BILL NUMBER: AB 1126 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 19, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 18, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 21, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Gordon and Mullin
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Wilk)
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Sections 40116.1, 40121, 40180,
40192, 40194, 40200, 40201, 41700, 41721, 41781, and 50001 of, and
to add Section 40150.5 40131.2 to, the
Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1126, as amended, Gordon. Solid waste: biomass conversion:
engineered municipal solid waste (MSW)
(EMSW) conversion.
(1) The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (act),
which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery, requires each city, county, and regional agency, if any, to
develop a source reduction and recycling element of an integrated
waste management plan. With certain exceptions, the source reduction
and recycling element of that plan is required to divert 50% of all
solid waste, through source reduction, recycling, and composting
activities. Existing law allows the 50% diversion requirement to
include, pursuant to specified conditions, not more than 10% through
biomass conversion, which is defined as the controlled combustion of
specific materials for use in producing electricity or heat.
This bill would define the terms "MSW
"EMSW conversion" and "MSW "EMSW
conversion facility," and would make conforming changes to existing
definitions with regard to those operations and facilities.
The bill would also revise the definition of "composting" to include
the anaerobic digestion of organic waste.
(2) The act requires the integrated waste management plan required
to be adopted by a county to include a countywide siting element
that provides a description of the areas to be used for the
development of certain facilities. The act excludes certain solid
wastes, for purposes of determining the base rate for the diversion
of solid waste, and requires that the amount of solid waste diverted
include solid waste diverted from a disposal facility or
transformation facility.
This bill would require the countywide siting element to include a
description of the areas to be used for the development of adequate
MSW EMSW conversion, thereby imposing a
state-mandated local program by imposing new duties upon local
agencies.
This bill would additionally exclude certain used or waste tires
or biomass materials from the solid waste calculation used in that
base rate determination and would require the amount of solid waste
to include solid waste diverted from an MSW
EMSW conversion facility.
(3) Existing law prohibits a person from establishing or expanding
a solid waste facility in a county, after a countywide or regional
agency integrated waste management plan has been approved, unless the
solid waste facility is, among other things, a disposal facility or
a transformation facility that meets certain criteria.
This bill would additionally include, as one of those facilities,
an MSW EMSW conversion facility.
(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 40116.1 of the Public
Resources Code is amended to read:
40116.1. (a) "Composting" means the controlled or uncontrolled
biological decomposition of organic wastes.
(b) "Composting" also includes the anaerobic digestion of organic
wastes.
SEC. 2. SECTION 1. Section 40121 of
the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
40121. "Disposal facility" or "facility" means a facility or
location where disposal of solid waste occurs or an MSW
EMSW conversion facility.
SEC. 3. Section 40150.5 is added to the Public
Resources Code, to read:
40150.5. (a) "Municipal solid waste conversion" or "MSW
conversion" means the conversion of solid waste through a process
that meets all of the following requirements:
(1) The waste to be converted is beneficial and effective in that
it replaces or supplements the use of fossil fuels.
(2) The waste to be converted, the resulting ash, and any other
products of conversion do not meet the criteria or guidelines for the
identification of a hazardous waste adopted by the Department of
Toxic Substances Control pursuant to Section 25141 of the Health and
Safety Code.
(3) The conversion is efficient and maximizes the net calorific
value and burn rate of the waste.
(4) The waste to be processed contains less than 25 percent
moisture and less than 10 percent noncombustible waste.
(5) The waste to be processed that is received at the facility is
handled in compliance with the requirements for the handling of solid
waste imposed pursuant to this division, and no more than a
seven-day supply of that waste, based on the throughput capacity of
the operation or facility, is stored at the facility at any one time.
(6) No more than 500 tons per day of waste is converted at the
facility where the operation takes place.
(b) "Municipal solid waste conversion facility" or "MSW facility"
means a facility where municipal solid waste conversion that meets
the requirements of subdivision (a) takes place.
SEC. 2. Section 40131.2 is added to the
Public Resources Code , to read:
40131.2. (a) "Engineered municipal solid waste conversion" or
"EMSW conversion" means the conversion of solid waste through a
process that meets all of the following requirements:
(1) The waste to be converted is beneficial and effective in that
it replaces or supplements the use of fossil fuels.
