BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 258
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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 258 (Krekorian)
          As Amended August 27, 2007
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |44-35|(June 5, 2007)  |SENATE: |25-10|(September 6,  |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2007)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:   NAT. RES.  

           SUMMARY  :  Establishes a plastic debris eradication program to  
          reduce the amount of preproduction plastics entering the marine  
          environment.  
           
          The Senate amendments  :

          1)Eliminate and revise findings.

          2)Narrow the definition of "preproduction plastic" to include  
            plastic resin pellets and powdered coloring for plastics and  
            exclude other plastic resin products and materials.

          3)Make containment standards to prevent discharge of plastic  
            debris more flexible.

          4)Delete requirement for State Water Resources Control Board  
            (SWRCB) to establish a fee schedule to fund the bill's  
            requirements. 

           AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill:

          1)Defined "preproduction plastic" as plastic pellets, plastic  
            resin products, powdered coloring for plastics, plastic  
            additives, plastic materials, and plastic fragments. 

          2)Required SWRCB and regional water quality control boards  
            (RWQCBs) to implement a program to control discharges of  
            preproduction plastic by January 1, 2009. 

          3)Required SWRCB to consult with any RWQCB and 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  








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            plastic.

          4)Required SWRCB to establish criteria for the submittal of the  
            "no exposure certification" requirement for plastic  
            manufacturing and processing facilities subject to the  
            National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)  
            permitting requirements.  If a facility is granted  
            certification, the facility is not required to comply with the  
            Best Management Practices (BMPs) established pursuant to this  
            bill, unless required by SWRCB or a RWQCB.  

          5)Required SWRCB to establish a fee schedule to fund the bill's  
            requirements. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, this bill has substantial one-time General Fund (GF)  
          costs, in the range of $1.3 million in 2008-09, to the SWRCB to  
          develop and implement the preproduction plastic discharge  
          control procedures for affected facilities.  This bill also has  
          moderate ongoing GF costs, in the range of $1 million starting  
          in 2008-09, to the SWRCB and RWQCBs to administer and enforce  
          the discharge control requirements. 

           COMMENTS  :  According to the USEPA, marine debris has become a  
          problem along shorelines, coastal waters, estuaries, and oceans  
          throughout the world.  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, and poorly maintained garbage  
          bins and is transmitted to the marine environment by waterways.   
          Land based litter constitutes nearly 80% of the marine debris  
          found on our beaches and oceans, and 90% 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  








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          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.  

          According to the author's office, approximately 60 billion  
          pounds of preproduction plastic is manufactured annually in the  
          United States.  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. The plastics industry  
          attempted to 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, the program is voluntary and  
          many plastic manufacturers and processors have chosen not to  
          implement its recommendations.  

          
          Analysis Prepared by  :  Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)  
          319-2092 


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