BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                                                                  SB 346
                                                                  PageA

          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 346 (Kehoe and Simitian)
          As Amended  August 2, 2010
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :22-16  
           
           ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY          6-3                    
          APPROPRIATIONS      12-5        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Nava, Chesbro, Davis,     |Ayes:|Fuentes, Bradford,        |
          |     |Feuer, Monning, Ruskin    |     |Huffman, Coto, Davis, De  |
          |     |                          |     |Leon, Gatto, Hall,        |
          |     |                          |     |Skinner, Solorio,         |
          |     |                          |     |Torlakson, Torrico        |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Miller, Blakeslee, Smyth  |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller,   |
          |     |                          |     |Nielsen, Norby            |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

           SUMMARY  :  Restricts the use of copper and other toxic chemicals  
          in automobile brake pads.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Limits the use of copper in motor vehicle brake pads to no  
            more than .5% by weight by January 2025.

          2)Exempts vehicles from the copper limitation on  brake pad  
            including:

             a)   Military vehicles;

             b)   Vehicles with internal closed oil immersed brakes that  
               do not emit copper or other debris under normal operating  
               conditions;

             c)   Parking brakes; and,
           
             d)   Motorcycles.

          3)Restricts the use of the following toxic materials in brake  
            pads by January 1, 2014:










                                                                  SB 346
                                                                  PageB

             a)   Cadmium and its compounds:  0.01% by weight;

             b)   Chromium (VI)-salts:  0.1% by weight;

             c)   Lead and its compounds:  0.1% by weight; and,

             d)   Mercury and its compounds:  0.1% by weight.

          4)Requires manufacturers of brake pads to follow the process to  
            be adopted by the Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC)  
            regarding criteria to evaluate alternatives to copper in brake  
            pads.

          5)Require brake pad manufacturers, beginning in 2014, to obtain  
            certification to demonstrate compliance with these  
            requirements and include that certification of the content of  
            the brake pads.

          6)Requires vehicle manufacturers and retailers of brake pads to  
            ensure that only compliant brake pads are sold in this state.

          7)Establishes a civil fine of up to $10,000 per violation of the  
            brake pad certification requirements.

          8)Establishes DTSC as the enforcing agency for the new article  
            and permits them to remove non-compliant brake pads from sale,  
            but specifically does not authorize the recall of vehicles to  
            effect the removal of illegal brake pads.

          9)Provides that this bill would not effect the authority of the  
            DTSC from consideration of copper brakes pads in the existing  
            Green Chemistry Initiative pursuant to AB 1879 (Feuer and  
            Huffman) Chapter 559, Statutes of 2008.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee:

          1)Costs to DTSC of approximately $500,000 during 2010-11 and  
            2011-12.  (Hazardous Waste Control Account (HWCA))

          2)Annual costs to DTSC of approximately $250,000 beginning in  
            2020-21 to accept and review requests for extension and  
            exemption withdrawal, fully covered by request fees.  (HWCA or  
            Brake Friction Materials Water Pollution Fund (BFMWPF))   









                                                                  SB 346
                                                                  PageC


          3)Annual costs to DTSC ranging from $250,000 to $500,000  
            beginning in 2013-14 to enforce bans, including inspections of  
            brake manufacturers and third-party certifiers and laboratory  
            analysis of brake pads.  (HWCA or BFMWPF)

          4)Minor annual costs to the Secretary for Environmental  
            Protection in the tens of dollars beginning in 2020-21 to  
            review extension and exemption requests.  (GF)

           COMMENTS  :   

           1)Need for the bill  .  According the author, elevated copper  
            levels occur in urban watersheds across California.  Dissolved  
            copper is toxic to phytoplankton (the base of the aquatic food  
            chain).  It also impairs salmon's ability to avoid predators  
            and deters them from returning to their home streams to spawn.  
             Scientific studies have shown that a major source of copper  
            in highly urbanized watersheds is material worn off vehicle  
            brake pads.  It is estimated that about one-half of the copper  
            found in run-off is attributed to brake pads.

           2)Copper in the aquatic environment  .  According to the U.S. EPA,  
            elevated levels of copper are toxic in aquatic environments  
            and may adversely affect fish, invertebrates, plants, and  
            amphibians.  Acute toxic effects may include mortality of  
            organisms; chronic toxicity can result in reductions in  
            survival, reproduction, and growth.<1>

            Motor vehicles are a major source of toxic contaminants such  
            as copper, a metal that originates from vehicle exhaust and  
            brake pad wear.  Copper and other pollutants are deposited on  
            roads and other impervious surfaces and then transported to  
            aquatic habitats via stormwater runoff.

           3)Total Maximum Daily Loads  .  The State Water Resources Control  
            Board (SWRCB) has established Total Maximum Daily Loads  
            (TMDLs) as allowable pollution limits on copper and other  
            pollutants in several southern California urban watersheds.   
            Failure to comply with these TMDLs will result in serious  
          ---------------------------
          <1> US, EPA,  Aquatic Life Ambient Freshwater Quality  
          Criteria-Copper 2007 Revision  (February 22, 2007). 










                                                                  SB 346
                                                                  PageD

            penalties to the local governments.  The SWRCB is working to  
            establish these TMDLs for watersheds throughout California.   
            The ubiquity of copper in the urban environment, and the  
            technical difficulty and impracticality of treating stormwater  
            to remove it, mean that compliance with copper TMDLs will not  
            be feasible without source reduction of copper.  Cost could go  
            into the billions of dollars to remediate if source reduction  
            measures are not taken.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)  
          319-3965 


                                                                FN: 0005919