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
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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.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Lost revenue to CalTrans $1,000 Special
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* State Transportation Fund.
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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.