BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2685
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Date of Hearing: April 12, 2004
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Sarah Reyes, Chair
AB 2685 (Oropeza) - As Introduced: February 20, 2004
SUBJECT : Energy resources: Energy Independence Board
SUMMARY : Creates the Energy Independence Board (EIB) within the
Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to facilitate the
development of electricity generation facilities. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Creates the EIB within OPR with the specified purpose to
facilitate the development of electricity generation
facilities that or under 50 megawatts in size, including
renewable energy and distributed generation facilities.
2)States that the EIB shall consist of a representative from
each of the following:
a) Air Resources Board.
b) California Environmental Protection Agency.
c) Department of Fish and Game.
d) Integrated Waste Management Board.
e) Resources Agency.
f) State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission. (CEC)
g) State Water Quality Control Board.
1)States that the focus of the EIB shall be on streamlining
regulatory requirements and processes.
2)Allows local governments, non-profit organizations, and
businesses to apply to the EIB for assistance in improving the
coordination of state entities related to developing new and
expanding existing electricity generation facilities in
California.
3)States that nothing in this bill reduces or authorizes the EIB
to reduce existing environmental or other regulatory
requirements.
EXISTING LAW
1)Creates OPR that serves the Governor and his cabinet as staff
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for long-range planning and research and constitutes the
comprehensive state planning agency. In this capacity, OPR
formulates, evaluates, and updates long-range goals and
policies for land use, population growth, urban expansion,
development, open space, resource preservation and
utilization, and air and water quality.
2)Creates the State Clearinghouse (SCH) within OPR which
coordinates the state level review of environmental documents
pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
and provides technical assistance on land use planning and
CEQA matters.
3)Grants the CEC the statutory authority to license thermal
power plants of 50 megawatts or greater and related
transmission lines, fuel supply lines, and related facilities.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : The CEC has authority to license all thermal power
plants of 50 megawatts or greater. The CEC acts as a one stop
shop for permitting these larger thermal projects.
Alternatively, proposals to build generation facilities that do
not fall within CEC's jurisdiction may require approval from the
local city or county planning agencies. The local entity will
not only issue both land use permits and building permits but
will act as the lead agency for any CEQA requirements. Many of
these projects will also require approval from the local air
board and may require water discharge permits.
On the eve of the energy crisis, the Legislature created the
Clean Energy Green Team as part of AB 970 (Ducheny), Chapter
329, Statutes of 2000, to help expedite permitting for new
generation facilities. The Green Team consisted of
representatives from agencies with regulatory authority over any
portion of permitting and construction of new generation,
including OPR. Under provisions in AB 970, the Green Team's
authority sunsetted December 31, 2003.
Under its role as a member of the Green Team and under order
from Governor Davis, OPR helped expedite the permitting of the
new generation facilities during the energy crisis by
coordinating the activities of the various agencies with
permitting authority. The coordination efforts of OPR were
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aimed at forcing permits to be issued as rapidly as possible by
assuring that agencies were processing applications on similar
timelines and were not issuing contradictory orders.
According the author, the intent of this bill is to help
streamline the CEQA permitting process for citing generation
facilities by codifying the role OPR played in the energy
crisis. The author believes that OPR and the SCH are in a
unique position to coordinate the activities of the various
agencies that play a role in permitting generation facilities
over which the CEC does not have jurisdiction.
What are the true obstacles to new construction
According to the CEC there are over 6,500 megawatts of power
plants that have been permitted but are not being constructed.
The owners of these permits state that they are not building due
to lack of financing, regulatory uncertainty, and rate recovery.
Given the large number of facilities that are already permitted
and not under construction, there is no clear evidence that
streamlining the permitting process will actually encourage more
construction.
One more energy board?
There are seven agencies, boards or commissions in California
with some jurisdiction over electricity in California. Four of
these agencies play a role in electricity infrastructure
planning -- the California Public Utilities Commission, the CEC,
The Independent System Operator and The Power Authority. While
streamlining the permitting process for some generation
facilities may be a laudable goal, will adding one more board to
the mix help improve California's electricity infrastructure
needs or will it cause more confusion?
Since OPR has already played a role in expediting the permitting
process without the creation of a board, the Committee may wish
to amend the bill to delete the creation of the EIB and instead
require the State Clearinghouse within OPR to, upon request,
facilitate the development of electricity generation by
coordinating the environmental reviews of new electricity
generation outside of CEC's jurisdiction.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
AB 2685
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Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Edward Randolph / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083