BILL ANALYSIS
SB 990
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 990 (Kuehl)
As Amended April 9, 2007
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :21-16
ENVIRONMENTAL SAFTEY 5-1 APPROPRIATIONS 9-6
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|Ayes:|Huffman, Eng, Evans, |Ayes:|Leno, Caballero, Davis, |
| |Feuer, Nava | |DeSaulnier, Huffman, |
| | | |Krekorian, Ma, Nava, |
| | | |De Leon |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Jefferies |Nays:|Walters, Emmerson, La |
| | | |Malfa, Lieu, Nakanishi, |
| | | |Sharon Runner |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control
(DTSC) to compel a responsible party or parties to take or pay for
appropriate removal or remediation action, as prescribed,
necessary to protect public health and safety and the environment
at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site in Ventura County.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Consolidates the oversight of the chemical and radioactive
contamination remediation of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory
(SSFL) site under the lead agency authority of DTSC.
2)Requires that calculating the risk from radiological and
chemical contaminants at the site shall be summed and the land
use assumption shall be either suburban residential or rural
residential.
3)Requires the Director of DTSC to certify that the land has
undergone complete remediation pursuant to this measure.
4)The sale, lease, sublease, or other transfer of any land
presently or formerly occupied by the SSFL shall be prohibited
unless the Director of DTSC certifies that the land has
undergone complete remediation.
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EXISTING FEDERAL LAW :
1)Under the federal Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and the Low-level
Radioactive Waste Policy Act, generally vests the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) with the authority to regulate
radioactive materials and wastes, and provides that the NRC may
delegate authority over low-level radioactive materials and
wastes (essentially all radioactive wastes other than spent
nuclear fuel rods and the like) to "agreement states" including
California.
2)Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and
Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as the federal Superfund
law, provides the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(US EPA) with authority over the remediation of uncontrolled or
abandoned hazardous-waste sites as well as accidents, spills,
and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants into
the environment.
EXISTING STATE LAW :
1)Requires, under Chapter 6.5 of the Health and Safety Code
(commencing with Section 25100), requires DTSC to establish
standards and regulations for the management of hazardous wastes
to protect against the hazards to public health and safety and
the environment.
2)Authorizes, under Chapter 6.8 of the Health and Safety Code
(commencing with Section 25300), the Carpenter-Presley-Tanner
Hazardous Substance Account Act (commonly referred to as the
State Superfund program) DTSC and the State Water Resources
Control Board to require, oversee and recover costs for the
remediation of sites where contamination of soil and water
presents a hazard to human health or the environment.
3)Under Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 114960) of the Health
and Safety Code, requires the Department of Health Services
(DHS) to regulate the handling and use of ionizing radiation
(most radioactive wastes other than high-level wastes which are
regulated by the NRC) for the protection of public health and
safety.
FISCAL EFFECT :
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1)Minor costs, if any, to the DTSC to compel the responsible
parties at the SSFL site to remediate the site to specified
levels and to certify the site meets these requirements as a
condition for land sale or transfer. Since the DTSC arguably
already has this authority, the only potential resulting costs
occur as a result of the statutory focus on the SSFL.
2)Moderate costs to the DTSC to bring the remediation of the SSFL
site under the requirements of the State Superfund program, a
remediation process generally more stringent and inclusive than
the federal process. These costs should be largely reimbursed
by the appropriate responsible parties.
COMMENTS :
Need for the bill: The author's office states that over the
years, various piecemeal cleanups around the SSFL site were
undertaken with varying degrees of protective quality but the site
was not fully evaluated and "characterized" as to its degree of
contamination. According to the author's office, US EPA has
criticized this piecemeal approach and the inadequate
characterization and cleanup, declaring that the site is not safe
for unrestricted residential use and, (e.g. might be able to be
used for day-hikes with stringent limits on picnicking.) Despite
these concerns, the federal Department of Energy (DOE) continues
to move forward with plans to release the site for unrestricted
residential use. If this is allowed, families could purchase homes
built on soil contaminated with strontium-90, cesium-137 and other
radionuclides from the past meltdown and other past accidents.
