BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair SB 833 (Vargas) Hearing Date: 05/23/2011 Amended: 04/25/2011 Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: EQ 5-1 _________________________________________________________________ ____ BILL SUMMARY: SB 833 prohibits the operation of a solid waste landfill in San Diego County that is located within 1,000 feet of the San Luis Rey River and within 1,000 feet of a Native American sacred site. _________________________________________________________________ ____ Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund Lost revenue to CalTrans $1,000 Special * * State Transportation Fund. _________________________________________________________________ ____ STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Under current law, solid waste landfills are permitted by local enforcement agencies. The Department of Resources Recovery and Recycling reviews proposed permits to be issued by local enforcement agencies and can reject such a permit, but it has no power to amend a proposed permit. In addition, solid waste landfills need waste discharge permits from a Regional Water Quality Control Board, and often need permits from the local air pollution control district, the Department of Fish and Game, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. SB 833 prohibits the operation of a solid waste landfill in San Diego County that is located within 1,000 feet of the San Luis Rey River (or a connected aquifer) and is located within 1,000 feet of a sacred site that is listed in the California Native American Heritage Commission Sacred Lands Inventory. The bill does not apply to any facility that is permitted and operating by January 1, 2012. The bill requires the local enforcement agency to enforce violations of the bill's provisions. SB 833 (Vargas) Page 1 The proposed Gregory Canyon Landfill in northern San Diego County is the only project that meets the geographical criteria in the bill. The project is under permit review by the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health (the local enforcement agency) and various other regulatory agencies. Permits from the local enforcement agency are likely to be issued within the next few months. Under one of the conditions of the proposed permit, the project developers will provide $1 million to CalTrans for safety upgrades to SR 76 in northern San Diego County. This contribution is not required to mitigate for traffic impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act. According to CalTrans, the project developers will pay directly for some necessary safety improvements to SR 76 in the vicinity of the proposed landfill. The $1 million to be provided to CalTrans will be in addition to the costs of those upgrades and will be used to make safety upgrades unrelated to the project. By preventing the proposed project, the bill will result in a revenue loss to CalTrans. The bill mandates enforcement by a local government agency. However, this bill does not impose a reimbursable mandate because local enforcement agencies have fee authority.