BILL NUMBER: SB 1003 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 13, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 16, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Senator Escutia
FEBRUARY 22, 2005
An act to add Chapter 6.5 6.6
(commencing with Section 25570) to Division 15 of the Public
Resources Code, relating to the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1003, as amended, Escutia Energy resources: liquefied natural
gas terminals.
(1) Existing law, until January 1, 1988, authorized the
Public Utilities Commission to issue a permit for the construction
and operation of a liquefied natural gas terminal pursuant to a
prescribed permit procedure. The existing
Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Act establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission (Energy Commission), and requires the Energy
Commission to prepare a biennial integrated energy policy report. The
act requires the Energy Commission to certify sufficient sites and
related facilities that are required to provide a supply of
electricity sufficient to accommodate projected demand for power
statewide. The act grants the Energy Commission the exclusive
authority to certify any stationary or floating electrical
generating facility using any source of thermal energy, with a
generating capacity of 50 megawatts or more, and any facilities
appurtenant thereto.
The existing Public Utilities Act defines a gas corporation as
including, with certain exceptions, every corporation or person
owning, controlling, operating, or managing any gas plant for
compensation within the state, and defines a gas plant as including
all real estate, fixtures, and personal property, owned, controlled,
operated, or managed in connection with or to facilitate the
production, generation, transmission, delivery, underground storage,
or furnishing of gas, natural or manufactured, except propane, for
light, heat, or power. The act prohibits any gas corporation from
beginning the construction of, among other things, a line, plant, or
system, or of any extension thereof, without having first obtained
from the Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) a certificate of public
convenience and necessity as a determination that the present or
future public convenience and necessity require or will require that
construction. The act requires that the CPUC consider certain
factors in determining whether to issue a certificate of public
convenience and necessity, including community values, recreational
and park areas, historical and aesthetic values, and influence on the
environment. In issuing a certificate of public convenience and
necessity for additional natural gas pipeline capacity proposed for
construction within the state, the CPUC is required to consider the
state's need to provide sufficient and competitively priced natural
gas supplies for both present and anticipated future residential,
industrial, commercial, and utility demands.
This bill would enact the Liquefied Natural Gas Evaluation and
Terminal Permitting Act. The bill would establish a permitting
process for the construction and operation of liquefied natural gas
terminals, as defined, and would require the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission to implement the permitting process, as specified.
The bill would provide that a permit may contain conditions
necessary or appropriate to ensure the public health, safety, and
welfare and other terms and conditions, as provided. The bill
would further provide that the issuance of a permit by the Energy Com
mission does not invalidate any approval for the
construction or operation of an LNG terminal issued by any other
state agency, as defined, or a local agency, as defined, and absent a
material modification, as defined, issuance of a permit
by the Energy Commission is not a basis for requiring a new approval
from the state agency or local agency.
(2) The bill would provide that it is to become operative only if
SB 426 of the 2005-06 Regular Session is also enacted and becomes
operative on or before January 1, 2006.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Liquefied natural gas may need to be imported into this state
in order to meet consumer demand for natural gas at reasonable
prices, which would require the construction of one or more liquefied
natural gas terminals and associated infrastructure.
(2) Several liquefied natural gas terminals have been proposed to
serve natural gas consumers in this state.
(3) It is in the public interest for the state to conduct an
orderly and comprehensive public assessment of the impacts of the
construction and operation of liquefied natural gas terminals on the
economy, consumers, communities, the environment, and public health
and safety.
(4) Public assessment of these impacts is a matter of statewide
concern, and existing law reserves authority for that assessment to
the state.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this act, to
establish clear statutory procedures by which the state may exercise
its duties and authority with respect to the assessment and
permitting of proposed liquefied natural gas terminals.
SEC. 2. Chapter 6.5 6.6 (commencing
with Section 25570) is added to Division 15 of the Public Resources
Code, to read:
CHAPTER 6.5. 6.6. LIQUEFIED
NATURAL GAS EVALUATION AND TERMINAL PERMITTING ACT
Article 1. General Provisions
25570. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
Liquefied Natural Gas Evaluation and Terminal Permitting Act.
25570.1. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
apply:
(a) "Feasible" means capable of being accomplished in a successful
manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account all
of the following:
(1) Economic, environmental, social, technological, safety, and
reliability factors.
(2) Gas supply and demand forecasts.
(3) Alternative sources of natural gas.
(b) "Liquefied natural gas" or "LNG" means natural gas cooled to
minus 259 degrees Fahrenheit so that it forms a liquid at
approximately atmospheric pressure.
(c) "Liquefied natural gas terminal," "terminal," or "LNG
terminal," means facilities designed to receive liquefied natural gas
from ocean-going vessels, including those facilities required for
storage and regasification of the liquefied natural gas and those
pipelines and facilities necessary for the transmission of the
regasified natural gas to the point of interconnection with existing
pipelines.
(d) "Permit" means the single authorization
provided pursuant to this chapter to construct and operate an LNG
terminal in this state.
(e) "Person" means an individual, organization, partnership, or
other business association or corporation, the federal government,
the state government, any local government, and any agency or
instrumentality of any of those entities.
25570.2. A person shall not construct or operate an LNG terminal
without obtaining a permit pursuant to this chapter.
