Amended in Senate April 22, 2013

Amended in Senate April 9, 2013

Senate Bill No. 804

Introduced by Senator Lara

February 22, 2013

An act to amend Sections begin delete 25301, 25741, end delete 40106 begin delete , end delete begin insert and end insert 40116.1 begin delete , 40117, 40194, 40201, 44017, and 50001 end delete of begin delete , and to add Sections 40005, 40116.2, 40182.5, and 43036 to, end delete the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 804, as amended, Lara. Solid waste: energy.

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(1) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission at least every 2 years, to conduct assessments and forecasts of all aspects of energy industry supply, production, transportation, delivery and distribution, demand, and prices.

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This bill would require the commission, when developing that assessment and forecast, to investigate the potential for conversion technology facilities to assist the state in meeting specified environmental goals and to evaluate the anticipated greenhouse gas emission reductions by utilizing those facilities.

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(2) The existing California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires the Public Utilities Commission to implement annual procurement targets for the procurement of eligible renewable energy resources, which includes a renewable electrical generation facility, applicable to all retail sellers of electricity. Existing law defines a renewable electrical generation facility as a facility that, among other things, uses biomass or municipal solid waste conversion.

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This bill would revise the definition of renewable electrical generation facility by revising the definition of municipal solid waste conversion and defining the term “biomass” as the renewable portion of residual solid waste, as specified.

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(3)

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begin insert ( end insert begin insert 1) end insert  The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, requires each city, county, and regional agency, if any, to develop a source reduction and recycling element of an integrated waste management plan. With certain exceptions, the source reduction and recycling element of that plan is required to divert 50% of all solid waste, through source reduction, recycling, and composting activities. Existing law allows the 50% diversion requirement to include not more than 10% through transformation or “biomass conversion,” as defined, if specified conditions are met. The act defines various terms, including “biomass begin delete conversion,” “composting” “gasification” and “transformation,” end delete begin insert conversion” and “composting, end insert begin insert ” end insert for the purposes of the act.

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Existing law defines “transformation” to include various activities and to exclude other activities.

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This bill would begin delete define the terms “conversion technology” and “residual solid waste” for purposes of the act and would end delete revise the definition of the term “biomass conversion” to include begin insert in addition to controlled combustion, any other end insert conversion technology begin insert , as specified end insert . The bill would begin delete revise those other terms, including defining “transformation” to only include the incineration of solid waste, and to exclude conversion technology end delete begin insert define “composting” for purposes of implementing certain solid waste management practices and reduction goals to include aerobic and anaerobic decomposition of organic wastes end insert . The bill would impose a state-mandated local program by imposing new duties upon local agencies with regard to the diversion of solid waste. begin delete The bill would also make conforming changes. end delete

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(4) The act requires the department to adopt regulations setting forth standards for solid waste handling. A violation of the provisions regulating solid waste facilities is a crime.

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This bill would prohibit a solid waste facility from accepting recyclable or compostable materials, except for the purposes of beneficially using those materials, as approved by the local enforcement agency, or for the purposes of temporarily storing the materials for later transport to another facility. The bill would allow a solid waste disposal facility to only accept residual solid waste for disposal or processing. Since a violation of these requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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(5) The act provides for the designation of an enforcement agency under specified procedures and requires enforcement agencies to perform specified functions with regard to solid waste handling and the issuance and enforcement of solid waste facilities permits. The enforcement agency is required to include, in the permit of a solid waste facility designed to convert solid waste into energy or synthetic fuels, a provision requiring operating procedures to prevent hazardous waste from entering the conversion process.

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This bill would instead require the enforcement agency to include such a provision in the permit of a conversion technology facility processing residual solid waste, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program by imposing new duties upon a local agency.

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(6) Existing law prohibits a person from establishing or expanding a solid waste facility in a county, after a countywide or regional agency integrated waste management plan has been approved, unless the solid waste facility meets certain criteria.

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This bill would additionally include, as one of those criteria, a facility that is a conversion technology facility processing residual solid waste and that is identified and described in, or found to conform with, the countywide integrated waste management plan, as specified.

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(7)

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begin insert ( end insert begin insert 2) end insert  The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish clear definitions
in statute that promote the highest and best use of resources while
supporting the state’s key environmental goals, including the
California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16
(commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of
Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code), the low-carbon fuel
standards adopted by the State Air Resources Board in Subarticle
7 (commencing with Section 95480) of Title 17 of the California
Code of Regulations, and greenhouse gas reduction goals, as
provided in Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of
the Health and Safety Code.

(b) The state’s “Bioenergy Action Plan” has identified municipal
solid waste as a substantially underutilized resource for biomass
feedstock that could produce renewable fuels and energy.

