Bill Text: CA AB3015 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 3015 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Marine terminal operations.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-25 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB3015 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB3015-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 3015

Introduced by Assembly Member Caballero

February 16, 2018

An act relating to greenhouse gases.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 3015, as introduced, Caballero. Marine terminal operations.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature.

The California Clean Truck, Bus, and Off-Road Vehicle and Equipment Technology Program, upon appropriation from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, funds zero- and near-zero-emission truck, bus, and off-road vehicle and equipment technologies and related projects, including vehicles and equipment used at ports. Existing law also requires the state board to give priority for funding to projects benefiting disadvantaged communities, as specified.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation, among other things, to require state agencies to maintain a certain executive order issued by the Governor regarding greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets to be met by 2050 and to ensure that the regulations of air emissions from public seaport operations with respect to marine terminal cargo handling equipment and ocean going vessels at-berth, are implemented consistent with various objectives, as specified.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) In 2006, the Legislature passed the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code), which created a comprehensive, multi-year program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in California. That act requires the State Air Resources Board to develop a scoping plan that described the approach California will take to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to achieve the goal of reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

(b) In April 2015, Governor Brown issued Executive Order No. B-30-15 which established new interim statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction targets to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and to ensure California meets its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. All state agencies with jurisdiction over sources of greenhouse gas emissions were directed to implement measures to achieve reductions of greenhouse gas emissions to meet the 2030 and 2050 targets. The State Air Resources Board was directed to update the scoping plan for the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 to reflect the 2030 target, and therefore, is moving forward with the update process. The mid-term target is critical to help frame the suite of policy measures, regulations, planning efforts, and investments in clean technologies and infrastructure needed to continue driving down emissions.

(c) In 2016, the Legislature passed Chapter 249 of the Statutes of 2016, which codifies a 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 40 percent below 1990 levels. With the passage of that statute, the Legislature passed Chapter 250 of the Statutes of 2016, which provides additional direction for developing the scoping plan.

(d) The climate change scoping plan was first approved by the State Air Resources Board in 2008. The first update to the climate change scoping plan was approved by the State Air Resources Board in May 2014.

(e) On December 14, 2017, the Final 2017 Scoping Plan Update was adopted by the State Air Resources Board as required to implement and reflect the 2030 greenhouse gas emissions targets set by Executive Order No. B-30-15 and codified by Chapter 249 of the Statutes of 2016, and the 2050 greenhouse gas emissions targets set by the executive order.

(f) In 2013, the Legislature passed Chapter 223 of the Statutes of 2013, which required that the Transportation Agency develop a state freight plan that provides for governance of the immediate and long-range planning activities and capital investments of the state with respect to the movement of freight.

(g) In 2014, the final California Freight Mobility Plan was completed by the Transportation Agency and the Department of Transportation in consultation with the California Freight Advisory Committee, and submitted to the Legislature, Governor, California Transportation Commission, Public Utilities Commission, and State Air Resources Board.

(h) In July 2015, Governor Brown issued Executive Order No. B-32-15, which directed the Secretary of Transportation, Secretary for Environmental Protection, and Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to lead other relevant state departments in developing an integrated action plan by July 2016 that “establishes clear targets to improve freight efficiency, transition to zero-emission technologies, and increase competitiveness of California’s freight system.” Participating state departments include the State Air Resources Board, Department of Transportation, State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

(i) In July 2016, the California Sustainable Freight Action Plan was completed in response to Executive Order No. B-32-15 and included recommendations on, amongst others, “[a] long-term 2050 Vision and Guiding Principles for California’s future freight transport system,” and “[t]argets for 2030 to guide the State toward meeting the Vision.”

