BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 997
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 17, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                AB 997 (Chesbro) - As Introduced:  February 22,  2013 

          Policy Committee:                              Natural  
          ResourcesVote:9-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY   

          This bill defines anaerobic digestion and revises the definition  
          of composting in the Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989.   
          Specifically, this bill:  

          1) Defines anaerobic digestion as a process using the bacterial  
            breakdown of compostable organic material in a controlled  
            environment that meets the parameters that may be established  
            by CalRecycle.

          2)Adds anaerobic digestion to the existing definition of  
            composting, which is currently defined as the controlled or  
            uncontrolled biological decomposition of organic wastes.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible costs to the CalRecycle Department.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Background,   CalRecycle administers the Integrated Waste  
            Management Act of 1989.  The Act requires local governments to  
            divert 50% solid waste disposed by their jurisdictions from  
            landfill disposal and includes a 2020 75% goal for the state.   
            The traditional decomposition of landfills produces  
            significant amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas emission.  

            Anaerobic digestion refers to the controlled biological  
            decomposition of organic material with little or no oxygen.    
            Anaerobic digestion is not defined in current law but is  
            considered a method of composting by the industry and  








                                                                  AB 997
                                                                  Page  2

            CalRecycle,

            Anaerobic digestion is widely used to manage waster from  
            wastewater treatment dairy manure.  Anaerobic solid waste  
            digesters are emerging in California with a number of new and  
            proposed facilities underway.  This practice diverts organic  
            materials from landfills, generates low-carbon fuels, and  
            assists with meeting the state's recycling and greenhouse gas  
            emission reduction goals.

           2)Purpose.  This bill adds the anaerobic digestion to the Act  
            and updates the definition of composting to ensure anaerobic  
            digestion facilities are treated comparably to composting  
            facilities by CalRecycle. 

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081