(c) Around the world, advanced solid waste conversion
technologies are being used to process postrecycled, residual waste
to divert materials from landfills and recover a variety of
marketable products from those residuals, including clean-burning
fuels, chemicals, construction materials, soil amendments, and
electricity.

SEC. 2.  

Section 25301 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

25301.  

(a) At least every two years, the commission shall
conduct assessments and forecasts of all aspects of energy industry
supply, production, transportation, delivery and distribution,
demand, and prices. The commission shall use these assessments
and forecasts to develop energy policies that conserve resources,
protect the environment, ensure energy reliability, enhance the
state’s economy, and protect public health and safety. To perform
these assessments and forecasts, the commission may require
submission of demand forecasts, resource plans, market
assessments, and related outlooks from electric and natural gas
utilities, transportation fuel and technology suppliers, and other
market participants. These assessments and forecasts shall be done
in consultation with the appropriate state and federal agencies
including, but not limited to, the Public Utilities Commission, the
Division of Ratepayer Advocates, the State Air Resources Board,
the Independent System Operator, the Department of Water
Resources, the Department of Transportation, and the Department
of Motor Vehicles.

(b) In developing the assessments and forecasts prepared
pursuant to subdivision (a), the commission shall do all of the
following:

(1) Provide information about the performance of energy
industries.

(2) Develop and maintain the analytical capability sufficient to
answer inquiries about energy issues from government, market
participants, and the public.

(3) Analyze and develop energy policies.

(4) Provide an analytical foundation for regulatory and policy
decisionmaking.

(5) Facilitate efficient and reliable energy markets.

(6) In collaboration with the State Air Resources Board, do both
of the following:

(A) Investigate the potential for conversion technology facilities,
as defined in Section 40116.2, to assist the state in meeting key
environmental goals, including, but not limited to, the California
Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16 (commencing
with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the
Public Utilities Code), and the California Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section
38500)) of the Health and Safety Code.

(B) Evaluate the measurable net reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions anticipated to be realized by utilizing conversion
technology facilities to manage residual solid waste, based on the
production of low carbon fuels, diversion of waste materials from
landfill disposal, and the reduction in the transportation of waste
to remote disposal facilities.

SEC. 3.  

Section 25741 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

25741.  

As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meaning:

(a) “Renewable electrical generation facility” means a facility
that meets all of the following criteria:

(1) The facility uses biomass, solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind,
geothermal, fuel cells using renewable fuels, small hydroelectric
generation of 30 megawatts or less, digester gas, municipal solid
waste conversion, landfill gas, ocean wave, ocean thermal, or tidal
current, and any additions or enhancements to the facility using
that technology.

(2) The facility satisfies one of the following requirements:

(A) The facility is located in the state or near the border of the
state with the first point of connection to the transmission network
of a balancing authority area primarily located within the state.
For purposes of this subparagraph, “balancing authority area” has
the same meaning as defined in Section 399.12 of the Public
Utilities Code.

(B) The facility has its first point of interconnection to the
transmission network outside the state, within the Western
Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) service area, and
satisfies all of the following requirements:

(i) It commences initial commercial operation after January 1,
2005.

(ii) It will not cause or contribute to any violation of a California
environmental quality standard or requirement.

(iii) It participates in the accounting system to verify compliance
with the renewables portfolio standard once established by the
commission pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 399.25 of the
Public Utilities Code.

(C) The facility meets the requirements of clauses (ii) and (iii)
in subparagraph (B), but does not meet the requirements of clause
(i) of subparagraph (B) because it commenced initial operation
prior to January 1, 2005, if the facility satisfies either of the
following requirements:

(i) The electricity is from incremental generation resulting from
expansion or repowering of the facility.

(ii) Electricity generated by the facility was procured by a retail
seller or local publicly owned electric utility as of January 1, 2010.

(3) If the facility is outside the United States, it is developed
and operated in a manner that is as protective of the environment
as a similar facility located in the state.

(4) If eligibility of the facility is based on the use of landfill gas,
digester gas, or another renewable fuel delivered to the facility
through a common carrier pipeline, the transaction for the
procurement of that fuel, including the source of the fuel and
delivery method, satisfies the requirements of Section 399.12.6 of
the Public Utilities Code and is verified pursuant to the accounting
system established by the commission pursuant to 399.25 of the
Public Utilities Code, or a comparable system, as determined by
the commission.

(b) “Municipal solid waste conversion,” as used in subdivision
(a), means a technology that uses a noncombustion thermal process
to convert solid waste to a clean-burning fuel for the purpose of
generating electricity, and that meets all of the following criteria:

(1) The technology produces no discharges of air contaminants
or emissions, including greenhouse gases as defined in Section
38505 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) The technology produces no discharges to surface or
groundwaters of the state.

