Oil spill contingency plans: spill management teams.

The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act generally requires the administrator for oil spill response, acting at the direction of the Governor, to implement activities relating to oil spill response, including drills and preparedness, and oil spill containment and cleanup, and to represent the state in any coordinated response efforts with the federal government. The act requires owners or operators of specified facilities and owners or operators of certain vessels to prepare and implement an oil spill contingency plan, containing specified provisions, that has been submitted to, and approved by, the administrator. Existing law provides for the rating of oil spill response organizations (OSROs) by the administrator pursuant to specified provisions and requires an oil spill contingency plan to identify at least one rated OSRO for each rating level established pursuant to those provisions. This bill would no longer require an oil spill contingency plan to identify at least one rated OSRO for each rating level and would instead require the plan to identify at least one OSRO rated pursuant to those provisions, and would authorize an owner or operator to rely on its own response equipment and personnel, if they have been rated by the administrator, as specified. This bill would authorize a spill management team (SMT) , as defined, to apply to the administrator for a certification of that SMT's response capabilities. The bill would require the administrator to establish criteria for certifying an SMT based on the SMT's capacity to respond to spills and manage spills effectively, review applications for SMT certification, and certify SMTs, as specified. The bill would authorize the administrator to charge a reasonable administrative fee to process an application for, or renewal of, a certification. The bill would require the administrator to adopt regulations to implement these provisions as appropriate. The bill would require an oil spill contingency plan to identify at least one certified SMT, certified by the administrator pursuant to the provisions described above, and would authorize an owner or operator to rely on its own spill management team that has been certified by the administrator, as specified.