The Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981 requires the State Fire Marshal to administer provisions regulating the inspection of intrastate pipelines that transport hazardous liquids. A person who willfully and knowingly violates the act or a regulation issued pursuant to the act is, upon conviction, subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment, as provided.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, no later than December 31, 2030.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.

This bill would, for a project that includes the construction of a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide subject to the requirements of the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981, require the lead agency to prepare or cause to be prepared an EIR or equivalent documentation, as defined, and to certify or adopt those documents for the project. The bill would require the lead agency, upon the completion of a draft EIR or draft equivalent documentation, to notify owners and operators of sensitive receptors within 1 4 mile of the proposed pipeline and to the State Fire Marshal, as provided. The bill would require the lead agency, at least 30 days before the certification of the EIR or the adoption of the equivalent documentation, to notify the State Fire Marshal of the project. By imposing additional duties on a lead agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that the State Fire Marshal provide to the lead agency, in writing, its confirmation that the pipeline is constructed consistent with the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981 and to make the determination publicly available on its internet website.

Existing law requires that pipelines only be used to transport carbon dioxide to or from a carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration project once the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has concluded its rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline.

This bill would limit the language restricting the transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline to apply only to federally regulated interstate pipelines, and would require that intrastate pipelines be used to transport carbon dioxide to or from a carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration project only after the State Fire Marshal adopts its regulations pursuant to the bill and only once the project operator demonstrates that the pipelines meet the standards in those regulations.

Existing law assesses a civil penalty for a violation of the act or regulations adopted pursuant to the act. Existing law requires civil penalties assessed for violation, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be available to the State Fire Marshal to provide hazardous liquid fire suppression training to local fire departments.

This bill would additionally authorize the assessed civil penalties to be used to provide fire responder training for hazardous gas response and suppression training to local fire departments.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.