(3) The technology produces no hazardous wastes.

(4) To the maximum extent feasible, the technology removes
all recyclable materials and marketable green waste compostable
materials from the solid waste stream prior to the conversion
process and the owner or operator of the facility certifies that those
materials will be recycled or composted.

(5) The facility at which the technology is used is in compliance
with all applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances.

(6) The technology meets any other conditions established by
the commission.

(7) The facility certifies that any local agency sending solid
waste to the facility diverted at least 30 percent of all solid waste
it collects through solid waste reduction, recycling, and
composting. For purposes of this paragraph, “local agency” means
any city, county, or special district, or subdivision thereof, which
is authorized to provide solid waste handling services.

(c) “Renewable energy public goods charge” means that portion
of the nonbypassable system benefits charge required to be
collected to fund renewable energy pursuant to the Reliable Electric
Service Investments Act (Article 15 (commencing with Section
399) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities
Code).

(d) “Report” means the report entitled “Investing in Renewable
Electricity Generation in California” (June 2001, Publication
Number P500-00-022) submitted to the Governor and the
Legislature by the commission.

(e) “Retail seller” means a “retail seller” as defined in Section
399.12 of the Public Utilities Code.

(f) (1) For the purposes of complying with the California
Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16 (commencing
with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the
Public Utilities Code), “biomass,” as used in subdivision (a), means
the renewable portion of residual solid waste, as defined in Section
40182.5, if the facility results in a net reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions and other air emissions compared to the landfill disposal
of the same feedstock.

(2) To quantify the proportion of gross energy produced by a
facility subject to this subdivision that qualifies as a renewable
electrical generation facility, the facility at which the technology
is used shall do either of the following and provide the results to
the commission:

(A) Analyze the age of the carbon emitted from the facility.

(B) Complete an annual waste characterization analysis for all
materials processed through the conversion process.

SEC. 4.  

Section 40005 is added to the Public Resources Code,
to read:

40005.  

The Legislature finds and declares that, to spur
economic development, promote environmental justice by
managing residual waste near where it is generated, reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, decrease pollution, groundwater
contamination, and other environmental impacts associated with
solid waste disposal, and reduce the state’s dependence on landfill
disposal, it is the intent of the Legislature to examine the
development of solid waste conversion technology facilities to
manage the residual solid waste that cannot feasibly be recycled
or composted.

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

Section 40106 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

40106.  

(a) “Biomass conversion” means the controlled
combustion, or other conversion technology, when separated from
other solid waste and used for producing electricity or heat, of the
following materials:

(1) Agricultural crop residues.

(2) Bark, lawn, yard, and garden clippings.

(3) Leaves, silvicultural residue, and tree and brush pruning.

(4) Wood, wood chips, and wood waste.

(5) Nonrecyclable pulp or nonrecyclable paper materials.

(b) “Biomass conversion” does not include the controlled
combustion of recyclable pulp or recyclable paper materials, or
materials that contain sewage sludge, industrial sludge, medical
waste, hazardous waste, or either high-level or low-level
radioactive waste.

(c) For purposes of this section, “nonrecyclable pulp or
nonrecyclable paper materials” means either of the following, as
determined by the department:

(1) Paper products or fibrous materials that cannot be
technically, feasibly, or legally recycled because of the manner in
which the product or material has been manufactured, treated,
coated, or constructed.

(2) Paper products or fibrous materials that have become soiled
or contaminated and as a result cannot be technically, feasibly, or
legally recycled.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 40116.1 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

40116.1.  

(a) “Composting” means the controlled or
uncontrolled biological decomposition of organic wastes.

(b)  begin delete “Composting” end delete begin insert For the purposes of Sections 40051, 41780.01,
and 41200, and Article 5 (commencing with Section 41400) of
Chapter 3, “composting” end insert includes aerobic decomposition and
anaerobic decomposition of organic waste.

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SEC. 7.  

Section 40116.2 is added to the Public Resources Code,
to read:

40116.2.  

“Conversion technology” means a technology that
uses noncombustion thermal, chemical, biological, or mechanical
conversion processes, or a combination thereof, to produce
marketable products, including, but not limited to, fuels, chemicals,
and electricity, from any carbonaceous material, including, but not
limited to, any of the following:

(a) Dedicated energy crops.

(b) Agricultural crop residues.

(c) Bark, lawn, yard, and garden clippings.

(d) Leaves, silvicultural residue, and tree and brush pruning.

(e) Wood, wood chips, and wood waste.

(f) Nonrecyclable pulp or nonrecyclable paper material.

(g) Waste fats, oils, and greases.

(h) Residual solid waste.

SEC. 8.  

Section 40117 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

40117.  

