ASSEMBLYMEMBER PEDRO NAVA
35TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
For Immediate Release: April 16, 2008
Contact: John Mann
Phone: (805) 483-9808

SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Pedro Nava today announced that Assembly Bill 1960, which will provide increased authority to the Calfiornia Deparment of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) to ensure that all California based oil companies meet minimum operating standards and that a mechanism is in place to ensures proper accountability for abandon wells, oil spills and incident clean-up costs will be covered, passed the Assembly Natural Resources Committee yesterday on a bipartisan 7 to 0 vote. 

“I am proud to be joining forces with statewide environmental organizations to better protect Californians and the environment from pollution,” said Nava. “As a former deputy district attorney, I know that it is imperative that state authorities have all the necessary tools to pursue serial polluters in California. It is unacceptable that the most egregious violators can pollute for years and not be held accountable and forced to clean-up their act.”

According to state authorities there are roughly three times as many inland spills as there are marine spills. Many of these spills are the result of poor maintenance of old equipment.   In addition there have been a series of catastrophic on-shore oil spills throughout the state and in Assemblymember Nava’s district.

Specifically, AB 1960 will provide increased authority to the California Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) to do the following:

1)     Inspect land based oil facilities and strengthen minimum facility standards for operation in California.2)     If a facility does not meet minimum maintenance standards, DOGGR will have the authority to order it to cease its operations until it can come into compliance.

3)     Require operators with a history of negligence or outstanding liabilities with the state to post a “life of well” and “life of facility” bonding.  The bonding will ensure that the state can properly decommission oil facilities, plug abandon wells and ensure that spills and incident clean-up costs will be covered. 

4)     The bond funds can also be used by DOGGR to cover needed maintenance so that a facility meets minimum operating standards.  

5)     Require an oil facility operator to file an oil spill contingency plan with DOGGR within 3 months following initial production or acquisition.

6)     Create an interagency committee to create and maintain an oil spill contingency plan.  The committee shall consist of officials from DOGGR, OSPR, the State Fire Marshal’s Office of Pipeline Safety, and the State Water Resources Control Board. The interagency committee shall convene no later than July 10, 2010 to adopt guidelines for onshore oil spill contingency plans.