BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1329 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1329 (V. Manuel Pérez) As Amended June 27, 2013 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |53-24|(May 30, 2013) |SENATE: |27-10|(September 3, | | | | | | |2013) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 1329 Page 2 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 AB 1329 Page 3 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; AB 1329 Page 4 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