(2) The waste to be converted, the resulting ash, and any other
products of conversion do not meet the criteria or guidelines for the
identification of a hazardous waste adopted by the Department of
Toxic Substances Control pursuant to Section 25141 of the Health and
Safety Code.
(3) The conversion is efficient and maximizes the net calorific
value and burn rate of the waste.
(4) The waste to be converted contains less than 25 percent
moisture and less than 25 percent noncombustible waste.
(5) The waste received at the facility for conversion is handled
in compliance with the requirements for the handling of solid waste
imposed pursuant to this division, and no more than a seven-day
supply of that waste, based on the throughput capacity of the
operation or facility, is stored at the facility at any one time.
(6) No more than 500 tons per day of waste is converted at the
facility where the operation takes place.
(7) After conversion, the waste has a value of 5,000 BTU per
pound.
(b) "Engineered municipal solid waste conversion facility" or
"EMSW facility" means a facility where municipal solid waste
conversion that meets the requirements of subdivision (a) takes
place.
SEC. 4. SEC. 3. Section 40180 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
40180. "Recycle" or "recycling" means the process of collecting,
sorting, cleansing, treating, and reconstituting materials that would
otherwise become solid waste, and returning them to the economic
mainstream in the form of raw material for new, reused, or
reconstituted products which meet the quality standards necessary to
be used in the marketplace. "Recycling" does not include
transformation, as defined in Section 40201 or MSW
EMSW conversion.
SEC. 5. SEC. 4. Section 40192 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
40192. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), "solid
waste disposal," "disposal," or "dispose" means the final deposition
of solid wastes onto land, into the atmosphere, or into the waters
of the state.
(b) For purposes of Part 2 (commencing with Section 40900), "solid
waste disposal," "dispose," or "disposal" means the management of
solid waste through landfill disposal, transformation, or
MSW EMSW conversion, at a permitted solid waste
facility, unless the term is expressly defined otherwise.
(c) For purposes of Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 42800) and
Chapter 19 (commencing with Section 42950) of Part 3, Part 4
(commencing with Section 43000), Part 5 (commencing with Section
45000), Part 6 (commencing with Section 45030), and Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 47901) of Part 7, "solid waste disposal,"
"dispose," or "disposal" means the final deposition of solid wastes
onto land.
SEC. 6. SEC. 5. Section 40194 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
40194. "Solid waste facility" includes a solid waste transfer or
processing station, a composting facility, a gasification facility, a
transformation facility, an MSW EMSW
conversion facility, and a disposal facility. For purposes of Part 5
(commencing with Section 45000), "solid waste facility" additionally
includes a solid waste operation that may be carried out pursuant to
an enforcement agency notification, as provided in regulations
adopted by the department.
SEC. 7. SEC. 6. Section 40200 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
40200. (a) "Transfer or processing station" or "station" includes
those facilities utilized to receive solid wastes, temporarily
store, separate, convert, or otherwise process the materials in the
solid wastes, or to transfer the solid wastes directly from smaller
to larger vehicles for transport, and those facilities utilized for
transformation.
(b) "Transfer or processing station" or "station" does not include
any of the following:
(1) A facility, whose principal function is to receive, store,
separate, convert, or otherwise process in accordance with state
minimum standards, manure.
(2) A facility, whose principal function is to receive, store,
convert, or otherwise process wastes that have already been separated
for reuse and are not intended for disposal.
(3) The operations premises of a duly licensed solid waste
handling operator who receives, stores, transfers, or otherwise
processes wastes as an activity incidental to the conduct of a refuse
collection and disposal business in accordance with regulations
adopted pursuant to Section 43309.
(4) An MSW EMSW conversion facility.
SEC. 8. SEC. 7. Section 40201 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
40201. "Transformation" means incineration, pyrolysis,
distillation, or biological conversion other than composting.
"Transformation" does not include composting, gasification,
MSW EMSW conversion, or biomass conversion.
