BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1329
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1329 (V. Manuel Pérez)
As Amended June 27, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |53-24|(May 30, 2013) |SENATE: |27-10|(September 3, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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Original Committee Reference: E.S. & T.M .
SUMMARY :
1)Requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to
prioritize enforcement activities in environmental justice
concerns in communities as identified by the California
Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA).
2)Prohibits a person from transporting hazardous waste, as
specified, if the final destination of the transported
hazardous waste is a domestic facility on tribal lands outside
the jurisdiction of the state unless certain conditions apply
to the facility, including whether the facility is subject to
a cooperative agreement.
The Senate amendments remove the provisions of the bill
requiring the inclusions of an enforceable environmental justice
component to the state's hazardous waste plan (plan) and added
priority enforcement by DTSC for environmental justice
activities.
EXSISITNG LAW :
1)Requires the Governor's Office of Planning and Research to be
the coordinating agency in state government for environmental
justice programs.
2)Requires CalEPA to develop a model environmental justice
mission statement for boards, departments, and offices within
the CalEPA.
3)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
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to have a RCRA hazardous waste permit issued by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).
4)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) to
obtain a permit or a grant of authorization from DTSC.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill revised the requirement for
the DTSC to prepare and adopt a plan to reduce the prevalence
and impacts of hazardous waste facilities in low-income
communities. The proposed plan modification included the
following elements:
1)Defined "environmental justice" as the fair treatment of
people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the
development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of
environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
2)Revised the requirements for the preparation and adoption of a
plan to focus on addressing matters of environmental justice
in the management of the state's hazardous waste.
3)Required the plan to serve as a comprehensive and enforceable
planning document, instead of as a "useful informational
source" as is currently provided in statute, to ensure that
minority populations and low-income populations are not
disproportionately impacted by the adverse human health,
social, economic, and environmental effects of hazardous waste
management, including disposal.
.
4)Added a citizen suit provision that authorizes a person to
commence a civil action on that person's own behalf against a
person who is alleged to be in violation of the regulations
adopted pursuant to the plan.
5)Required DTSC to adopt regulations to implement the plan to
ensure that minority populations and low-income populations
are not disproportionately impacted by the adverse health,
social, economic, and environmental effects of the hazardous
waste.
6)Added California's jurisdiction and compacts entered into for
hazardous waste management facilities on tribal lands to the
list of facilities exempted from the provisions prohibiting
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transport and delivery of hazardous waste.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : This bill is intended to address problems of the
permitting and operation of hazardous waste treatment and
disposal facilities in or near low income communities.
According to the author, "Low-income communities are
disproportionately home to the state's hazardous disposal
facilities. While these facilities sometimes bring jobs to
disenfranchised areas, they also place those communities at risk
for the accidental releases of toxic waste, including ground
water and air contamination. These risks become all the more
serious when disposal facilities are allowed to continue
operating on expired permits or even expand despite not
instituting a corrective action previously ordered by the
state."
Environmental justice refers to the fair treatment of people of
all races, cultures, and income with respect to the development,
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws,
regulations, and policies. Fair treatment implies that no
person, or group of people, should bear a disproportionate share
of negative environmental impacts such as exposure to air
pollutants, hazardous facilities, and other forms of
environmental pollution.
A number of factors exist in identifying an environmental
justice issue. Factors include a concentration of environmental
hazards in an affected area because of the lack of public
participation, a lack of adequate protection under health and
environmental laws, and unusual vulnerability of a community to
hazards. Examples of environmental justice problems include
inadequate stormwater protection in a predominately minority
populated section of a city compared to systems in other parts
of the city, siting a landfill in a community with an
over-concentration of other hazards, and placement of a highway
through a low-income and minority community.
DTSC is responsible for the review of RCRA and non-RCRA
hazardous waste permit applications to ensure safe design and
operation; issuance or denial of operating permits; issuance of
postclosure permits; approval or denial of permit modifications;
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issuance or denial of emergency permits; review and approval of
closure plans; closure oversight of approved closure plans;
issuance or denial of variances; assistance to regulated
industry on permitting matters; and to provide for public
involvement.
There are currently 118 DTSC permitted hazardous waste
facilities in California. These facilities include: 44 storage
sites, 43 treatment facilities, 3 disposal sites, and 28
postclosure sites.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg/ E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
FN: 0001808