BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 258| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 258 Author: Krekorian (D), et al Amended: 8/27/07 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 7/10/07 AYES: Simitian, Florez, Kuehl, Lowenthal, Steinberg NOES: Runner, Aanestad SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-7, 08/30/07 AYES: Torlakson, Cedillo, Corbett, Florez, Kuehl, Oropeza, Ridley-Thomas, Steinberg, Yee NOES: Cox, Aanestad, Ashburn, Battin, Dutton, Runner, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Simitian ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 44-35, 6/5/07 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Water quality: plastic discharges SOURCE : Heal the Bay Environment California Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi San Diego CoastKeeper DIGEST : This bill establishes the Preproduction Plastic Debris Program under the Stat Water Resources Control Board to reduce the amount of preproduction plastics entering the marine environment. CONTINUED AB 258 Page 2 ANALYSIS : The Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-220, Title II), prohibits the at-sea disposal of plastic and other solid materials for all navigable waters within the United States. The law requires the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the US Coast Guard to jointly conduct a public education program on the marine environment. Existing law requires USEPA to develop a National Marine Debris Monitoring Program designed to assess the effectiveness of the current national marine debris legislation. Monitoring under this program takes place at designated beaches every 28 days. The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act of 1986, provides funding and education programs to reduce beverage container litter. The Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (Act), requires cities and counties to divert 50 percent of their solid waste by 2000. The Act provides various programs to reduce litter and educate consumers about the importance of recycling. The federal Clean Water Act, requires the state to identify a list of impaired water-bodies and develop and implement Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for impaired water bodies. The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, regulates discharges of pollutants in storm-water and urban runoff by regulating, through the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), industrial discharges and discharges through the municipal storm drain systems of communities with populations under 100,000 and communities with greater than 100,000 and from 11 categories of industrial activity. This bill: 1.Defines "preproduction plastic" as plastic resin pellets and powdered coloring for plastics. CONTINUED AB 258 Page 3 2.Requires the SWRCB and RWQCBs by January 1, 2009, to implement a program for the control of discharges of preproduction plastics from point and nonpoint sources, including waste discharge, monitoring, and reporting requirements that, at a minimum, target plastic manufacturing, handling, and transportation facilities, and the implementation of specified minimum best management practices for the control of discharges of preproduction plastic. 3.Requires the SWRCB to determine the appropriate regulatory methods to address the discharges form point and nonpoint sources. 4.Requires SWRCB, in developing the program, to consult with any RWQCB, with plastic manufacturing, handling, and transportation facilities located within the RWQCB's jurisdiction, which has already voluntarily implemented a program to control discharges of preproduction plastic. Background According to US Environmental Protection Agency, marine debris has become a problem along shorelines, coastal waters, estuaries, and oceans throughout the world. It is commonly defined as any man-made, solid material that enters our waterways directly or indirectly. Objects ranging from detergent bottles, plastic bags, paper cups, preproduction plastic, hazardous medical wastes, cigarette butts and discarded fishing line all qualify as marine debris. In addition to being unsightly, it poses a serious threat to everything with which it comes into contact. Marine debris can be life threatening to marine organisms and can wreak havoc on coastal communities and the fishing industry. In general, there are two types of marine debris that pollute our ocean and coastline in California. The first is from ocean sources, and includes waste discharged by ships, recreational boaters and fishermen, and offshore oil and gas exploration and production facilities. The second, and by far more environmentally destructive, type of marine debris is from the land. This type of debris includes stormwater runoff, solid waste, floating structures, poorly CONTINUED AB 258 Page 4 maintained garbage bins and dumps and is transmitted to the marine environment by waterways. Land based litter constitutes nearly 80 percent of the marine debris found on our beaches and oceans, and 90 percent of it is plastic. When debris from the land reaches the beaches and ocean, marine life is often threatened because they confuse the debris for food. Small pieces of preproduction plastic, plastic cups, bags, and cigarette filters are often found in the stomachs of fish, birds, whales, and other marine creatures. Recent studies by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation and the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project have found that the average mass of plastics in the