Posted May 11 2018
AB 864 addresses the use of best available technology (BAT), including, but not limited to, the installation of leak detection technology, automatic shutoff systems, or remote controlled sectionalized block valves, or any combination of these technologies, based on a risk analysis conducted by the operator, to reduce the amount of oil released in an oil spill to protect state waters and wildlife.
Important dates:
By January 1, 2018, any new or replacement pipeline near environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas in the coastal zone shall use BAT as listed above.
By July 1, 2018, an operator of an existing pipeline near environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas in the coastal zone shall submit a plan to retrofit, by January 1, 2020, existing pipelines near environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas in the coastal zone with the best available technology as listed above.
What is the “best available technology”: technology that provides the greatest degree of protection by limiting the quantity of release in the event of a spill, taking into consideration whether the processes are currently in use and could be purchased anywhere in the world. [Section 51013.1]
Coastal Zone:
As defined in the California Public Resource Code, Division 20, California Coastal Act and the California Government Code, Sections 66660 et seq., McAteer-Petris Act:
Coastal zone means that land and water area of the State of California from the Oregon border to the border of the Republic of Mexico, specified on the maps identified and set forth in Section 17 of Chapter 1330 of the Statutes of 1976, extending seaward to the state’s outer limit of jurisdiction, including all offshore islands, and extending inland generally 1,000 yards from the mean high tide line of the sea.
In significant coastal estuarine, habitat and recreational areas, it extends inland to the first major ridgeline paralleling the sea or five miles from the mean high tide line of the sea, whichever is less, and in developed urban areas the zone generally extends inland less than 1,000 yards. The coastal zone does not include the area of jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, established pursuant to Title 7.2 (commencing with Section 66600) of the Government Code, nor any area contiguous thereto, including any river, stream, tributary, creek, or flood control or drainage channel flowing into such area. [Stated in California Public Resource Code, Division 20, California Coastal Act
What is considered “near” the Environmentally and Ecologically Sensitive Areas in Coastal Zone:
Pipelines ½ mile or less of distance from these areas.
How does Atmos Leak Detection Software create compliance with AB 864?
Atmos leak detection software meets the definition of BAT:
- Providing timely leak alarms allowing the operator to shut-in quickly and thereby limiting the size of the release in the event of the spill
- Atmos leak detection solutions are the most deployed advanced systems in the world with more than 900 installations, hundreds of which are in the USA
- Atmos leak detection solutions are deployed and available in more than 55 countries
Speak to our Anaheim, CA-based team today for assistance with leak detection planning.
Further advantages:
- Multiple solutions that can be tailored to any pipeline
- Non-intrusive instrumentation
- Power and communications options
- Ideal for fast and easy retrofit to existing pipelines
- Atmos provides local service and support from our California office