BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1126
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1126 (Gordon and Mullin)
As Amended August 30, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 29, 2013) |SENATE: |37-0 |(September 9, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY : Establishes regulatory standards for facilities that
convert "engineered municipal solid waste" (EMSW) for energy
generation. Specifically, this bill :
1)Defines "EMSW conversion," as the conversion of solid waste
through a process that meets all the following requirements:
a) The EMSW is beneficial and effective in that it replaces
or supplants the use of fossil fuels.
b) 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, as
specified.
c) The conversion is efficient and maximizes the net
calorific value and burn rate of the waste.
d) The EMSW contains less than 25% moisture and less than
25% noncombustible waste.
e) The EMSW is handled in compliance with the solid waste
handling requirements, as specified, 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.
f) No more than 500 tons per day of EMSW is converted at
the facility where the operation takes place.
g) The EMSW has energy content equal to or greater than
5,000 British Thermal Units per pound after conversion.
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h) The EMSW is mechanically processed at a transfer or
processing station to reduce the fraction of chlorinated
plastics and materials.
2)Defines an "EMSW conversion facility" as a facility where
municipal solid waste conversion that meets the above
requirements takes place. Excludes EMSW conversion from the
definition of transformation and allows a transformation
facility that meets specified requirements relating to EMSW
conversion to elect to be considered an EMSW facility for
purposes of the Integrated Waste Management Act (Act), except
as provided.
3)Specifies that "recycling" does not include EMSW conversion.
4)Specifies that an EMSW conversion facility is a "solid waste
facility" and "disposal facility."
5)Specifies that "transformation" does not include processed
EMSW conversion.
6)Requires a countywide siting element to include a description
of areas to be used for EMSW conversion and allows a siting
element provided for an EMSW conversion facility to only is
approved by the city in which it is located, or if the EMSW is
not located in a city, by the county.
7)Specifies that tires and biomass processed by conversion
facilities are not considered disposal under the Act.
8)Prohibits the establishment or expansion of a solid waste
facility in the county unless the solid waste facility is a
disposal facility, transformation, or EMSW facility, which is
identified in the countywide siting element or amendment to
the element, or is a solid waste facility that is designed to
recover for reuse or recycling at least 5% of the total volume
of material received by the facility and has been identified
in the nondisposal facility element that has been approved, as
specified.
9)Excludes certain used tires or waste tires or biomass
materials that are converted at an EMSW conversion facility
from the per capita disposal determination and requires, for
purposes of the solid waste calculation used in the base rate
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determination, the amount of solid waste to include solid
waste diverted from an EMSW conversion facility.
EXISTING LAW establishes the Act, which is administered by the
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).
Under the Act:
1)Requires each county, city, and regional agency, if any, to
divert 50% of solid waste disposed by their jurisdictions from
landfill disposal.
2)Establishes a state policy goal that 75% of solid waste
generated be diverted from landfill disposal by 2020.
3)Allows the 50% diversion requirement to include up to 10%
through transformation (i.e., combustion).
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, this bill has
negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : The term "conversion technologies" generally refers
to a variety of technologies that process solid waste through
chemical, biological, or other "non-combustion" thermal
technologies to produce energy or renewable fuels. These
technologies create energy using three main processes:
thermochemical, biochemical, and physicochemical.
Thermochemical conversion processes include high-heat
technologies like gasification and pyrolysis. Thermochemical
conversion is characterized by higher temperatures and faster
conversion rates. It is best suited for lower moisture
feedstocks. Thermochemical routes can convert the entire
organic portion of suitable feedstocks. The inorganic fraction
(ash) does not contribute to the energy products and may
contribute to fouling of high temperature equipment and
increased nutrient loading in wastewater treatment and disposal
facilities. Generally the ash must be disposed. Inorganic
constituents may also accelerate some of the conversion
reactions. Under current law, pyrolysis is considered
transformation, while gasification is explicitly excluded from
the definition of transformation.
Biochemical conversion processes include aerobic conversion
(i.e., composting), anaerobic digestion, which is currently
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regulated as composting, and anaerobic fermentation (for
example, the conversion of sugars from cellulose to ethanol).
Biochemical conversion processes use lower temperatures and
lower reaction rates. Higher moisture feedstocks are generally
good candidates for biochemical processes. The lignin fraction
of biomass cannot be converted by anaerobic biochemical means
and only very slowly through aerobic decomposition. As a
consequence, a significant fraction of woody and some other
fibrous feedstocks exits the process as a residue that may or
may not have market value as a soil amendment. The residue can
be composted.
Physiochemical conversion involves the physical and chemical
synthesis of products from feedstocks (for example, biodiesel
from waste fats, oils, and grease) and is primarily associated
with the transformation of fresh or used vegetable oils, animal
fats, greases, tallow, and other suitable feedstocks into liquid
fuels or biodiesel.
Dwindling landfill capacity and the infeasibility of siting and
permitting new disposal sites have created a significant demand
for alternative management options for municipal solid waste,
especially in the Los Angeles area. However, significant
regulatory barriers exist for the development of these
technologies in California, including the lack of guidance on
how these facilities could be permitted by CalRecycle.
According to the author, the intent of this bill is to establish
a clear permitting pathway for conversation facilities that
process municipal solid waste in a manner that provides a
reasonable approach commensurate with the potential risk to
public health and safety. This bill would allow the processed
"EMSW" to be converted for energy generation, which would offset
the need for traditional fossil fuels. The author states that
by reducing the use of fossil fuels and moving the material away
from landfills, this bill would help California achieve its
greenhouse gas reduction goals.
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0002705
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