BILL ANALYSIS �
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 483
Author: Jackson (D)
Amended: 9/4/13
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/3/13
AYES: Hill, Gaines, Calderon, Corbett, Fuller, Hancock,
Jackson, Leno, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 5/28/13
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett,
Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines,
Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson,
Knight, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Nielsen, Padilla,
Pavley, Price, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Walters, Wolk, Wright,
Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Yee, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Hazardous materials: business and area plans
SOURCE : California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators
California Fire Chiefs Association
DIGEST : This bill revises and recasts the area and business
plan requirements in existing law, which authorizes a unified
CONTINUED
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program agency (UPA) to implement and enforce specified
provisions.
Assembly Amendments revise and recast the bill with similar
intent as it left the Senate; add double-jointing language with
AB 1317 (Fraser); and delete obsolete provisions and make
general confirming changes.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Requires the Secretary of the Environmental Protection
Agency (Cal/EPA) to adopt regulations and implement a unified
hazardous waste and hazardous materials management regulatory
program.
2. Establishes the respective responsibilities of UPAs,
designated to implement that unified program, locally, and
requires the Secretary to establish a statewide information
management system for purposes of receiving data collected by
UPAs.
3. Establishes the responsibility of a local administering
agency authorized to implement and enforce provisions that
require: (a) the administering agency to establish area
plans for emergency response to a release or threatened
release of a hazardous material; and (b) a business that
handles a hazardous material to establish and implement a
business plan for such a response. Existing law authorizes a
UPA to implement and enforce these provisions as an
administering agency.
4. Specifies the contents of the business plan required of the
hazardous materials handler and requires the plan to be
submitted to the administering agency. Existing law requires
the administering agency to submit to the Office of Emergency
Services, the area plan, a plan to conduct onsite inspection,
and a plan to institute a data management system. A
violation of the business plan requirements is a misdemeanor.
This bill:
1. Requires the inspection program that is part of the unified
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program to include the onsite inspection of businesses and
deletes the requirement to institute a data management
system. Requires the UPA to provide to agencies that have
certain shared responsibilities access to information
collected in the statewide information management system and
requires handlers to submit certain information to that
system.
2. Requires that business plan information be submitted in an
electronic format to the California Environmental Reporting
System (CERS).
3. Deletes obsolete provisions and makes general conforming
changes.
4. Is double-jointing with AB1317 (Fraser) of the current
legislative session.
Background
Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPA). The Secretary has
established a "unified hazardous waste and hazardous materials
management" regulatory program (Unified Program). Currently,
there are 83 CUPA in California. The Unified Program
consolidates, coordinates the following six existing programs:
1. Hazardous Materials Release Response Plans and Inventories
(Business Plans).
2. California Accidental Release Prevention Program.
3. Underground Storage Tank Program.
4. Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act.
5. Hazardous Waste Generator and Onsite Hazardous Waste
Treatment Programs.
6. California Uniform Fire Code: Hazardous Material Management
Plans and Hazardous Material Inventory Statements.
Electronic reporting and CERS . All regulated businesses and
local governments are required to submit their regulatory
reports electronically by 2013. Regulated businesses can report
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using Cal/EPA's CERS or directly to their local regulatory
agency.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/6/13)
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
(co-source)
California Fire Chiefs Association (co-source)
California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance
California Professional Firefighters
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Association of
Environmental Health Administrators states, this bill is
intended to correct and revise redundant provisions of this
chapter which deals with the hazardous materials management
regulatory program. Specifically this bill (1) updates fire
code section citations; (2) changes the term "administering
agency" to "unified program agency"; (3) updates references to
CERS; (4) requires CUPAs to provide access to data in a mutually
agreeable format and timeframe; and (5) requires training
documentation; make site plans mandatory; and remove various
outdated provisions.
These changes to current code have been proposed by a working
group of CUPAs as part of an ongoing effort to enhance program
compliance but eliminating outdated provisions, and regulatory
duplication, redundancies and inconsistencies in the Unified
Program laws and regulations.
RM:k 9/6/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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