Oil spill prevention and response.

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 emergency 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 imposes a uniform oil spill response fee on specified owners of petroleum products, operators of a pipeline, operators of a refinery, and marine terminal operators, and that fee is deposited into the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated for specified purposes. This bill would require the administrator, in consultation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United States Coast Guard, to conduct an assessment of the S.S. Montebello wreck, as defined, to determine the likelihood of an oil release from the vessel. The bill would require the administrator to request the appropriate federal agency to reimburse the state for the assessment costs, upon determining that an imminent threat of an oil release exists. If the administrator determines that a threat of an oil release exists, but the threat is not imminent, the bill would require the administrator to identify the recommended course of action to monitor the vessel. The bill would additionally require the money from the fund to be expended to carry out this assessment, thereby making an appropriation.