BILL ANALYSIS SB 346 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 346 (Kehoe) As Amended August 20, 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 on or after January 1, 2021 and no more than .5% by weight on or after January 2025. 2)Exempts specific vehicles from the copper limitation in brake pads 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; d) Vehicles manufactured by small volume manufactures; and, e) Motorcycles. 3)Exempts from the 5% copper brake pad restrictions all vehicles, or brake pads used on those vehicles, manufactured prior to January 1, 2021. SB 346 Page 2 4)Exempts from the .5% copper brake pad restrictions all vehicles, or brake pads used on those vehicles, manufactured prior to December 31, 2024. 5)Restricts the use of the following toxic materials in motor vehicle brake pads by January 1, 2014: 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. 6)Requires manufacturers of brake pads to review safety data on alternatives to copper in brake pads. Allows manufactures to conduct an additional alternatives analysis based on an open source alternative analysis carried out by the brake pad manufacturer. 7)Requires brake pad manufacturers, beginning in 2014, to obtain certification to demonstrate compliance with the 2014 limits and to include that certification of the content of the brake pads. 8)Requires vehicle manufacturers and retailers of brake pads to ensure that only compliant brake pads are sold in this state. 9)Establishes a civil fine of up to $10,000 per violation of the brake pad limitations and certification requirements. 10) Allows a brake pad manufacturer, effective January 1, 2021, to apply to DTSC for a one, two or three-year extension of the 2025 ban and for additional two-year extensions until January 1, 2030. Heavy-duty brake pad manufacturers only will be able to apply for two-year extensions until January 1, 2032. 11) Requires an application for an exemption to be forwarded by DTSC to the Copper Brake Advisory Committee (CBAC), which will be a 9 member committee appointed by the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal-EPA). The CBAC will be composed of: a) 3 members representing the manufactures of brake friction materials and motor vehicles; b) 3 members representing municipal storm water quality SB 346 Page 3 agencies and nongovernmental environmental organizations; and c) 3 members who are experts in vehicle and braking safety, economics and or relevant technical areas. 12)Provides that members of the CBAC shall disclose financial interest related to vehicle or vehicle parts prior to being appointed. 13)Allows the CBAC to request additional information from DTSC with 75 days of receipt of a request for an extension. 14)Provide that the Secretary of Cal-EPA shall rely on the recommendations of the CBAC when making a determination on an extension request. 15)Establishes DTSC as the enforcing agency for the requirements of this bill and permits them to remove non-compliant brake pads from sale, but specifically does not authorize the recall of vehicles to remove the illegal brake pads. 16)Requires DTSC and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to submit a report to the Governor and legislature not later than January 1, 2023, on recommended actions necessary to address any deficiencies in meeting the copper reduction targets established by this bill. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee the bill would result in cost to DTSC and Cal-EPA including: 1)One-time costs to DTSC of approximately $200,000 during 2010-11 and 2011-12 for manufacturer outreach and education, including development of website materials. (Hazardous Waste Control Account (HWCA)) 2)One-time costs to DTSC of approximately $200,000 during 2010-11 and 2011-12 to develop certification and marking criteria. (HWCA) 3)One-time cost to DTSC of approximately $100,000 during 2011-12 to initially certify third-party certifiers of brake pads. (HWCA) SB 346 Page 4 4)Minor annual costs to DTSC in the tens of thousands of dollars beginning in 2013-14 to accept filings by manufacturers of brake pad certification, covered fully by filing fee. (HWCA) 5)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)) 6)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) 7)Minor annual costs to the Secretary for Cal-EPA in the tens of dollars beginning in 2020-21 to review extension and exemption requests. (GF) 8)Minor, absorbable annual costs to ARB and DTSC beginning in 2020-21 to consult with DTSC on extension and exemption requests. COMMENTS : According to 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. According to the U.S. EPA, elevated levels of copper are toxic to 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. 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. SWRCB has established Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) as SB 346 Page 5 allowable pollution limits on copper and other pollutants in several southern California urban watersheds. Failure to comply with these TMDLs will result in serious 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. As part of the Green Chemistry Initiative, the Governor signed AB 1879 (Feuer and Huffman) Chapter 559, Statutes of 2008, into law. AB 1879 requires DTSC to adopt regulations by January 1. 2011, to identify and prioritize chemicals of concern, to evaluate alternatives, and to specify regulatory responses where chemicals of concern are found in consumer products. "Consumer product" is broadly defined as a product or part of a product that is used, bought, or leased for use by a person for any purposes and includes auto parts like vehicle brake pads. The enactment of this bill may have the effect of precluding any action by DTSC on brake pads under the State Green Chemistry statute. Specifically, the current law provides an exemption from Green Chemistry for those products subject to regulations similar to the Green Chemistry Statutes (H&S code 252571(c)). This bill may be interpreted as an exemption for vehicle brake pads from the current authority under Green Chemistry and thereby preclude any additional science based standards for vehicle brakes. Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965 FN: 0006596