25570.4. The commission shall charge each person who applies for
a permit pursuant to this chapter a fee, which shall be sufficient to
reimburse the commission for all costs of review pursuant to this
chapter.
25570.5. All state agencies shall cooperate with and, at
the request of the commission, shall execute interagency agreements
the commission to assist the commission
in with evaluating a site identified pursuant
to Article 2 (commencing with Section 25571). The costs incurred by a
state agency as the result of an interagency agreement shall be paid
by the commission and shall be reimbursed from fees collected
pursuant to Section 25570.4.
25570.7. 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 this
chapter that can be given effect without the invalid provision or
application, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are
severable.
Article 3. Application for Permit
25572. The permit application shall contain the following
information:
(a) Maps, pictorial, and written descriptions of present and
proposed development for the site, and relevant geological,
archeological, aesthetic, ecological, seismic, marine transport, and
population data.
(b) A detailed description of the proposed engineering design
features, proposed methods of construction, and proposed operating
procedures for the terminal, and the proposed plan for marine
operations, including shipping routes and control procedures.
(c) An analysis of accident possibilities, consequences, and risks
for the terminal.
(d) A description of safety and public protection features,
including compatibility with defense and homeland security
objectives, fire protection measures, marine navigational systems,
emergency systems for shutting down the terminal, and other
contingency plans for accidents.
(e) The cost of the terminal, fuel consumption by operating
terminal equipment, service life of the terminal, and capacity of the
terminal.
(f) The source of liquefied natural gas, including the
contractual terms for the delivery of gas supplies.
(g) A description of all proposed and existing natural gas
transmission lines related to the proposed terminal, including a map,
in suitable scale, of the routing that shows details of the
right-of-way in the vicinity of populated or developed areas, parks,
and recreational areas; the justification for the route; and a
preliminary statement of the effect of any proposed natural gas
transmission line on the environment.
(h) A description of contingency plans for transmitting equivalent
volumes of natural gas in the event of both short- and long-term
interruptions of the LNG supply system for the proposed terminal.
(i) A description of the proposed method of financing the terminal
and analysis of the costs of the terminal on natural gas consumers
in this state.
(j) The result of the commission's ranking pursuant to Article 2
(commencing with Section 25571).
(k) Evidence of approvals required by any other state or local
agency for the construction and operation of the terminal.
(l) Any other information that the applicant deems necessary or
desirable to support its application and better inform the commission
and the public.
25572.1. At any time after the filing of the application, the
commission may require the applicant to furnish additional, relevant
information as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this
chapter.
Article 4. Permit to Construct and Operate an LNG Terminal
25576. The commission shall issue a decision on an application
for a permit to construct and operate an LNG terminal pursuant to
this article.
25576.1. (a) The commission shall not issue a permit for
construction and operation of a terminal at a site that is not
evaluated and ranked pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section
25571).
(b) The commission shall not issue a permit for construction and
operation of a terminal unless the terminal has received all other
approvals otherwise required by law. required
by federal, state, and local law. A permit or approval issued by a
federal, state, or local entity responsible for enforcing a law shall
be accepted by the commission as conclusive that the terminal has
received approval, unless and until the permit or approval
is set aside in a court of law or revoked by the federal, state, or
local entity issuing the permit or approval.
(c) If the commission issues a permit, the commission shall issue
a permit for construction and operation at the site designated as the
highest ranked site, unless the commission determines that
construction and operation of the highest ranked site is not
feasible, and that issuance of a permit to the next highest ranked
site is necessary and consistent with this chapter.
25576.6.
25576.3. (a) Prior to issuance of a permit to
construct and operate a terminal, the commission shall hold at least
one public hearing in the city or county where the terminal is
proposed to be located.
(b) To the greatest extent possible, the commission shall
expeditiously provide information to that city or county and
cooperate with requests for information to enable the city or county
to develop and present recommendations in a timely fashion.
(c) The city or county within whose jurisdiction the terminal is
proposed to be located may hold public hearings on the proposed
terminal.
(d) The city or county may make appropriate recommendations to the
commission, including, but not limited to, recommendations regarding
safety, protection of the environment, and local land use.
25576.5. The issuance of a permit by the commission does not
invalidate any approval for the construction or operation of an LNG
terminal issued by any other state agency, or a local agency, and,
absent a material modification, issuance of a permit by the
commission is not a basis for requiring a new approval from the state
agency or local agency. For purposes of this section, the following
terms have the following meanings:
(a) "Local agency" means a county or city, whether general law or
chartered, a city and county, and a special or other district.
(b) "Material modification" means a substantial change in the
plans for construction or operation of the LNG terminal facility from
those previously approved by the state agency or local agency.
(c) "State agency" means any agency, board, or commission of state
government, and includes an air pollution control district and an
air quality management district.
25580. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
responsible agency for an application to construct and operate an LNG
terminal shall consider that application within 180 days from the
date of the certification by the lead agency of an
environmental impact report prepared pursuant to Section 21000 or
21151. receipt of the completed application by the
responsible agency.
SEC. 3. This act shall become operative only if Senate Bill 426
of the 2005-06 Regular Session is also enacted and becomes operative
on or before January 1, 2006.