The author cites recent scientific studies showing that the closer
a person lived to the SSFL site, the greater his or her exposure
to certain toxic materials and an elevated risk for certain types
of cancers. Earlier studies had already concluded that the
workers at the site having the highest exposures to radiation and
chemicals had elevated risks of dying from various cancers. In
order to protect the surrounding community, this bill will require
the SSFL site to be thoroughly remediated for both chemical and
radioactive contamination, as determined by DTSC, prior to any
sale, lease or transfer of all or any part of the property.
Santa Susana Field Laboratory: The SSFL consists of 2850 acres of
land in eastern Ventura County, bordering Los Angeles County,
about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles between Simi and
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San Fernando Valleys. It was intended as a remote field
laboratory to conduct work too dangerous for populated areas.
The SSFL was established after World War II by the United States
government to develop and test nuclear reactors and engines for
missiles, spacecraft and rockets. The first commercial
nuclear-power producing reactor inside the United States was built
at SSFL. The reactor powered over 1,100 homes in the Moorpark
area of California for a short period of time. SSFL, however,
also became home to the first meltdown of a power-producing
reactor in the United
States on July 26, 1959. Today, all nuclear research and most
rocket testing has stopped. The site is now owned by The Boeing
Company and is used as a research facility.
Over the decades of operation the SSFL experienced numerous
accidents, spills and releases that have resulted in widespread
radioactive and chemical contamination of the groundwater, surface
water and soil on the site and the surrounding area.
Exposure Studies: There have been numerous exposure studies
conducted since 1990. In 2005, the U.S. Agency for Toxic
Substance Disease Registry released two multi-year studies on the
potential health impacts on residents living near SSFL. The first
found that very high levels of toxic chemicals were released into
the areas surrounding SSFL, at concentrations far in excess of
USEPA acceptable levels, with the highest risk being within two
miles of the site. The second study found cancer rates in the
surrounding community increased the closer one got to SSFL, again
with the highest risk being within two miles of the site and found
significant increases in those cancers presumed to be
radiosensitive and those associated with chemical exposures.
Santa Susana Field Laboratory Radiation Remediation: In 1995, the
US EPA and DOE announced a Joint Policy Agreement under which all
DOE sites, including SSFL, were to be cleaned up to meet the EPA's
CERCLA standards. However, in 2003, the DOE issued an
Environmental Assessment indicating that it intended to release
SSFL for residential use without meeting the CERCLA standards for
remediation of the site. In December, 2003, EPA issued a letter
saying that the DOE cleanup was not adequately protective of
public health; the site had not been adequately characterized; and
that the only safe public use for the site, given the DOE
standards, would be limited day hikes with restrictions on
picnicking. Earlier this year, DOE agreed to use the EPA CERCLA
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standard for their remediation of the last two buildings.
However, DOE is not going to revisit the rest of the site to
ensure the entire site cleanup meets the CERCLA standards.
Court Action: On May 2, 2007, in the matter of National Resources
Defense Council, et. al. v the Department of Energy, et.al. , the
US District Court of Northern California granted the plaintiff's
motion for summary judgment regarding the DOE's remediation of a
portion of the SSFL know as Area IV. Area IV is the northwest
corner of the SSFL site and consists of approximately 290 acres
where DOE is responsible for the remediation. The conclusion
stated that DOE has violated, and continues to violate the
National Environmental Policy Act( NEPA) and that the Court
permanently enjoins the DOE from transferring ownership or
possession of any portion of Area IV until the DOE has completed
and Environmental Impact Statement and issued a Record of Decision
pursuant to NEPA. The Court also retained jurisdiction over the
matter until it is satisfied that DOE has met its legal
obligations.
Analysis prepared by : Caroll Mortensen / E.S. & T. M. / (916)
319-3965
FN: 0002676