CSSB 273(RES): "An Act requiring oil discharge prevention and contingency plans and proof of financial responsibility for nontank vessels and railroad tank cars; authorizing inspection of nontank vessels and trains; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 273(RES) 01 "An Act requiring oil discharge prevention and contingency plans and proof of 02 financial responsibility for nontank vessels and railroad tank cars; authorizing 03 inspection of nontank vessels and trains; and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 46.04 is amended by adding a new section to read: 06 Sec. 46.04.055. Nontank vessels and railroad tank cars. (a) A person may 07 not cause or permit the operation of a nontank vessel within the waters of the state or 08 cause or permit the transfer of oil to or from a nontank vessel unless 09 (1) effective November 1, 2001, an oil discharge prevention and 10 contingency plan has been approved by the department and the person is in compliance 11 with the plan; a plan under this paragraph is subject to the requirements of 12 AS 46.04.030; and 13 (2) the person has furnished to the department and the department has 14 approved proof of financial ability to respond to damages meeting the requirements of
01 AS 46.04.040; proof of financial responsibility required under this paragraph is subject 02 to adjustment of dollar amounts under AS 46.04.045 and is established, for a nontank 03 vessel that carries 04 (A) only persistent product as fuel or in bulk, at $300 per 05 incident for each barrel of persistent product storage capacity or $5,000,000, 06 whichever is greater; 07 (B) only nonpersistent product, at $100 per incident for each 08 barrel of nonpersistent product storage capacity or $1,000,000, whichever is 09 greater; and 10 (C) both persistent product, as fuel or in bulk, and nonpersistent 11 product, at the applicable financial responsibility rate established in (A) or (B) 12 of this paragraph for the storage capacity of the vessel for persistent product 13 or nonpersistent product that predominates on the vessel. 14 (b) A person may not transport oil by railroad tank car or cause or permit the 15 transfer of oil to or from a railroad tank car unless 16 (1) effective November 1, 2001, an oil discharge prevention and 17 contingency plan has been approved by the department and the person is in compliance 18 with the plan; a plan under this paragraph is subject to the requirements of 19 AS 46.04.030; and 20 (2) the person has furnished to the department and the department has 21 approved proof of financial ability to respond to damages meeting the requirements of 22 AS 46.04.040; proof of financial responsibility required under this paragraph is subject 23 to adjustment of dollar amounts under AS 46.04.045 and is established at 24 (A) $300 per incident for each barrel of persistent product based 25 on the maximum amount of persistent product storage capacity of any train on 26 the railroad; and 27 (B) $100 per incident for each barrel of nonpersistent product 28 based upon the maximum amount of nonpersistent product storage capacity of 29 any train on the railroad or $1,000,000, whichever is greater. 30 (c) Effective November 1, 2001, for purposes of AS 46.04.030(k), response 31 planning standards apply to nontank vessels and railroad tank cars as follows:
01 (1) for a nontank vessel contingency plan required by (a)(1) of this 02 section, 03 (A) containment and control of 15 percent of the maximum oil 04 capacity of the nontank vessel within 48 hours; and 05 (B) cleanup of the discharge within the shortest possible time 06 consistent with minimizing damage to the environment; 07 (2) for a railroad tank car contingency plan required by (b)(1) of this 08 section, 09 (A) containment and control of 15 percent of the maximum oil 10 capacity of a train on the railroad within 48 hours; and 11 (B) cleanup of the discharge within the shortest possible time 12 consistent with minimizing damage to the environment. 13 (d) Notwithstanding the requirements of AS 46.04.040(l) and AS 46.04.047, 14 for purposes of (a)(2) and (b)(2) of this section, an applicant may provide evidence of 15 financial responsibility provided by an insurer or other person who does not agree to 16 be subject to direct action in state courts or to appoint an agent for service of process. 17 (e) The requirements of (a) - (d) of this section do not apply to a nontank 18 vessel operating in the waters of the state if the nontank vessel 19 (1) is engaged in innocent passage; for purposes of this paragraph, a 20 nontank vessel is engaged in innocent passage if its operation in state waters would 21 constitute innocent passage under either the Convention on the Territorial Sea and the 22 Contiguous Zone, April 29, 1958, 15 U.S.T. 1606, or the United Nations Convention 23 on the Law of the Sea 1982, December 10, 1982, U.N. Publication No. E 83.V.5, 21 24 I.L.M. 1261 (1982); 25 (2) enters state waters because of imminent danger to the crew, or in 26 an effort to prevent an oil spill or other harm to public safety or the environment, and 27 are inapplicable only until the vessel is able to leave state waters as soon as it may do 28 so without imminent risk of harm to the crew, public safety, or the environment; or 29 (3) enters state waters after the United States Coast Guard has 30 determined that the vessel is in distress, and are inapplicable only until the vessel is 31 able to leave state waters as soon as it may do so without imminent risk of harm to
