Today's Law As Amended


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SB-1099 Emergency backup generators: critical facilities: exemptions.(2019-2020)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Catastrophic wildfires and other natural disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity due to climate change and other factors.
(b) Wildfires dramatically increase carbon emissions and work against the state’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve a carbon-neutral future.
(c) Wildfires and other natural disasters also can cause significant impacts and a threat to the state’s water and wastewater facilities, which are critical to ensuring a safe and reliable water supply for people, businesses, agriculture, and the environment.
(d) To help mitigate the risks of wildfires, investor-owned utilities have initiated public safety power shutoffs to deenergize parts of their distribution systems, and, in some cases, portions of the transmission system, actions that reduce or eliminate access to a reliable power supply for the state’s water agencies as they count on a reliable source of electricity to move and deliver water.
(e) Actions need to be taken to reduce the impacts of deenergization wildfires and other events on critical facilities, including increasing access to alternative power sources that can help support a safe and reliable water supply and maintain the state’s ability to effectively respond to wildfires.

SEC. 2.

 Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 42010) is added to Chapter 3 of Part 4 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

Article  9.5. Emergency Backup Generators
42010.
 For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Critical facility” means a facility necessary in providing essential public services, including, but not limited to, facilities such as hospitals, police stations, fire stations, emergency operations centers, water and wastewater facilities, incident command posts, and communication systems used to support essential public services.
(b) “Deenergization event” means the interruption of power due to a public safety power shutoff.
(c) “Emergency backup generator” means an internal combustion engine greater than 50 brake horsepower and gas turbines greater than 2,975,000 British thermal units per hour for nonutility power generation that does not operate more than 200 hours per year and is only operated in the event of an emergency power failure or for routine testing and maintenance.
(d) “Loss of power” means a failure in an electric generation, distribution, and transmission system or a disruption to electrical power from an electricity provider due to an emergency event, including a wildfire.
(e) “Public safety power shutoff” means a preventative measure to deenergize all, or a portion of, an electric generation, distribution, or transmission system when the electricity provider reasonably believes there is an imminent and significant risk that strong winds, or other extreme and potentially dangerous weather events, increase the probability of a wildfire.
(f) “Water and wastewater facilities” includes drinking water and wastewater treatment plants, pumping stations, storage facilities, and water facilities needed to maintain water service and the water pressure necessary for firefighting.
42012.
 (a) Except as otherwise prohibited by federal law, if a district without a rule that imposes runtime or testing and maintenance limits for permitted emergency backup generators as of January 1, 2021, adopts a rule that imposes runtime or testing and maintenance limits for permitted emergency backup generators, the district shall include in the rule provisions that allow the operator of a critical facility to use a permitted emergency backup generator in exceedance of those limits if either or both of the following conditions are met:
(1) The operation of the emergency backup generator occurs as the result of a deenergization event or other loss of power.
(2) The testing and maintenance for that emergency backup generator is in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association Standard 110 for Emergency and Standby Power Systems.
(b) A critical facility allowed to exceed applicable limits under a rule adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall attest to and provide evidence to the district of having taken demonstrable steps toward implementing the use of backup power technologies that meet or exceed emission standards set by the state board. These steps may include, but are not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Contracting to purchase that technology.
(2) Releasing a request for information or request for proposal to acquire that technology.
(3) Applying for federal, state, or local funding that may be used specifically to acquire that technology.
SEC. 3.
 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.