(j) The federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7401 et seq.) requires states with unhealthy levels of ozone, inhalable particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide to develop plans for these areas, known as state implementation plans (SIPs). SIPs are comprehensive plans that describe how an area will attain national ambient air quality standards, with deadlines set for attainment based on the severity of an area’s air pollution problem. SIPs are not single documents, but rather a compilation of new and previously submitted plans, programs, district rules, state regulations and federal controls. State law makes the State Air Resources Board the lead agency for all purposes related to the SIP. The State Air Resources Board prepares SIP elements and reviews submissions for specific regions and areas and then submits SIP revisions to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for approval and publication in the Federal Register. At any one time, several California SIP documents and submittals are pending USEPA approval.

(k) In May 2016, the State Air Resources Board released an updated mobile source strategy which demonstrated how the state can attain air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter by 2031, achieve greenhouse gas emission reduction targets of 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, continue progress towards 80 percent reduction by 2050, reduce petroleum usage by 2030, and increase energy efficiency by 2030.

(l) In March 2017, the State Air Resources Board approved the state SIP strategy, which along with the Sustainable Freight Action Plan, Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Strategy, and Climate Change Scoping Plan, serves as the basis for the implementation of the mobile source strategy. The State Air Resources Board has submitted the state SIP strategy to the USEPA for approval.

(m) The state, acting by and through the State Air Resources Board, currently controls emissions from vessels while at-berth under the Airborne Toxic Control Measure for Auxiliary Diesel Engines Operated on Ocean-Going Vessels At-Berth in a California Port regulation (Section 93118.3 of Title 17 of California Code of Regulations). The purpose of the at-berth regulation is to reduce emissions from diesel auxiliary engines on container ships, passenger ships, and refrigerated cargo ships while berthing at a California port. The at-berth regulation defines a California port as the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco, and Hueneme. The at-berth regulation provides vessel fleet operators visiting these ports two options to reduce at-berth emissions from auxiliary engines by either: turning off auxiliary engines and connecting the vessel to some other source of power, most likely grid-based shore power, or using alternative control technology that achieves equivalent emission reductions. By 2014 the at-berth regulation required auxiliary engine power generated by a covered fleet of vessels to be reduced by 50 percent, in 2017 the requirement was increased to a 70 percent reduction, and on January 1, 2020, auxiliary engine power generated by a covered fleet will need to be reduced by 80 percent.

(n) The state, acting by and through the State Air Resources Board, currently controls emissions from cargo handling equipment (CHE) at California’s seaports and intermodal rail yards under the Regulation for Mobile Cargo Handling Equipment at Ports and Intermodal Rail Yards (Section 2479 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations). The regulation establishes best available control technology for new and in-use CHE that operates at California’s ports and intermodal rail yards. The rules are applicable to all diesel-fueled equipment used at a California port or intermodal rail yard to lift or move containers, bulk or liquid cargo, or to perform routine or predictable maintenance and repair activities. Equipment that handles cargo containers includes yard trucks, top handlers, side handlers, reach stackers, forklifts, and rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes. Equipment that is used to handle bulk cargo includes dozers, excavators, loaders, and railcar movers. Forklifts, aerial lifts, and other types of equipment used in maintenance operations at ports and intermodal rail yards are also considered CHE for the purposes of that regulation.

(o) Efforts by the state, private industry, and seaports that have resulted in emissions reductions and improvements in environmental quality at California’s seaports over the past decade have been substantial, significant, and unprecedented.

(p) At the Port of Los Angeles in 2016, when compared to 2005, the existing suite of regulations, incentives, and industry investments and initiatives have resulted in emissions reductions of 98 percent of oxides of sulfur (SOx) and 90 percent of diesel particulate matter from ocean-going vessels, of 91 percent reductions of diesel particulate matter and 19 percent of carbon dioxide equivalent from cargo handling equipment, 97 percent reductions of diesel particulate matter and 90 percent of SOx from drayage trucks, and overall emissions reductions from all sources of oxides of nitrogen by 57 percent.

(q) At the Port of Oakland in 2015, when compared to 2005, efforts have resulted in emissions reductions of 98 percent of diesel particulate matter from drayage trucks, 90 percent reductions in SOx from ocean-going vessels, and 82 percent reductions in diesel particulate matter from cargo handling equipment.

