HB 0229

CS

CHAMBER ACTION

1	The Water & Natural Resources Committee recommends the
2	following:
3
4	Council/Committee Substitute
5	Remove the entire bill and insert:
6	A bill to be entitled
7	An act relating to the exploration, production, and
8	storage of petroleum and natural gas; directing the
9	Department of Environmental Protection to contract for a
10	study of exposure risks and potential adverse effects of
11	hurricane wind and storm surge on field-erected
12	aboveground storage tank systems at bulk product
13	facilities; providing requirements for the scope of the
14	study; providing an appropriation from the Inland
15	Protection Trust Fund for the cost of the study; directing
16	the department to compile and review existing data and
17	information relating to environmental risks associated
18	with oil and natural gas exploration and production in the
19	eastern Gulf of Mexico; providing requirements and
20	criteria for the evaluation of such risks; requiring the
21	department to submit a report to the Governor and the
22	Legislature; providing an effective date.
23
24	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26	Section 1.  Study of exposure risks and potential adverse
27	effects of hurricane wind and storm surge on field-erected
28	aboveground storage tank systems at bulk product facilities.--
29	(1)  The Department of Environmental Protection shall
30	contract for a study to evaluate the exposure risks and
31	potential adverse effects of hurricane wind and storm surge on
32	field-erected aboveground storage tank systems, including tanks,
33	piping, pumps, and related components, at bulk product
34	facilities as defined in s. 376.031(3), Florida Statutes. The
35	study's scope shall include, but need not be limited to:
36	(a)  Evaluating the frequency, strength, and probability
37	estimates for hurricane winds and storm surge on the coastal
38	areas of the state where existing bulk product facilities are
39	located and where new bulk product facilities are likely to be
40	constructed.
41	(b)  Evaluating the need and timing for requirements for
42	the establishment of minimum ballast levels for field-erected
43	aboveground storage tanks at bulk product facilities based on
44	the frequency, strength, and probability estimates for hurricane
45	winds and storm surge, and based on levels calculated by a
46	professional engineer specific to each individual field-erected
47	aboveground storage tank, taking into account the type of tank,
48	the type of product stored, tank diameter, tank height, and
49	other relevant factors.
50	(c)  Evaluating the need and feasibility for requirements
51	for:
52	1.  Professionally engineered permanent anchoring systems
53	for field-erected aboveground storage tanks in high-risk surge
54	zones.
55	2.  Professionally engineered temporary cable tie-down
56	systems, which could be preconstructed or prefabricated and
57	retained in storage until needed, that would not interfere with
58	normal daily operations and that could be set up in advance of
59	an approaching storm.
60	(d)  Evaluating the need for potential siting
61	considerations or engineering mitigation that would prevent or
62	limit the installation of new field-erected aboveground storage
63	tank systems at bulk product facilities in areas that are
64	potentially high-risk areas for hurricane winds and storm surge
65	unless the systems are designed and engineered to withstand
66	hurricane winds and storm surge.
67	(e)  Identifying all current and proposed industry
68	standards for professionally engineered dike fields surrounding
69	field-erected aboveground storage tanks at bulk product
70	facilities, including standards for materials and designs that
71	will withstand hurricane winds and storm surges yet allow access
72	for emergency firefighting vehicles in accordance with industry
73	reference standards contained in National Fire Protection
74	Association publication NFPA No. 30.
75	(2)  The study shall include recommendations for changes,
76	if needed, to aboveground storage tank system laws and agency
77	rules in order to decrease damage from hurricanes and improve
78	recovery of field-erected aboveground storage tank systems after
79	storm damage. All recommendations shall be accompanied by a
80	cost-benefit analysis, which shall include an analysis of:
81	(a)  The costs for modifying existing field-erected
82	aboveground storage tank systems and dike fields, and the costs
83	associated with new construction of field-erected aboveground
84	storage tank systems and dike fields, to meet any proposed new
85	requirements.
86	(b)  The potential adverse effect on petroleum inventory
87	capacity in the state resulting from any proposed new
88	requirements. All industry segments with field-erected
89	aboveground storage tanks, including, but not limited to, those
90	used for petroleum and electric utility, shall be included in
91	the petroleum inventory capacity analysis.
92	(3)  The department shall report the findings and
93	recommendations of the study to the Governor, the President of
94	the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by
95	March 1, 2008.
96	(4)  The Department of Environmental Protection is
97	authorized to use up to $250,000 from the Inland Protection
98	Trust Fund for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 fiscal years for the
99	cost of the study set forth in this section.
100	Section 2.  Compilation and review of existing data and
101	information relating to environmental risks associated with oil
102	and natural gas exploration and production in the eastern Gulf
103	of Mexico.--
104	(1)  The Department of Environmental Protection shall
105	compile and review existing data and information to evaluate the
106	environmental risks from all activities associated with the
107	possible future exploration for and production of oil and
108	natural gas in the eastern Gulf of Mexico currently subject to
109	federal moratoria. The department shall immediately request from
110	the appropriate state agencies and private research institutes
111	all available data and information necessary to complete this
112	task. The appropriate state agencies must submit the data and
113	information to the department at the earliest possible date, and
114	private research institutes are encouraged to submit relevant
115	data and information to the maximum extent practicable. The
116	department's effort shall include data and information available
117	through appropriate federal executive branch agencies. To the
118	maximum extent practicable, the department's efforts shall take
119	into consideration current technologies for controlling
120	discharges from oil and gas exploration rigs and production
121	platforms and shall include, but need not be limited to:
122	(a)  Evaluating the probability of a discharge from oil and
123	gas exploration rigs and production platforms.
124	(b)  Evaluating the magnitude of any probable discharge
125	from oil and gas exploration rigs and production platforms.
126	(c)  Evaluating the Gulf of Mexico currents and circulation
127	patterns and the likelihood of any probable discharge's reaching
128	the coastal waters and shorelines of the state.
129	(d)  Evaluating the environmental impacts of any probable
130	discharge on the fish and wildlife resources in the coastal
131	waters of the state.
132	(2)  The department shall report the findings of the
133	evaluation to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
134	Speaker of the House of Representatives within 120 days after
135	the effective date of this act.
136	Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.