Bill Text: NH SB325 | 2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relative to oil spill preparedness and response.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-2)

Status: (Passed) 2014-06-27 - Signed by the Governor on 06/16/14; Chapter 0137; Effective 06/16/14 [SB325 Detail]

Download: New_Hampshire-2014-SB325-Amended.html

SB 325-FN-LOCAL – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

03/27/14 1099s

2014 SESSION

14-2763

06/04

SENATE BILL 325-FN-LOCAL

AN ACT relative to oil spill preparedness and response.

SPONSORS: Sen. Woodburn, Dist 1; Sen. Odell, Dist 8; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Reagan, Dist 17; Rep. Suzanne Smith, Graf 8; Rep. Hammon, Coos 5

COMMITTEE: Energy and Natural Resources

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill:

I. Deletes a certain allocation to equip and train personnel in oil spill response.

II. Deletes the credit for payment of the hazardous material transporter’s fee.

III. Requires the owner of an oil pipeline facility to submit a spill response plan to the department of safety.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03/27/14 1099s

14-2763

06/04

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fourteen

AN ACT relative to oil spill preparedness and response.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Paragraph; Oil Discharge or Spillage in Surface Water or Groundwater; Definitions; Oil Pipeline Facility. Amend RSA 146-A:2 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:

III-a. “Oil pipeline facility” means any intrastate pipeline structure, or section of any interstate pipeline structure, of any kind and its related appurtenances located within the boundaries of this state that is used or capable of being used for pumping, handling, transferring, transporting, processing, refining, or storing oil;

2 Oil Pollution Control Fund. Amend RSA 146-A:11-a, I to read as follows:

I. There is hereby established the New Hampshire oil pollution control fund. This nonlapsing, revolving fund shall, at a minimum, pay the salaries and expenses of the persons specified in RSA 146-A:11, except as the legislature may otherwise determine, as well as the costs to implement the provisions of RSA 146-A which include, but are not limited to, the salaries and expenses of additional personnel to the extent that such salaries and expenses are incurred in implementing the provisions of this chapter, and the other costs of containment or removal or corrective measures deemed necessary by the department of environmental services as a result of an actual or potential oil discharge into or onto the surface water or groundwater of the state. Moneys from the fund shall be used to mitigate the adverse effects of oil discharges including, but not limited to, provision of emergency water supplies to persons affected by such pollution, and, where necessary as determined by the department of environmental services, the establishment of an acceptable source of potable water to injured third parties. Not more than 10 percent of the moneys in the fund shall be allocated annually for research programs dedicated to the development and improvement of preventive and cleanup measures concerning such oil discharges. [In addition, up to $100,000 of such 10 percent shall be allocated annually to the Piscataqua River Cooperative to train and equip personnel in oil spill response.] In the event of an oil discharge, the department of environmental services may expend, with the approval of governor and council, such additional sums as are necessary to clean up the discharge except that the total amount expended may not exceed the balance in the New Hampshire oil pollution control fund. Income derived from the oil pollution control fund shall only be used for those administrative costs needed to implement RSA 146-A and any other costs cited in this section.

3 License Required. Amend RSA 146-A:11-b, III to read as follows:

III. Any person who imports or causes to be imported oil into the state and who is licensed under this chapter [shall be entitled to a credit against his annual license fee assessed under this section equal to the amount of any hazardous material transporter’s license fee which he has paid to the department of safety pursuant to the provisions of RSA 21-P:20 upon presenting satisfactory evidence of payment of the hazardous material transporter’s fee for any vehicles involved in the importation, transfer or transport of oil into this state. Any person licensed under this section] may seek, and shall receive for valid claims, an import credit for oil which the person transfers out of state during any reporting period.

4 New Section; Oil Pipeline Facility; Spill Response Plan. Amend RSA 146-A by inserting after section 3-e the following new section:

146-A:3-f Spill Response Plan.

I. Oil pipeline facility owners shall submit a spill response plan to the department of safety that provides spill protection equivalent to or greater than a facility response plan under 49 C.F.R. section 194.101. A person who has contracted with an oil pipeline facility to provide containment and cleanup services may submit the spill response plan, on behalf of the owner, for any oil pipeline facility for which the person is contractually obligated to provide services.

II. Response plans shall, at a minimum, include the following:

(a) The number, training preparedness, and fitness of all dedicated personnel assigned to direct and implement the plan;

(b) Arrangements for the positioning of oil spill containment, cleanup equipment, and trained personnel at strategic locations from which they can be deployed to the spill site to promptly and properly remove the spilled oil; and

(c) The amount and type of equipment available to respond to a spill, where the equipment is located, and the extent to which other contingency plans rely on the same equipment.

III. Spill response plans for oil pipeline facilities shall be submitted to the department within 6 months after the department has adopted rules under this section.

IV. The department shall approve a spill response plan for an oil pipeline facility only if it determines that the plan meets the requirements set forth in this section and rules adopted by the department.

