OSPR's mission is to provide best achievable protection of California's natural resources by preventing, preparing for, and responding to spills of oil and restoring affected resources.
The Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) has the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s public trustee and custodial responsibilities for protecting, managing, and restoring the state’s fish, wildlife, and plants. It is one of the few state agencies in the nation that has major pollution response authority and public trustee authority for wildlife and habitat. This mandate ensures that prevention, preparedness, restoration, and response will provide the best protection for California’s natural resources.
In 2014, the OSPR program expanded to cover all state surface waters at risk of oil spills from any source, including pipelines, production facilities, and the increasing shipments of oil transported by railroads. This expansion provided critical administrative funding for industry preparedness, spill response, and continued coordination with local, state, and federal government along with industry and non-governmental organizations.
In 2021, California lawmakers enacted legislation on renewable fuels and oil spill preparedness and response. Assembly Bill 148 updated sections of the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention & Response Act, addressing renewable fuels. Facilities and vessels that handle renewable fuels are now within the jurisdiction of OSPR, including two new categories: renewable fuel production and renewable fuel receiving facilities.
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