“Gasification” means a technology that uses a
noncombustion thermal process to convert solid waste to a clean
burning fuel for the purpose of generating electricity, and that, at
minimum, meets all of the following criteria:

(a) The technology produces no discharges of air contaminants
or emissions, including greenhouse gases, as defined in subdivision
(g) of Section 38505 of the Health and Safety Code.

(b) The technology produces no discharges to surface or
groundwaters of the state.

(c) The technology produces no hazardous waste.

(d) To the maximum extent feasible, the technology removes
all recyclable materials and marketable green waste compostable
materials from the solid waste stream prior to the conversion
process and the owner or operator of the facility certifies that those
materials will be recycled or composted.

(e) The facility where the technology is used is in compliance
with all applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances.

(f) The facility certifies to the department that any local agency
sending solid waste to the facility is in compliance with this
division and has reduced, recycled, or composted solid waste to
the maximum extent feasible, and the department makes a finding
that the local agency has diverted at least 30 percent of all solid
waste through source reduction, recycling, and composting.

SEC. 9.  

Section 40182.5 is added to the Public Resources Code,
to read:

40182.5.  

“Residual solid waste” means material that remains
after all marketable recyclable materials and compostable materials
have been separated from a solid waste received by a solid waste
facility, to the maximum extent feasible, including, but not limited
to, by a curbside source separation program, a materials recovery
facility, or another process.

SEC. 10.  

Section 40194 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

40194.  

“Solid waste facility” includes a solid waste transfer
or processing station, a composting facility, a conversion
technology facility that processes residual solid waste, a
gasification facility, a transformation facility, and a disposal
facility. For purposes of Part 5 (commencing with Section 45000),
“solid waste facility” additionally includes a solid waste operation
that may be carried out pursuant to an enforcement agency
notification, as provided in regulations adopted by the department.

SEC. 11.  

Section 40201 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:

40201.  

“Transformation” means the incineration of solid waste,
with or without the recovery of energy. “Transformation” does
not include composting, gasification, biomass conversion, or
conversion technology.

SEC. 12.  

Section 43036 is added to the Public Resources Code,
to read:

43036.  

(a) A solid waste facility shall not accept recyclable
or compostable materials, except for the purposes of beneficially
using those materials, as approved by the local enforcement agency,
or for the purposes of temporarily storing the materials for later
transport to another facility.

(b) A solid waste disposal facility shall only accept residual
solid waste for disposal or processing.

SEC. 13.  

Section 44017 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

44017.  

The enforcement agency shall include, in the solid
waste facilities permit for a conversion technology facility
processing residual solid waste, a provision that requires the use
of operating procedures at the facility to prevent hazardous waste
from entering the conversion process.

SEC. 14.  

Section 50001 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

50001.  

(a) Except as provided by subdivision (b), after a
countywide or regional agency integrated waste management plan
has been approved by the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery pursuant to Division 30 (commencing with Section
40000), a person shall not establish or expand a solid waste facility,
as defined in Section 40194, in the county unless the solid waste
facility meets one of the following criteria:

(1) The solid waste facility is a disposal facility or a
transformation facility, the location of which is identified in the
countywide siting element or amendment to that element, which
has been approved pursuant to Section 41721.

(2) The solid waste facility is a facility that is designed to
recover for reuse or recycling at least 5 percent of the total volume
of material received by the facility, and that is identified in the
nondisposal facility element that has been approved pursuant to
Section 41800 or is included in an update to that element.

(3) The facility is a conversion technology facility processing
residual solid waste and is identified and described in, or found to
conform with, the countywide integrated waste management plan.
The conformance finding shall be in accordance with a procedure
for a finding of conformance that is set forth in the countywide
integrated waste management plan, or that is formally adopted on
or before December 31, 2014, by the task force created pursuant
to Section 40950.

(b) Solid waste facilities other than those specified in paragraphs
(1), (2), and (3) of subdivision (a) shall not be required to comply
with the requirements of this section.

(c) The person or agency proposing to establish a solid waste
facility shall prepare and submit a site identification and description
of the proposed facility to the task force established pursuant to
Section 40950. Within 90 days after the site identification and
description is submitted to the task force, the task force shall meet
and comment on the proposed solid waste facility in writing. These
comments shall include, but are not limited to, the relationship
between the proposed solid waste facility and the implementation
schedule requirements of Section 41780 and the regional impact
of the facility. The task force shall transmit these comments to the
person or public agency proposing establishment of the solid waste
facility, to the county, and to all cities within the county. The
comments shall become part of the official record of the proposed
solid waste facility.

(d) The review and comment by the local task force shall not
be required for an update to a nondisposal facility element.

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begin delete SEC. 15. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act or because costs that may be
incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred
because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a
crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction,
within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or
changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6
of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.