seawater off the coast of Long Beach is two and a half times greater than the average mass of plankton. After storms with excessive runoff, the mass of plastics is even greater. A similar study over seawater 1,000 miles west of San Francisco found the mass of plastics was six times the mass of plankton in drifts where marine animals congregate for feeding on plankton. Total Maximum Daily Loads . According to USEPA, a TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards, and an allocation of that amount to the pollutant's sources. Water quality standards are established by state and identify the uses for each waterbody, for example, drinking water supply, contact recreation (swimming), and fishing, and the scientific criteria to support that use. A TMDL is the sum of the allowable loads a single pollutant from all contributing point and nonpoint sources. One of the smaller categories of pollutants that affect TMDLs is "trash TMDLs" or waterbodies that are considered to be impaired due to trash. Under a consent decree, the USEPA must establish TMDLs for trash in all impaired waters in the state. TMDLs have already been established by the Los Angeles RWQCB for the Los Angeles River and the Ballona Creek Watershed, requiring that the amount of trash be drastically reduced to protect water and beneficial uses. Operation Clean Sweep . The plastics industry attempted to CONTINUED AB 258 Page 5 address the release of preproduction plastics into the marine environment by developing a voluntary program called Operation Clean Sweep. This program, developed by the Society of Plastics Industry and the American Plastics Council, developed BMPs to reduce discharges of preproduction plastic through proper handling and cleanup. Where implemented, Operation Clean Sweep has been shown to reduce the release of preproduction plastic. However, because the program is voluntary and many plastic manufacturers and processors have chosen not to implement its recommendations, AB 258 will put in place uniform requirements that will better prevent preproduction plastics from entering the marine environment. Comments According to the author's office, approximately 60 billion pounds of preproduction plastic is manufactured annually in the US. These plastics are discharged into waterways during transport, packaging, and processing when proper housekeeping practices are not employed. Because of their small size, these materials are not generally captured through traditional storm water catch basins. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis: Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Fund Reissue General Industrial $65 $65 Special* Permit Review, Process & Issue $91 $78 Special* Notices of Intent Non-exposure certifications/ $156 $299 Special* CONTINUED AB 258 Page 6 Notice of Non-applicability Review Annual Reports $520 $520 Special* Inspections and enforcement $408 $2,042$2,042 Special* Contracts $137 $87 $87 Special* Implementation (general) $130 $293 $293 Special* *Waste Discharge Permit Fund, funded through fees. According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis, SWRCB estimates that there are approximately 2,700 plastics facilities statewide, but that only a few (no more than one-third) of these facilities are currently enrolled under the general industrial permit. The current fee for facilities enrolled under the General Industrial storm Water Permit is $700 per year. SERCB does not have a current fee for no exposure, but for the purposes of providing staff with an estimate for this bill, used $200 per year. SERCB estimates that statewide costs to implement this bill includes seven positions in the first year, 20.25 position in the second year and seven and one-quarter position annually thereafter. The costs include re-issuance of the general industrial storm water permit with expanded coverage to include all preproduction plastics facilities or issuance of a separate general permit for plastics facilities, development of no-exposure criteria, enrollment of facilities in the program, inspections, and enforcement. Contract costs will amount to $137,000 in the first year, and $162,000 in subsequent years, this accounts for database development, student assistance, travel to complete inspections, and possible judicial enforcement through the Attorney General's Office. SUPPORT : (Verified 8/31/07) Heal the Bay (co-source) CONTINUED AB 258 Page 7 Environment California (co-source) Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi (co-source) San Diego CoastKeeper (co-source) Algalita Marine Research Foundation American Chemistry Council Ballona Creek Renaissance Baykeeper California Animal Association California Coastal Coalition (coastal cities and counties) California Coastal Commission California League of Conservation Voters Californians Against Waste City of Los Angeles Coastkeeper Alliance Defenders of Wildlife Earth Resource Foundation Environment California Marin County Board of Supervisors National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Resources Defense Council Newport Beach Chapter of Surfrider Foundation Ocean Conservation Society Planning and Conservation League San Diego Coastkeeper San Diego Surfrider Foundation Santa Monica Baykeeper Sierra Club California Stop Waste ORG Surf Industry Manufacturers Association World Centric OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/31/07) Stop Hidden Tax Coalition ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, "The world's oceans are being inundated with marine debris. The vast majority