V. Upon approval of a spill response plan for an oil pipeline facility, the department shall provide to the person submitting the plan a statement indicating that the plan has been approved, the oil pipeline facilities covered by the plan, and any other information the department determines should be included.

VI. An owner or operator of an oil pipeline facility shall notify the department in writing immediately of any significant change of which it is aware affecting its spill response plan, including changes in any factor set forth in this section or in rules adopted by the department. The department may require the owner or operator to update a spill response plan as a result of such changes.

VII. The department by rule shall require spill response plans to be reviewed, updated, if necessary, and resubmitted to the department at least once every 5 years.

VIII. Approval of a spill response plan by the department shall not constitute an express assurance regarding the adequacy of the plan nor constitute a defense to liability imposed under this chapter or any other state law.

5 New Paragraph; Rulemaking. Amend RSA 146-A:11-c by inserting after paragraph I-a the following new paragraph:

I-b. Requirements for oil pipeline facility spill response plans under RSA 146-A:3-f.

6 New Section; Severability. Amend RSA 146-A by inserting after section 17 the following new section:

146-A:18 Severability. If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or applications, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are severable.

7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

LBAO

14-2763

01/14/14

325-FN-LOCAL - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to oil spill preparedness and response.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Department of Safety states this bill, as introduced, will increase state restricted expenditures by $41,000 in FY 2015, $8,500 in FY 2016, $4,000 in FY 2017, and $8,800 in FY 2018. The Department of Environmental Services states this bill may increase state restricted revenue and expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2015 and each year thereafter. The Department of Revenue Administration states this bill will decrease state education trust fund revenue and increase state restricted revenue by $75,000 in FY 2015 and each year thereafter, and increase state restricted expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2015 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on county and local revenue or expenditures.

METHODOLOGY:

The Department of Safety states this bill requires pipeline operators to be licensed by the Department and establishes an annual fee for the license of $2.00 per barrel of the daily pipeline capacity, with the expectation that fee revenue be directed to the oil pollution control fund. The Department states this bill also directs the property tax for all utilities owning or possessing utility property used for the production, supply, distribution, transmission, or transportation of crude petroleum and refined petroleum products, or combinations thereof, shall be deposited into the oil pollution control fund instead of the education trust fund. The Department states there is only one 238 mile pipeline system that goes through New Hampshire. The pipeline runs from South Portland, Maine through New Hampshire and Vermont to Montreal, Quebec. It is estimated the pipeline transports approximately 152,207 barrels per day. Based on this amount, annual license fee revenue would be $304,414 ($2.00 per barrel per day * 152,207 barrels) annually or approximately $25,368 monthly. The Department states that RSA 146-A:11-b,III allows for an import credit for all oil which is transferred out of state during the reporting period. As this pipeline merely goes through New Hampshire, all oil imported is also exported therefore there is no impact on revenue. The Department states it will have increased expenditures associated with the need to create a new license registration form, create a tax return, modify reports in the Automated Fuel Tax System and interface with the statewide accounting system. The Department estimates in FY 2015 it will cost approximately $41,000 to make the programming changes to its Automated Fuel Tax System to implement this bill, with annual maintenance costs of $4,000 in FY 2016 through FY 2018. In addition, the Department will need to conduct field audits to certify returns are accurate for this new license type. The Department anticipates conducting the field audits in FY 2016 at a cost of $4,500 and in FY 2018 at a cost of $4,800, then every three to four years thereafter. In summary, the Department states this bill will increase oil pollution control fund expenditures by $41,000 in FY 2015, $8,500 in FY 2016, $4,000 in FY 2017, and $8,800 in FY 2018.

The Department of Environmental Services states this bill removes the exemption from the $0.00125 per gallon oil import fee for oil transported via a pipeline. The Department states one company transports oil via a pipeline through New Hampshire to Canada at a rate of approximately 150,000 barrels per day. The Department states though the bill assesses a new $2.00 per barrel fee on the average daily pipeline capacity used for a year, there is the potential for a full credit under RSA 146-A:11-b,III for oil transferred out of state. The Department assumes the company transporting the oil via the pipeline through New Hampshire to Canada would seek the credit, resulting in no additional revenue. If the credit does not apply, then the potential exists to increase revenue to the oil pollution control fund by approximately $300,000 (150,000 average daily barrels * $2.00 per barrel). The Department is not able to determine the increase in expenditures from the fund due to the uncertainty around the revenue.

The Department of Revenue Administration states this bill will direct approximately $75,000 of utility property tax derived from the production, supply, distribution, transmission or transportation of petroleum from the education trust fund to the oil pollution control fund. This redirected revenue is approximately 0.22% of the yearly average of $33 million of utility property tax revenue. The Department is not able to quantify expenditures from the oil pollution control fund but assumes an increase with the increased revenue.

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