(a) In carrying out its responsibilities pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 8574.17, the Office of Emergency Services shall serve as the central point in state government for the emergency reporting of spills, unauthorized releases, or other accidental releases of hazardous materials and shall coordinate the notification of the appropriate state and local administering agencies that may be required to respond to those spills, unauthorized releases, or other accidental releases. The Office of Emergency Services is the only state entity required to make the notification required by subdivision (b).
(b) Upon receipt of a report concerning a spill, unauthorized release, or other accidental release involving hazardous materials, as defined in Section 25501 of the Health and Safety Code, or concerning a rupture of, or an explosion or fire involving, a pipeline reportable pursuant to Section 51018, the Office of Emergency Services shall immediately inform the following agencies of the incident:
(1) For an oil spill reportable pursuant to Section 8670.25.5, the Office of Emergency Services shall inform the administrator for oil spill response, the State Lands Commission, the California Coastal Commission, and the California regional water quality control board having jurisdiction over the location of the discharged oil.
(2) For a rupture, explosion, or fire involving a pipeline reportable pursuant to Section 51018, the Office of Emergency Services shall inform the State Fire Marshal.
(3) For a discharge in or on any waters of the state of a hazardous substance or sewage reportable pursuant to Section 13271 of the Water Code, the Office of Emergency Services shall inform the appropriate California regional water quality control board.
(4) For a spill or other release of petroleum reportable pursuant to Section 25270.8 of the Health and Safety Code, the Office of Emergency Services shall inform the local administering agency that has jurisdiction over the spill or release.
(5) For a crude oil spill reportable pursuant to Section 3233 of the Public Resources Code, the Office of Emergency Services shall inform the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources and the appropriate California regional water quality control board.
(c) This section does not relieve a person who is responsible for an incident specified in subdivision (b) from the duty to make an emergency notification to a local agency, or the 911 emergency system, under any other law.
(d) A person who is subject to Section 25507 of the Health and Safety Code shall immediately report all releases or threatened releases pursuant to that section to the appropriate local administering agency and each local administering agency shall notify the Office of Emergency Services and businesses in their jurisdiction of the appropriate emergency telephone number that can be used for emergency notification to the administering agency on a 24-hour basis. The administering agency shall notify other local agencies of releases or threatened releases within their jurisdiction, as appropriate.
(e) No facility, owner, operator, or other person required to report an incident specified in subdivision (b) to the Office of Emergency Services shall be liable for any failure of the Office of Emergency Services to make a notification required by this section or to accurately transmit the information reported.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 352, Sec. 141. (AB 1317) Effective September 26, 2013. Operative July 1, 2013, by Sec. 543 of Ch. 352.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018