BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 686
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 686 (Quirk)
As Amended May 24, 2013
Majority vote
ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Alejo, Dahle, Bloom, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Donnelly, Lowenthal, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Stone, Ting | |Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| | | |Hall, Linder, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Wagner, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Toxic Substance Control
(DTSC) to develop recommendations for standards and guidelines
for the operation of on-site hazardous waste management and
recycling pharmaceutical manufacturing and processing
facilities. The report is required to be submitted by January
1, 2016, and identify any necessary statutory or regulatory
actions as specified.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires, pursuant to the Federal Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA), any person who owns or operates a
facility where hazardous waste is treated, stored, or disposed
to have a RCRA hazardous waste permit issued by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).
2)Requires any person who stores, treats or disposes of
hazardous waste as described in the Hazardous Waste Control
Law (Health and Safety Code, Division 20, Chapter 6.5) must
obtain a permit or a grant of authorization from DTSC.
3)Requires DTSC to regulate onsite hazardous waste treatment
operations under the "tiered permit" system which was adopted
in 1992. The system, which has no federal equivalent, is made
up of four tiers: conditionally authorized, permit-by-rule,
standardized permit, and conditionally exempt, which are
characterized by increasingly stringent regulation,
AB 686
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respectively. A given treatment process is assigned to a tier
based on statutory criteria that are believed to be indicative
of the potential hazards associated with various types of
treatment operations, therefore, the greater the perceived
hazard, the higher the tier.
4)Exempts a pharmaceutical manufacturer's neutralization
activities from specific laws applying to hazardous waste
facilities, including requirements to operate in accordance
with hazardous waste facility permit. Requires a
pharmaceutical manufacturer to satisfy specified conditions
for pharmaceutical neutralization.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, increased costs to DTSC from the Hazardous Waste
Control Account (HWCA) or General Fund (GF) in the $100,000 to
$200,000 range. Expenditures and revenues in the HWCA account
are currently about equal. While the account carries a small
surplus, it is used to pay monthly costs. It is unlikely DTSC
would be able to absorb this additional expenditure without a
fee increase or GF appropriation.
COMMENTS :
1)Need for the bill . According to the author, "The federal
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) excludes a
narrow range of materials that qualify as "comparable fuels"
from the definition of solid waste, allowing these fuels to be
used to produce energy without requiring a Treatment, Storage,
and Disposal Facility (TSDF) permit. For example, acetone,
which is a common by-product of the pharmaceutical
manufacturing process, is a candidate for this exclusion
because it has a heating value and viscosity in the range
required by the federal exclusion. Furthermore, it qualifies
on the basis of meeting all of the constituent concentration
limits specified in the federal exclusion.
Although this material would qualify as a comparable fuel
under the RCRA exclusion, California has not incorporated the
same exclusion into its Hazardous Waste Control Law.
Therefore, under current California law, facilities that would
otherwise be authorized to use manufacturing by-products as a
fuel source for CHP would first need to obtain a hazardous
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waste treatment permit from the Department of Toxic Substances
Control. The cost, administrative burden and timeframes
involved in procuring and maintaining this permit would render
these projects infeasible. "
2)This bill is sponsored by the American Pacific Fine Chemicals
a company in Rancho Cordova, California. The company
manufactures pharmaceutical ingredients and registered
intermediates sold to the pharmaceutical industry. According
to American Pacific Fine Chemicals Company generates
approximately 1,000 gallons of acetone hazardous waste per
day, which they propose to burn in a cogeneration facility at
their site. The facility currently relies on natural gas and
propane to operate the heat and steam facility.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
FN: 0000836