Oil spill prevention: administrator for oil spill response: duties.

Senator Limón's oil spill prevention legislation introduces mandatory hydrostatic testing requirements for dormant oil pipelines and establishes new public oversight measures for financial responsibility certifications in California. The bill adds requirements for pipelines that have remained inactive for five or more years, prohibiting their restart without completing a hydrostatic test.

The legislation modifies the state's financial responsibility certification process for facilities where oil spills could affect state waters. Under the new provisions, the oil spill response administrator must conduct a public process before issuing certificates of financial responsibility to facility operators. The certification requirements continue to apply to tank vessels, marine terminals, and vessels carrying oil as secondary cargo.

These changes operate within California's existing Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act framework, which designates an administrator to oversee oil spill prevention and response activities. The bill maintains current misdemeanor penalties for violations while expanding their application to include the new testing and certification requirements. Local agencies will not receive state reimbursement for any costs associated with implementing these changes, as specified in the legislation's administrative provisions.