources Code, and amendments to the California oil spill contingency plan, shall, prior to adoption, be submitted to the review subcommittee for review and comment. (c) Within 60 days from the date of receipt of regulations, guidelines, or amendments pursuant to subdivision (a), the review subcommittee shall review and submit comments to the submitting agency. Any recommendation of the review subcommittee shall be based on the standards of the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act, consisting of the provisions specified in Section 8670.1. This comment period may overlap any other comment periods required by law or allowed by the administrator. (d) The comments and recommendations of the review subcommittee shall not be binding on the submitting agency. Prior to adoption, and within 30 days from the date of receipt of a response from the review subcommittee, the submitting agency shall respond in writing to the review subcommittee concerning all of the findings and recommendations of the review subcommittee. The submitting agency may reject the recommendations of the review subcommittee only if the submitting agency determines that the action it chooses more effectively furthers the purposes of, and more effectively complies with, the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act. Whenever the submitting agency departs from a finding or recommendation of the review subcommittee, the written response of the submitting agency shall state its rationale for concluding that its action more effectively furthers the purposes of, and more effectively complies with, that act. Any public hearing that is required by this chapter or any other statute shall be held after the submitting agency has filed a response to the review subcommittee.