BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 1330 (Perez) - Environmental Justice.
Amended: April 9, 2013 Policy Vote: EQ 8-1, Gov&Fin 6-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 30, 2013 Consultant:
Marie Liu
SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Bill Summary: AB 1330 would require each board, department, and
office of the California Environmental Protection Agency
(CalEPA) to maintain a public database on its website listing
ongoing enforcement cases and compliance histories of its
regulated entities that have committed violations.
Fiscal Impact (as proposed to be amended):
Ongoing costs of at least $600,000 from various special funds
for database changes, hardware, and personnel.
A onetime appropriation of $800,000 to the Department of Toxic
Substances Control (DTSC) from the Hazardous Waste Control
Account (special) to develop the hazardous waste reduction
plan and to make related necessary changes to DTSC policies or
regulations.
Unknown ongoing costs, likely in the mid-hundreds of thousands
of dollars from the Hazardous Waste Control Account for DTSC's
implementation of the hazardous waste reduction plan.
Ongoing costs in the low-hundreds of thousands of dollars from
the Hazardous Waste Control Account to participate and support
in the Hazardous Waste Reduction Advisory Committee.
Unknown increased revenues from increased fines and penalties
to the Toxic Substances Control Account (General) as a result
of the doubling of maximum penalties and fines, and must be
used to fund environmentally beneficial projects located
within an environmental justice community.
Unknown administrative costs to CalEPA to administer the
Environmental Justice Small Grant Program and the funding of
the Green Zone Environmental projects, including the
development of guidelines for designating Green Zone
Environmental Projects.
Unknown annual costs, likely in the low- to mid-hundreds of
thousands of dollars, to CalEPA to identify Environmental
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Justice Communities.
One-time costs in the mid-hundreds of thousands of dollars
from various special funds to develop regulations regarding
the automatic revocation of a facility permits for a facility
located in an environmental justice community that has had
three separate violations within a five-year period that
threaten the public health or the environment.
Possible reimbursable state mandate in the tens to hundreds of
thousands of dollars regarding public meeting and outreach
requirements for local governments.
Background: Existing law requires CalEPA to convene a working
group on Environmental Justice comprised of the Secretary for
Environmental Protection, the Chairs of the Air Resources Board
and State Water Resources Control Board, the Director of the
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the Director of
Toxic Substances Control, the Director of Pesticide Regulation,
the Director of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the
Director of Planning and Research. The working group is required
to examine existing data and studies on environmental justice
and recommend policies for CalEPA. CalEPA is required to adopt,
by July 1, 2002, an agency-wide strategy for identifying and
addressing gaps in existing programs, policies, or activities
that may impede the achievement of environmental justice. A
report on CalEPA's progress on the implementation of these
requirements to the Governor and the Legislature must be
prepared by January 1, 2004 and every three years thereafter.
The California Public Records Act requires that all agencies of
CalEPA post every final enforcement order on its website if that
final enforcement order is a public record (GC §6253.8).
Proposed Law: This bill would require each board, department,
and office of the California Environmental Protection Agency
(CalEPA) to maintain a public database on its website listing
its ongoing enforcement cases and compliance histories of its
regulated entities that have committed violations.
This bill would also require the Secretary of CalEPA to report
on its progress in identifying and addressing any gaps that
impede the achievement of environmental justice by July 1, 2014.
This bill would also prohibit the time necessary to use a
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translator for a non-English speaker at a public meeting from
counting towards the speaker's allotted time.
Staff Comments: This bill would require each of the boards,
departments, and offices of CalEPA to maintain a public database
on its website of ongoing enforcement cases and compliance
histories of its regulated entities and how those violations
were rectified. This requirement is broader than the current
Public Records Act requirement that CalEPA post final
enforcement orders on its website in that in includes "ongoing
enforcement cases" as well as compliance histories to be posted.
Staff notes that some of the CalEPA agencies regulate a large
number of entities. The cost of modifying, then maintaining, the
agencies' databases as required by this bill is estimated at
$600,000 annually spread over various special funds depending on
the agency.
Proposed Author Amendments: Amendments would:
Ensure that the CalEPA's cross-media enforcement unit
prioritizes enforcement actions for violations that have
occurred in environmental justice communities.
Require additional notification and public meeting
requirements regarding the preparation, adoption, and
amendment of a general plan.
Add Legislative findings and declarations regarding hazardous
waste and the intent of the Legislature to create significant
disincentives for new release of hazardous substances and to
ensure individuals in low-income communities have a greater
role in shaping governmental priorities and decisionmaking.
Appropriate $800,000 to the DTSC for the preparation of a
hazardous waste reduction plan to achieve at least a 25%
reduction in hazardous waste generation by January 1, 2025.
The plan would be due by January 1, 2016. The amendments would
also specify minimum content of the plan and public input into
the development of the plan. DTSC would be required to report
to the Legislative every two years on its progress on
implementing this plan.
Establish the Hazardous Waste Reduction Advisory Committee,
which would be required to meet at least three times a year
beginning March 1, 2014 to solicit public input to assist DTSC
in its preparation of the hazardous waste generation reduction
plan.
Require that the maximum fine or penalty for a violation that
occurs in a facility located in an environmental justice
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community that results in an increased level of emissions or
discharges be doubled. Fifty percent of the fines or penalties
collected shall be deposited in the Toxic Substances Control
Account for environmentally beneficial projects that are
located within an environmental justice community. The other
fifty percent would be deposited into the newly created Green
Zone Trust Fund.
Require that the Green Zone Trust Fund would also receive 50%
of fines and penalties resulting from the doubling of various
existing fines and penalties.
Require CalEPA to develop, before January 1, 2015, guidelines
to designate Green Zone Environmental Projects, which are
eligible to receive annual funds from the Green Zone Trust
Fund.
Require additional outreach and public participation for
facilities that have an adverse impact on environmental
justice community under CEQA.
Create the Environmental Justice Small Grant Program under
CalEPA which would provide grants to eligible community groups
that are involved in work to address environmental justice
issues. The grants will be awarded on a competitive basis for
projects that are based in communities with the most
significant exposure to pollution.
Define Environmental Justice Communities as areas identified
by CalEPA by January 1, 2015, as the top 15% of communities in
the state that are disproportionately impacted by
environmental hazards. CalEPA would be required to revise the
list triennially.
Require CalEPA to hold public workshops in the development of
the enforcement database. Require the database to be
interactive and to allow the public to file an environmental
complaint with CalEPA.
Require DTSC, the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery, and the Air Resources Board, before January 1, 2015,
to adopt regulations regarding the automatic revocation of a
facility permits for a facility located in an environmental
justice community that has had three separate violations
within a five-year period that threaten the public health or
the environment.
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