Bill Text: CA AB1904 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Hazardous materials: natural gas odorants.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Senate committee without further action. [AB1904 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB1904-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1904	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 23, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 27, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Wilk
    (   Coauthor:   Senator   Pavley
  ) 

                        FEBRUARY 11, 2016

   An act to add and repeal Chapter 20 (commencing with Section
26250) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to
hazardous materials, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1904, as amended, Wilk. Hazardous materials: natural gas
odorants.
   Existing law authorizes the Occupational Safety and Health
Standards Board to adopt, amend, and repeal occupational safety and
health standards and orders. Existing regulations adopted pursuant to
that authorization require natural gas that is delivered into any
vessel or system, as specified, to have a distinctive odor of
sufficient intensity so that the presence of the gas may be detected
down to concentrations in air of not over 20% of the lower explosive
limit, and require that these odorants be, among other things,
harmless to humans, nontoxic, and noncorrosive to certain metals.
   This bill would require the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment to submit a report to the Legislature, on or before
January 1, 2019, that includes an assessment of  the
  any potential  danger of odorants currently used
in natural gas storage facilities in the state to public health and
safety and the environment, and that identifies alternative odorants
for possible use in natural gas storage facilities, as specified.
 The bill would require the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment to consult with appropriate entities, as specified. 

   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 26250) is added to
Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 20.  NATURAL GAS ODORANTS


   26250.  On or before January 1, 2019, the Office of Environmental
Health Hazard Assessment shall submit a report to the Legislature, in
compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, that includes
all of the following:
   (a) An assessment of  the   any potential
 danger of odorants currently used in natural gas storage
facilities in the state to public health and safety and the
environment.
   (b) Alternative odorants identified by the Office of Environmental
Health Hazard Assessment for possible use in natural gas storage
facilities that pose a lower risk to public health and safety and the
environment. The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
shall evaluate the following issues for every alternative odorant
identified:
   (1) The feasibility of using the alternative odorant in natural
gas storage facilities.
   (2) Any risks of using the alternative odorant, including, but not
limited to, the risks of unwanted chemical  reactions and
  reactions,  increased  corrosion.
  corrosion, and potential risks to public health and
safety. 
   (3) The effectiveness of the alternative odorant at warning of a
natural gas leak. 
   (c) The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall
consult with appropriate entities including, but not limited to,
odorant producers, appropriate state agencies or federal agencies, or
both, and interested parties with germane existing scientific
research.  
   (d) For purposes of this chapter, "odorant" means any material
added to natural gas to impart a distinct odor so that the natural
gas is readily detectable by a person with a normal sense of smell.

  SEC. 2.  Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
chapter is repealed on January 1, 2021.
  SEC. 3.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order to immediately begin assessing the danger of odorants in
natural gas, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.