Existing law establishes the State Water Resources Control Board (board) and the California regional water quality control boards which prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act.
This bill would require, no later than December 31, 2028, every refiner to submit to the board a retirement plan setting forth information concerning decommissioning and site remediation for every refinery it owns, operates, or controls, as provided. The bill would require the board, no later than 6 months following the submission of the retirement plan, to review the retirement plan, in consultation with the applicable regional water quality control board, for completeness and reasonableness and to make a determination as to whether the retirement plan complies with the requirements imposed by the bill. The bill would require the board, if it determines that the retirement plan complies with the bill's requirements, to make the retirement plan available on the board's internet website for public comments for not less than 45 days. The bill would authorize the board to require further revisions to the retirement plan after the public comment period, as provided, before it is deemed final. The bill would require the board, once the board has determined that no further revisions are necessary, to promptly post the final retirement plan on its internet website.
This bill would require a refiner who gives notice of intent to permanently shut down, shut down to reconfigure, or sell a refinery in a transaction that may result in a refinery shutting down or reconfiguring, as provided, to submit either the required retirement plan, or, if a final retirement plan has been released, an update of the retirement plan within a specified timeframe, as provided. The bill would require, on or before December 31, 2027, the board to develop an overview of the methods, costs, and timelines associated with soil and groundwater remediation that have been employed at refineries that have undergone decommissioning and remediation and to update the overview, as provided.
This bill would require the board, no later than one year after receiving the retirement plans, to publish a report assessing the total decommissioning and remediation liabilities for refineries in the state, as provided.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.