(r) Improving the efficiency of California’s freight transport system is vital to the state’s economy. Traditional routes of moving freight face increasing competition from across the globe, and California’s system should anticipate and stay ahead of these changes. Currently, California is the nation’s largest gateway for international trade and domestic commerce, with an interconnected system of ports, railroads, highways, and roads that allow freight from around the world to move throughout the state and nation. This system is responsible for one-third of the state’s economic product and jobs, with freight-dependent industries accounting for over seven hundred and forty billion dollars ($740,000,000,000) in gross domestic product and over five million jobs in 2014. However, California’s freight transport system is under pressure to serve our growing population and satisfy dynamic market demands, while other locations in the United States and across the world are fiercely competing for this economic activity.

(s) Maintaining the state’s cargo competitiveness is not just an imperative for the economic health of California but is necessary to preserve reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases. Studies have demonstrated that when California loses marketshare and volumes of imports to other ports and gateways on the gulf and Atlantic coasts that greenhouse gas emissions associated with this diversion are substantial. Greenhouse gas emissions are on average 22 percent higher when cargo which originates in the Far East is diverted from the west coast ports in favor of east coast and gulf coast ports.

SEC. 2.

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to do both of the following:

(a) Require state agencies to do all of the following:

(1) Maintain Executive Order No. B-32-15 and follow California Sustainable Freight Action Plan actions to produce “win-win” outcomes to protect both one-third of the state’s economy and to achieve the greenhouse gas emissions reductions goals by maintaining and growing California’s intermodal marketshare.

(2) Establish transition to zero emission goals consistent with the long-term vision of Executive Order No. B-30-15 and Chapter 249 of the Statutes of 2016 such that maritime sources are focused on helping the state achieve its greenhouse gas emissions levels of 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

(3) Maintain current emissions progress consistent with the 2017 update to the climate change scoping plan and to specifically avoid the application of unnecessary, unplanned, aspirational, and inconsistent 2030 benchmarks.

(4) Achieve all actions and planned improvements to regulatory controls on goods movement emissions sources, including with respect to cargo handling equipment, as described in the Sustainable Freight Action Plan, the mobile source strategy, the California Freight Mobility Plan, and the climate change scoping plan.

(5) Ensure that already-scheduled rule expansion and implementation, plus future amendments identified as improvements to the administration of the regulation, occur for ships at-berth to ensure that progress continues on improving public health and reducing criteria pollutants.

(b) Ensure that the regulations of air emissions from public seaport operations with respect to marine terminal cargo handling equipment and ocean going vessels at-berth shall be implemented in a manner consistent with all of the following:

(1) The State Air Resources Board’s Final 2017 Scoping Plan Update, as approved December 14, 2017, with respect to the policy goal of achieving 80 percent greenhouse gas emissions reductions below 1990 levels by 2050, as established in Executive Order No. B-30-15.

(2) The California Sustainable Freight Action Plan, as finalized in 2016, with respect to the policy goals of Executive Order No. B-32-15.

(3) The State Air Resources Board’s mobile source strategy, as adopted on March 23, 2017, with respect to operating in a manner consistent with the adopted state SIP strategy regarding activities for ozone, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter.

(4) The Airborne Toxic Control Measure for Auxiliary Diesel Engines Operated on Ocean-Going Vessels At-Berth in a California Port set forth in Section 93118.3 of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, with respect to both the equivalent emission reduction option and the reduced onboard power generation option, as currently effective and as subsequently amended, so long as all subsequent amendments are consistent with the plans as described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive.

(5) The Regulation for Mobile Cargo Handling Equipment at Ports and Intermodal Rail Yards set forth in Section 2479 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, as currently effective and as may be subsequently amended, is implemented consistent with the plans as described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive.

(6) The California Freight Mobility Plan, as adopted in 2014, and as may be subsequently amended, is implemented consistent with the plans as described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive.