BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1647|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1647
Author: Gordon (D)
Amended: 8/23/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 6-1, 7/2/12
AYES: Simitian, Blakeslee, Hancock, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Pavley
NOES: Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-20, 5/25/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Waste tires enforcement
SOURCE : Californians Against Waste
DIGEST : This bill revises the hearing and enforcement
process for waste tire facility and waste tire hauling
violations.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/23/12 include additional
enforcement provisions, identify new programs eligible for
inclusion in the tire recycling program, and to define and
require the registration and reporting of tire brokers.
(See analyses section for detail of the amendment)
ANALYSIS : Existing law authorizes the Department of
Resources and Recycling and Recovery, (CalRecycle also
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DRRR), subject in some cases to a formal administrative
adjudicative hearing, to revoke, suspend, or deny a waste
tire facility permit if CalRecycle makes specified
findings.
This bill, under the California Integrated Waste Management
Act of 1989:
1. Authorizes CalRecycle to revoke, suspend, or deny a
waste tire facility permit, by serving a statement of
issues prior to holding a hearing, for a period of up
to:
A. Three years for misrepresentation or failure to
disclose factual material in a permit application;
or failure, at any time in the last three years, to
comply with an order regarding compliance after
receiving a notice of violation of certain
regulations or conditions of the permit.
B. Five years for a chronic, recurring pattern of
noncompliance that poses a significant risk to
public health, public safety, or the environment or
if the violation has not been corrected or
reasonable progress toward correction has not been
achieved.
C. Five years or greater for violations that result
in significant harm to human health or the
environment.
2. Authorizes CalRecycle to immediately suspend a waste
tire facility permit to prevent or mitigate an imminent
or substantial endangerment to the public health or
safety or the environment.
3. Authorizes a district attorney or county counsel, at
CalRecycle's request, to petition the superior court for
issuance of an injunction regarding certain waste tire
permit violations, if the Attorney General (AG) cannot
petition the superior court within 30 days (rather than
45 days under current law).
4. Authorizes CalRecycle to "serve an administrative
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accusation" to any person subject to civil liability.
The accusation must inform the party of the right to a
hearing. Upon receipt of a notice of defense,
CalRecycle must schedule a hearing within 15 days, and
the hearing must be held within 60 days of scheduling
unless the party waives the right to a hearing. The
CalRecycle Director (Director) must issue a decision
within 60 days of the hearing including setting the
amount of the civil penalty to be imposed.
5. Specifies that a hearing relating to a waste tire
facility permit must be conducted pursuant to the
requirements for an informal hearing, but allows
CalRecycle to initially file or convert a hearing to be
conducted pursuant to the requirements for a formal
hearing.
6. Authorizes CalRecycle to serve an administrative
accusation to a person on whom civil liability may be
imposed and makes various requirements for the
accusation and a hearing before the Director, if
requested by the accused.
7. Authorizes CalRecycle to revoke, suspend, or deny a
waste and used tire hauler registration, prior to
holding a hearing, for up to three years if: (a)
CalRecycle finds that the hauler commits more than three
violations within a year; (b) the violation poses an
immediate threat of harm to public safety or the
environment; (c) the hauler is determined to repeatedly
fail to comply or the failure to comply may pose a
threat to public safety or the environment; or (d) the
hauler misrepresents or fails to disclose material
factual information as specified.
8. Authorizes CalRecycle to revoke, suspend, or deny a
waste and used tire hauler registration, prior to
holding a hearing, for three to five years, or may
suspend, revoke, or deny a waste and used tire hauler
registration permanently, under specified circumstances.
9. Requires CalRecycle to notify the hauler of the
revocation, suspension, or denial of the registration,
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the effective date of the suspension and revocation, and
serve the hauler with a statement of issues. Upon
receipt of a request for a hearing, CalRecycle must,
within 15 days, schedule a hearing before the Director
within 90 days of that scheduling.
10.Requires the revocation or suspension to remain in
effect until a hearing is completed and the director
issues a decision, which must be issued within 60 days.
11.Requires the hearings related to waste and used tire
hauler registration undertaken by CalRecycle to comply
with the informal hearing process, but allows CalRecycle
to initially file or convert a hearing to be conducted
pursuant to the requirements for a formal hearing.
Senate Floor Amendments: (1) authorize DRRR to deny a waste
tire facility permit and prohibit reapplication for up to
one year, if the facility at the time of application
exceeds the number of waste tires allowed without a permit;
(2) require a person operating a waste tire facility
without a permit and issued a cleanup order to remove all
waste tires from the facility, prohibits the person from
accepting additional waste tires and requires the subject
of the order to reimburse DRRR for follow up inspections,
as specified; (3) authorizes DRRR to request the AG to
petition for the issuance of an injunction against an
unpermitted facility that fails to comply with a notice of
violation, and if the AG declines or is unable, DRRR may
request the district attorney or county counsel petition
for the injunction; (4) requires DRRR, upon a final
decision from an administrative hearing based on a finding
of violation, to perform additional inspections at the
location of violation and specifies that DRRR be reimbursed
for those inspections; (5) clarifies that the tire
recycling program may include subsidies or rebates that
result in the reduction of waste tires and may also include
the development and implementation of incentive payment to
increase demand for recycled waste tires; (6) adds the
manufacture of specified products to the list of activities
that may qualify for funding; (7) defines "tire broker" as
a person that arranges for the shipment of used or waste
tires; and (8) specifies registration and reporting
requirements for tire brokers.
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Comments
According to the author, "AB 1647 would remove the formal
administrative hearing procedures requirements for
revoking, suspending, or denying a waste tire facility
permit or a waste tire hauler registration, and for issuing
administrative penalties for noncompliance with waste tire
storage laws. In its place, AB 1647 would require that
CalRecycle issue the revocation, suspension, or denial for
permits and registration, and issue the penalties to
noncompliant waste tire storage sites and noncompliant
waste tire haulers. The recipient of any revocation,
suspension, denial, or penalty could seek recourse by
appealing to the Director of CalRecycle, or a delegated
representative, and appeals would take the form of an
informal hearing process. AB 1647 would also provide that
the revocation or suspension is of no further effect if
CalRecycle fails to transmit the determination within 60
days of the submission of the case."
According to the author, "tire recyclers and processors
report increased rates of tires going to nonpermitted
facilities where they are loaded into cargo containers and
shipped overseas. This activity decreases tire feedstocks
for legitimate California tire recyclers, processors and
tire-derived product manufacturers."
California's Tire Program
Funding : The California Tire Recycling Act authorizes the
creation of the Tire Recycling Program and the California
Tire Recycling Management Fund. A fee is assessed on the
sale of new tires, and collected revenue is deposited
quarterly into the tire fund. CalRecycle allocates funds
annually based on availability and changing program needs.
The fee is currently $1.75 for each new tire sold in the
state. However, $0.75 of the $1.75 is transferred to the
Air Pollution Control Fund for use by the Air Resources
Board for air pollution activities. So, $1.00 per tire is
deposited into the Tire Fund for use by CalRecycle for the
tire-related activities. There are approximately 41.1
million waste tires generated in California annually.
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Program Structure : California's waste tire management and
recycling efforts are divided into two functional areas:
tire permitting and enforcement activities, and tire
recycling and market development activities. The tire
permitting and enforcement activities ensure that reusable
and waste tires are stored and transported safely.
CalRecycle staff also coordinate with local and regional
agencies to mitigate unsafe situations at existing
abandoned tire pile sites and provide technical assistance.
Tire recycling activities include offering financial
assistance, engaging in recycling and marketing research,
and providing technical assistance.
Baled tire enforcement . In March CalRecycle released a
bulletin and held a workshop to discuss the permitting,
storage, and hauling requirements applicable to baled waste
tires. CalRecycle states that, "waste tire baling is
becoming more common because it allows for the efficient
storing and transporting of waste tires." Baled tires must
be managed as waste tires. The bulletin clarifies that
waste tire baling facilities are waste tire facilities;
baled tires are not tire-derived product and are not exempt
from waste tire hauling requirements; common carrier
exemptions may apply to loads of baled tires, but require
an exemption letter from CalRecycle; transportation of
baled tires may result in overweight containers; and, baled
tires must be manifested.
At the workshop, CalRecycle identified 13 "business
practice" changes that they can make administratively to
improve enforcement of waste tire hauling and storage
requirements. The workshop also included a discussion of
"statutory options" that require legislative action. This
bill implements one of those statutory changes identified
by CalRecycle to streamline the enforcement process for
violations of waste tire storage and hauling requirements.
Hearing process . Under current law, hearings relating to
the denial, revocation, or suspension of a waste tire
facility permit or a waste tire hauler registration must go
through the formal Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH)
process. According to CalRecycle, hearings must be
scheduled on the OAH calendar causing more than six months
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of delay during which illegal facilities continue to
operate. This bill establishes an informal hearing
process, with the Director acting as the presiding officer.
Existing law also specifies that a permit cannot be
revoked, suspended, or denied prior to the hearing, except
when necessary "to prevent or mitigate an imminent or
substantial endangerment to the public health or safety or
the environment." This bill allows CalRecycle to revoke,
suspend, or deny a permit prior to a hearing in any case,
as determined by CalRecycle. For waste tire hauling
registrations, this bill expressly states that the
revocation, suspension, or denial cannot be stayed pending
the hearing.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/7/12)
Californians Against Waste (source)
Ag Link, Inc.
BAS Recycling
CRM Company
Lakin Tire West
Shamrock Recycling of California
Solid Waste Association of North America
Tri-C Manufacturing
Waste Recovery West
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-20, 5/25/12
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles
Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis,
Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani,
Gatto, Gordon, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber,
Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Mendoza,
Mitchell, Monning, Pan, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino,
Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Achadjian, Conway, Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Garrick,
Gorell, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Logue, Mansoor,
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Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Smyth,
Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Atkins, Bill Berryhill, Cook, Fletcher,
Grove, Halderman, Hall, Knight, Ma, Perea, Silva, Valadao
DLW:RJG:d 8/24/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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