(a) If the local health officer or their designee is notified of a leak in an active gas pipeline, that is within the jurisdiction of the Geologic Energy Management Division and within a sensitive area, pursuant to Section 3270.6 of the Public Resources Code and the local health officer or their designee determines that the leak poses a risk to public health or safety and that the response to the leak has been inadequate to protect the public health or safety, the local health officer or their designee shall, working collaboratively with the division and the owner or operator of the pipeline, do both of the following:
(1) Direct the responsible party to test, to the satisfaction of the agency overseeing the testing, the soil, air, and water in the affected area for contamination caused by the leak and disclose the results of the tests to the public.
(2) Make a determination, based on the result of the tests, on whether the leak poses a serious threat to the public health and safety of residents affected by the leak, and require the responsible party to provide assistance, including temporary relocation, to those residents if the local health officer or their designee so determines.
(b) If the local health officer or their designee determines, based on the results of the test, that the leak poses a serious threat to public health and safety, the local health officer or their designee shall direct the responsible party to notify all residents affected by the leak.
(c) The responsible party shall be liable for the costs incurred by the local health officer or their designee pursuant to this section.
(d) Providing resident assistance and reimbursement for local health officer expenses shall not relieve a responsible party from liability for damages, and a responsible party shall not condition assistance or request a waiver of liability from the recipient of the assistance.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 771, Sec. 5. (AB 1057) Effective January 1, 2020.)
Copyright ©2024 LegalFix. All rights reserved. LegalFix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law, and does not provide legal advice, services, or representation. The information on this website is an overview of the legal plans you can purchase—or that may be provided by your employer as an employee benefit or by your credit union or other membership group as a membership benefit.
LegalFix provides its members with easy access to affordable legal services through a network of independent law firms. LegalFix, its corporate entity, and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors do not provide legal advice, services, or representation—directly or indirectly.
The articles and information on the site are not legal advice and should not be relied upon—they are for information purposes only. You should become a LegalFix member to get legal services from one of our network law firms.
You should not disclose confidential or potentially incriminating information to LegalFix—you should only communicate such information to your network law firm.
The benefits and legal services described in the LegalFix legal plans are not always available in all states or with all plans. See the legal plan Benefit Overview and the more comprehensive legal plan contract during checkout for coverage details in your state.
Use of this website, the purchase of legal plans, and access to the LegalFix networks of law firms are subject to the LegalFix Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.