A new bill strengthening restrictions was introduced on the 50th anniversary of a catastrophic oil spill.
Excerpt from this Mother Jones article:
Marking the 50th anniversary of the devastating Santa Barbara oil spill, California state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D) introduced a bill Monday that would bulk up rules governing the construction of oil pipelines.
The bill, which comes in the face of reported plans by President Donald Trump to limit states’ abilities to block pipelines, would require all pipelines in the state be operated according to California laws, preventing operators from shirking those in favor of following less rigid federal ones.
It would also require pipeline operators to provide inspection-related records to the state fire marshal upon request, something Jackson said many operators have failed to do so on time in the past.
California’s strict pipeline rules include a slate of laws former Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed in 2015 after a spill in Santa Barbara dumped around 20,000 gallons of oil onto shores there. Those included a mandate for the state fire marshal to inspect all intrastate pipelines every year and requirements that oil pipelines in environmentally sensitive areas be equipped with remote leak detectors and automatic shut-off valves.
More recently, Brown signed legislation in September blocking new leases for offshore drilling projects along the state’s coastline and banning any new systems to transport gas or oil, including pipelines—marking a major blow to the Trump administration’s plans to sell six drilling rights permits off the California coast.
