Oil spill prevention and administrative fee.

Existing law imposes an oil spill prevention and administration fee in an amount determined by the administrator to implement oil spill prevention activities, but not to exceed, until January 1, 2015, $0.065 per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products, on persons owning crude oil or petroleum products at a marine terminal. The fee is deposited into the Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund in the State Treasury. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the fund are available for specified purposes, including to cover the costs incurred by the Oiled Wildlife Care Network for training and field collection, and search and rescue activities. This bill would, until January 1, 2015, increase the maximum annual assessment from $0.065 to $0.068 per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products. The bill would subsequently decrease the annual assessment, beginning January 1, 2015, to a maximum of $0.050 per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products. Existing law permits the administrator to charge a nontank vessel owner or operator a reasonable fee, to be collected with each application to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility, in an amount that is based upon the administrator's costs in implementing oil spill prevention relating to nontank vessels. This bill would, until January 1, 2015, require the fee to be at least $3,500 per nontank vessel but would give the administrator discretion to reduce the fee for nontank vessels that pose a reduced risk of pollution. Existing law requires the administrator to submit for each fiscal year, as a part of the Governor's Budget, a proposed appropriation from interest earned on moneys deposited into the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund, in an amount not to exceed $2,000,000, for the purposes of equipping, operating, and maintaining the network of oiled wildlife rescue and rehabilitation stations, proactive oiled wildlife search and collection rescue efforts, and supporting technology development and research related to oiled wildlife care. Existing law requires that any remaining interest earned be deposited into the Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund. This bill would, until January 1, 2015, transfer 3 mills of the per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products fee collected, and $250 of the per nontank vessel fee collected, to fund specified activities the Oiled Wildlife Care Network. The bill would also allow another additional amount, not to exceed the difference between the interest earned and $2,000,000, to be included in the proposed appropriation from funds deposited into the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund if this proposed appropriation exceeds the interest earned on the funds deposited into the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund available for the fiscal year for which the appropriation is proposed.