of marine debris comes from land-based sources, especially by way of stormwater run-off. "Research indicates that as much as 90 percent of floating marine debris is plastic. In fact, scientists estimate that in large areas of the central Pacific Ocean, hundreds of miles from land, there is six times more plastic than CONTINUED AB 258 Page 8 plankton. Right now, over 45,000 pieces of plastic are floating on every square mile of ocean. "We have all seen the evidence on our beaches - the bottles and caps, six pack rings, food containers and so on that defile our precious coastline. But there is a less obvious but far more ubiquitous type of plastic debris in the form of small -preproduction plastic pellets like these. Know in industry as "nurdles," these pellets can be the size of BBs or even smaller, and they are the basic component used in the fabrication of most plastic products - from milk bottles to medical devices - from plastic wrap to cell phones. In the United States alone, 60 billion pounds of these pellets are manufactured every year. "To give you some sense of the magnitude of this problem, in a recent study of Orange County beaches, over 90% of the plastic debris found consisted of nurdles. "Despite the somewhat silly name, nurdles aren't just an aesthetic annoyance -- they are deadly. Once pellets enter the marine environment, birds, turtles and fish commonly mistake them for food. Often, these animals can't digest the pellets nor pass them, and they eventually die from starvation." The author's office contends that, "Responsible businesses in the plastics industry has recognized the degree of the problem and developed a series of best practices to prevent the discharge of nurdles into the environment. While some manufacturers have implemented these practices voluntarily, there are many bad actors out there who still carelessly allow the release of these deadly plastic pellets into our waterways, competing unfairly and profiting at the expense of the oceans. "The author's office contends that this bill "will address California's plastic run-off problem by borrowing from the successful best practices that are already known and used in the industry. This bill will simply require all manufacturers of plastic products to use basic common sense housekeeping principles to control the discharge of nurdles. It evens the playing field of competition while protecting the oceans from irreparable harm. CONTINUED AB 258 Page 9 "The best practices required under AB 258 will include common sense measures like installing screens in storm drains to prevent pellet flow into storm water runoff, keeping pellet containers covered and sealed at all points of storage and transfer, and having vacuum systems in place for pellet clean-up. "The State Water Board and Regional Water Quality Boards will develop a program that will increase regulation and monitoring of companies that handle and use pellets. And, should non-compliant bad actors continue to pollute, penalties will be consistent with other violations of the Clean Water Act. "Scientists and policy makers have long recognized the need to control pellet runoff. Even the plastics industry understands this to be a huge problem. With AB 258, California will be taking a crucial step toward saving the ocean from plastic marine debris." ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : According to the Stop Hidden Taxes Coalition, "The Stopped Hidden Taxes Coalition is in opposition to AB 258 (Krekorian), which would authorize the State Water Quality Control Board to impose a Sinclair fee (tax) for the cost of regulating the disposition of pre-production plastics into a marine environment. Pre-production plastics include plastic pellets, plastic resin products, powdered coloring for plastics, plastic additives, plastic materials and plastic fragments. According to the Coalition, "In the past five years, the California Legislature and local governments have tried to impose more than s$7 billion in new taxes while avoiding constitutional approval requirements for tax increases. The strategy is to disguise taxes as mere regulatory "fees" in order to avoid the public debate and rigorous vote requirement that voters have repeatedly demanded before taxes are raised. "The threat of hidden taxes enacted by end-runs around the State Constitution is becoming acute for businesses and consumers in California. New tax-like fees increase the cost of doing business and threaten jobs that are already CONTINUED AB 258 Page 10 vulnerable because of high operating costs in the state. For this reason, a coalition of business and consumers has formed to raise public awareness and oppose efforts to disguise taxes as fees." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Bass, Beall, Berg, Brownley, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeSaulnier, Dymally, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fuentes, Hancock, Hayashi, Hernandez, Huffman, Jones, Karnette, Krekorian, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Ma, Mendoza, Mullin, Nava, Portantino, Price, Richardson, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Solorio, Swanson, Torrico, Wolk, Nunez NOES: Adams, Aghazarian, Anderson, Arambula, Benoit, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Garcia, Garrick, Horton, Houston, Huff, Jeffries, Keene, La Malfa, Maze, Nakanishi, Niello, Parra, Plescia, Sharon Runner, Silva, Smyth, Spitzer, Strickland, Tran, Villines, Walters NO VOTE RECORDED: Soto TSM:do 9/1/07 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED