BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1594
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Date of Hearing: May 21, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 1594 (Williams) - As Amended: May 7, 2014
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:5-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill specifies that green material used as alternative
daily cover (ADC) at a landfill beginning in 2020 does not
constitute diversion and instead is considered disposal. This
bill allows CalRecycle to grant two-year extensions to
individual cities and counties unable to meet diversion
requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Increased annual costs to CalRecyle of approximately $250,000
a year for two years (Integrated Waste Management Fund) to
administer extension applications and provide technical
assistance.
2)Ongoing compliance costs of approximately $150,000 per year
(Integrated Waste Management Fund).
By changing alternative daily cover from a beneficial use to
disposal, CalRecycle will be able to charge the Integrated Waste
Management fee (tipping fee) on green waste. The tipping fee is
set at $1.40 per ton and it is estimated that about 1.6 million
tons of green waste is currently used as ADC. To the extent
landfill operators continue using green waste as ADC and pay the
tipping fee as required, some or all of the costs may be offset
by increased fee revenue.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. According to the author, eliminating the practice of
allowing the use of green material for landfill cover and
AB 1594
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counting this material toward diversion requirements will help
California create jobs and meet its environmental goals.
2)Background. CalRecycle is tasked with diverting at least 75%
of solid waste statewide by 2020. Currently, organic
materials make up one-third of the waste stream and food
continues to be the highest single item disposed at over 15%
of disposal.
Recycling organic waste provides significant GHG reductions
over landfilling. Composting and other organics processing
technologies, including anaerobic digestion, reduce GHGs by
avoiding the emissions that would be generated by the
material's decomposition in a landfill. Landfill gas is
generated by the decomposition of organic materials such as
food, paper, wood, and green material.
3)Landfill Cover. Landfill operators are required to cover all
solid waste at the end of each day to control odors, vectors,
fire, litter and scavenging. Federal regulations require that
cover consist of six inches of earthen materials, but also
permit operators to use alternative measures, generally
referred to as ADC. Specific types of ADC authorized in
California include: geosynthetic fabric (tarps); sewage
sludge; ash and cement kiln dust; treated auto shredder waste
(auto fluff); foam products; contaminated sediment, dredge
soils, foundry sands; energy exploration and production waste;
compost materials; processed construction and demolition
waste; shredded tires; spray-applied cementitious products;
and, green materials.
Under this bill, green material would be the only landfill
cover for which the tipping fee is charged.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081