01 the crew, public safety, or the environment. 02 (f) In place of the requirements of (a)(1), (b)(1), and (c)(1) of this section, the 03 department may adopt regulations by negotiated regulation making under AS 44.62.710 04 - 44.62.800 to provide for alternative means to obtain equivalent levels of spill 05 prevention and response, including the use of fleet plans, membership in a nonprofit 06 corporation that is a primary response action contractor and a contingency plan holder, 07 and spill prevention measures. 08 * Sec. 2. AS 46.04.060 is amended to read: 09 Sec. 46.04.060. Inspections. (a) In addition to other rights of access or 10 inspection conferred upon the department by law or otherwise, the department may at 11 reasonable times and in a safe manner enter and inspect oil terminal facilities, 12 pipelines, exploration and production facilities, tank vessels, nontank vessels, trains, 13 and oil barges in order to 14 (1) ensure compliance with the provisions of this chapter; or 15 (2) participate in an examination of the structural integrity and the 16 operating and mechanical systems of those vessels, barges, trains, pipelines, and 17 facilities by federal and state agencies with jurisdiction. 18 (b) When the department determines that no federal or state agencies with 19 jurisdiction are performing timely and adequate inspections of an oil terminal facility, 20 pipeline, exploration or production facility, tank vessel, nontank vessel, train, or oil 21 barge, it may perform its own inspection of the structural integrity and operating and 22 mechanical systems of a facility, pipeline, tank vessel, nontank vessel, train, or oil 23 barge by using personnel with qualifications in the areas being inspected. 24 * Sec. 3. AS 46.04.060 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 25 (c) For purposes of this section, "train" includes tracks, associated facilities, 26 and operations. 27 * Sec. 4. AS 46.04.900(12) is amended to read: 28 (12) "oil terminal facility" means an onshore or offshore facility of any 29 kind, and related appurtenances, including but not limited to a deepwater port, bulk 30 storage facility , or marina, located in, on, or under the surface of the land or waters 31 of the state, including tide and submerged land, that [WHICH] is used for the purpose
01 of transferring, processing, refining, or storing oil; a vessel , other than a nontank 02 vessel, is considered an oil terminal facility only when it is used to make a ship-to-ship 03 transfer of oil, and when it is traveling between the place of the ship-to-ship transfer 04 of oil and an oil terminal facility; 05 * Sec. 5. AS 46.04.900(21) is amended to read: 06 (21) "vessel" includes tank vessels , [AND] oil barges , and nontank 07 vessels ; 08 * Sec. 6. AS 46.04.900 is amended to add new paragraphs to read: 09 (24) "nonpersistent product" has the meaning given to "non-persistent 10 or Group I oil" in 33 C.F.R. 155.1020; 11 (25) "nontank vessel" means a self-propelled watercraft of 400 gross 12 registered tons or greater; in this paragraph, "watercraft" includes commercial fishing 13 vessels, commercial fish processor vessels, passenger vessels, and cargo vessels, but 14 does not include a tank vessel, oil barge, or public vessel; 15 (26) "persistent product" has the meaning given to "persistent oil" in 16 33 C.F.R. 155.1020; 17 (27) "public vessel" means a vessel that is operated by and is either 18 owned or bareboat chartered by the United States, a state or a political subdivision of 19 that state, or a foreign nation, except when the vessel is engaged in commerce; 20 (28) "railroad tank car" means rolling stock used to transport oil in bulk 21 as cargo by rail; 22 (29) "train" means connected rolling stock operated as a single moving 23 vehicle on rails; for purposes of this paragraph, "connected rolling stock" includes 24 railroad tank cars. 25 * Sec. 7. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 26 to read: 27 TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS: REGULATIONS. (a) The Department of 28 Environmental Conservation may proceed to adopt regulations necessary to implement the 29 changes made by this Act. The regulations take effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative 30 Procedure Act), but not before the effective date of secs. 1 - 6 of this Act. 31 (b) If, under AS 46.04.055(f), added by sec. 1 of this Act, the Department of
01 Environmental Conservation adopts regulations by negotiated regulation making under 02 AS 44.62.710 - 44.62.800, or if, notwithstanding the authority provided in AS 46.04.055(f), 03 the Department of Environmental Conservation, using negotiated regulation making under 04 AS 44.62.710 - 44.62.800, adopts regulations to implement, interpret, or make specific the 05 requirements of the provisions added or amended by this Act, the Department of 06 Environmental Conservation shall provide to the members of the legislature, if in session, or 07 to the legislative council if the legislature is not in session, a comprehensive report 08 summarizing the activities undertaken to adopt the regulations using the negotiated regulation 09 making process authorized by AS 44.62.710 - 44.62.800. 10 * Sec. 8. Section 7 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 11 * Sec. 9. Except as provided in sec. 8 of this Act, this Act takes effect September 1, 2000.