SEC. 9. SEC. 8. Section 41700 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
41700. Each county shall prepare a countywide siting element that
provides a description of the areas to be used for development of
adequate transformation, MSW EMSW
conversion, or disposal capacity concurrent and consistent with the
development and implementation of the county and city source
reduction and recycling elements adopted pursuant to this part.
SEC. 10. SEC. 9. Section 41721 of
the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
41721. (a) The countywide siting element shall be approved by the
county and by a majority of the cities within the county that
contain a majority of the population of the incorporated area of the
county except in those counties that have only two cities, in which
case the element is subject to approval of the city that contains the
majority of the population of the incorporated area of the county.
Each city shall act upon the countywide siting element within 90 days
after receipt of the siting element. If a city fails to act upon the
siting element within 90 days after receiving the siting element,
the city shall be deemed to have approved the siting element as
submitted.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a siting element providing
for an MSW EMSW conversion facility is
only required to be approved by the city in which it is located, or
if the MSW EMSW is not located in a
city, by the county.
SEC. 11. SEC. 10. Section 41781 of
the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
41781. (a) Except as provided in Sections 41781.1, and 41781.2,
for the purpose of determining the base rate of solid waste from
which diversion requirements shall be calculated, "solid waste"
includes only the following:
(1) The amount of solid waste generated within a local agency's
jurisdiction, the types and quantities of which were disposed of at a
permitted disposal facility as of January 1, 1990. Nothing in this
section requires local agencies to perform waste characterization in
addition to the waste characterization requirements established under
Sections 41030, 41031, 41330, 41331, and 41332.
(2) The amount of solid waste diverted from a disposal facility,
transformation facility, or MSW EMSW
facility, through source reduction, recycling, or composting.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "solid waste" does not
include any of the following:
(1) Solid waste that would not normally be disposed of at a
disposal facility.
(2) Used or waste tires, as defined in Article 1 (commencing with
Section 42800) of Chapter 16 of Part 3, or biomass material, as
described in subdivision (a) of Section 40106, which are converted at
an MSW EMSW conversion facility.
(c) For the purposes of this chapter, the amount of solid waste
from which the required reductions are measured shall be the amount
of solid waste existing on January 1, 1990, with future adjustments
for increases or decreases in the quantity of waste caused only by
changes in population or changes in the number or size of
governmental, industrial, or commercial operations in the
jurisdiction.
SEC. 12. SEC. 11. Section 50001 of
the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
50001. (a) Except as provided by subdivision (b), after a
countywide or regional agency integrated waste management plan has
been approved by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
pursuant to Division 30 (commencing with Section 40000), a person
shall not establish or expand a solid waste facility, as defined in
Section 40194, in the county unless the solid waste facility meets
one of the following criteria:
(1) The solid waste facility is a disposal facility, a
transformation facility, or an MSW EMSW
conversion facility, the location of which is identified in the
countywide siting element or amendment to that element, which has
been approved pursuant to Section 41721.
(2) The solid waste facility is a facility that is designed to
recover for reuse or recycling at least 5 percent of the total volume
of material received by the facility, and that is identified in the
nondisposal facility element that has been approved pursuant to
Section 41800 or is included in an update to that element.
(b) Solid waste facilities other than those specified in
paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) shall not be required to
comply with the requirements of this section.
(c) The person or agency proposing to establish a solid waste
facility shall prepare and submit a site identification and
description of the proposed facility to the task force established
pursuant to Section 40950. Within 90 days after the site
identification and description is submitted to the task force, the
task force shall meet and comment on the proposed solid waste
facility in writing. These comments shall include, but are not
limited to, the relationship between the proposed solid waste
facility and the implementation schedule requirements of Section
41780 and the regional impact of the facility. The task force shall
transmit these comments to the person or public agency proposing
establishment of the solid waste facility, to the county, and to all
cities within the county. The comments shall become part of the
official record of the proposed solid waste facility.
(d) The review and comment by the local task force shall not be
required for an update to a nondisposal facility element.
SEC. 13. SEC. 12. No reimbursement
is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of
the California Constitution because a local agency or school district
has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments
sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by
this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.