Marine resources and preservation.

The California Marine Resources Legacy Act establishes a program, administered by the Department of Fish and Game, to allow partial removal of offshore oil structures. The act authorizes the department to conditionally approve the partial removal of offshore oil structures, if specified criteria are satisfied, including a finding that the alternative of partial removal provides a net environmental benefit and substantial cost savings compared to the alternative of full removal of these structures. The act requires the first person to file an application on and after January 1, 2011, to partially remove an offshore oil structure to pay, in addition to other specified costs, the startup costs incurred by the department or the State Lands Commission to implement the act, including the costs to develop and adopt regulations. The act requires the payment of startup costs to be reimbursed by the department, as specified. The act requires the Ocean Protection Council, for purposes of determining whether partial removal provides a net environmental benefit, to establish specified criteria, to consult with the department, the California Coastal Commission, the State Lands Commission, the California Ocean Science Trust, and other responsible agencies as to those criteria, and requires certification that partial removal complies with the California Environmental Quality Act, among other things. The act requires the State Lands Commission to determine the cost savings of partial removal, and requires the applicant, upon conditional approval for conversion, to apportion a percentage of the cost-savings funds in accordance with a prescribed schedule to specified entities and funds. The act defines "cost savings" to mean the difference between the estimated cost to the applicant of complete removal of an oil platform, as required by state and federal leases, and the estimated costs to the applicant of partial removal of the oil platform pursuant to the act, and specifically provides for the inclusion of certain costs in cost savings. This bill would specifically include certain additional costs in "cost savings" calculations for purposes of these provisions, as specified. The bill would specify additional costs in "cost savings" calculations to be used for applications submitted on or before January 1, 2017, and would no longer require the payment of startup costs to be reimbursed by the department for those applications, as specified. The bill would require the council, in determining whether partial removal of the structure would provide a net benefit to the marine environment compared to full removal of the structure, to take certain adverse impacts to air quality into account and to consult with the State Air Resources Board, among other entities.