BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 804|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 804
Author: Lara (D)
Amended: 5/8/13
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 6-1, 5/1/13
AYES: Hill, Gaines, Calderon, Corbett, Jackson, Leno
NOES: Fuller
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Solid waste: energy
SOURCE : California State Association of Counties
County of Los Angeles
DIGEST : This bill includes other conversion technologies in
the definition of "biomass conversion," and clarifies that
"composting" includes aerobic and anaerobic decomposition of
organic wastes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, under the California Integrated Waste
Management Act (Act):
1.Requires each city or county source reduction and recycling
element to include an implementation schedule that shows a
city or county must divert 50% of solid waste from landfill
disposal or transformation by January 1, 2000, through source
reduction, recycling, and composting activities.
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2.Establishes a state policy goal that 75% of solid waste
generated be diverted from landfill disposal through source
reduction, recycling or composting by 2020.
3.Defines "biomass conversion" to mean the controlled
combustion, when separated from other solid waste and used for
producing electricity or heat of specified biomass, including,
agricultural crop residues, bark, lawn, yard, garden
clippings, leaves, silvicultural residue, tree and brush
pruning, wood, wood chips, and wood waste and non-recyclable
pulp or non-recyclable paper materials.
4.Specifies that "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.
5.Defines "composting" to mean the controlled or uncontrolled
biological decomposition of organic wastes.
This bill:
1.Includes other conversion technologies in the definition of
"biomass conversion."
2.Clarifies that "composting" includes aerobic and anaerobic
decomposition of organic wastes.
Background
Conversion technologies . According to CalRecycle, conversion
technologies are processes that can convert organic materials
into usable forms of energy including heat, steam, electricity,
natural gas, and liquid fuels. Conversion technologies are
grouped into three primary classes: thermochemical,
biochemical, and physiochemical.
Thermochemical conversion processes include combustion,
gasification, and pyrolysis. Thermochemical conversion is
characterized by higher temperatures and faster conversion
rates. It is best suited for lower moisture feedstock.
Thermochemical routes can convert all of the organic portion of
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suitable feedstock. The inorganic fraction of a feedstock does
not contribute to the energy products produced, but may result
in fouling of high temperature equipment. Inorganic
constituents may also accelerate some of the conversion
reactions.
Biochemical conversion processes include aerobic conversion
(i.e., composting), anaerobic digestion (AD) (which occurs in
landfills and controlled reactors or digesters), and anaerobic
fermentation (for example, the conversion of sugars from
cellulose to ethanol). Biochemical conversion proceeds at lower
temperatures and lower reaction rates. Higher moisture
feedstocks are generally good candidates for biochemical
processes. The lignin fraction of biomass cannot be converted
by anaerobic biochemical means and only very slowly through
aerobic decomposition. As a consequence, a significant fraction
of woody and some other fibrous feedstock exits the process as a
residue that may or may not have market value. The residue
called digestate can be composted.
Physiochemical conversion involves the physical and chemical
synthesis of products from feedstock (for example, biodiesel
from waste fats, oils, and grease-known as FOG) and is primarily
associated with the transformation of fresh or used vegetable
oils, animal fats, greases, tallow, and other suitable feedstock
into liquid fuels or biodiesel.
The definition of transformation in existing law captures many
thermochemical, biochemical and physiochemical conversion
technologies, except those processes which are specifically
excluded, namely composting, gasification and biomass
conversion. Under existing law, only 10% of solid waste that
undergoes transformation may count as diversion, for purposes of
compliance by local governments with the 50% solid waste
diversion mandate. Biomass conversion, currently defined as the
controlled combustion of specified biomass feedstock when
separated from municipal solid waste, is excluded from the
definition of transformation, and is not counted as disposal.
Composting and anaerobic digestion . Both composting and AD
refer to the biological decomposition of organic material. AD
is a fermentation technique that operates without free oxygen
and results in a biogas containing mostly methane and carbon
dioxide, with some fraction of impurities including hydrogen
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sulfide and ammonia. AD occurs in manure lagoons (covered or
not), controlled reactors, or digesters and is the principal
process occurring in landfills. In contrast, composting is an
aerobic process, using oxygen, primarily used to produce
nutrient rich soil.
CalRecycle regulates solid waste handling, processing and
disposal, including the operation of landfills,
transfer-processing stations, material recovery facilities,
compost facilities and waste-to-energy facilities, or conversion
facilities (transformation). CalRecycle's regulatory structure
is designed to provide a level of regulatory oversight
commensurate with the impacts associated with a solid waste
handling or disposal activity. Transformation facilities,
including incineration and pyrolysis, use municipal solid waste
(MSW) as their feedstock, and are required to obtain a full
solid waste facility permit, which entails the greatest level of
review and oversight due to the potential hazards associated
with processing MSW. Because of the extensive permitting
requirements, full solid waste facility permits are much more
costly and time consuming to obtain for the owner or operator.
The definition for transformation includes "other biological
conversion other than composting" and because existing law lacks
a definition for AD, concerns have been raised that anaerobic
digestion could fall under the definition of high-heat
technologies commonly identified with transformation, making
such facilities more difficult to permit in the state.
An organic (and, therefore compostable) feedstock is used for
AD, and for that reason, AD facilities do not pose the same
hazards as transformation facilities handling MSW.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/22/13)
California State Association of Counties
County of Los Angeles
County of Santa Barbara
County of Ventura
Los Angeles County Solid Waste Management Committee/Integrated
Waste Management Task Force
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "Existing
California law defines "biomass conversion" as the direct
combustion of certain listed types of biomass materials. This
definition excludes conversion technologies that can more
efficiently generate electricity from biomass with lower air
emissions. Additionally, existing law is unclear regarding how
AD facilities should be
permitted. This hampers the state's goals of diverting
additional organic materials from disposal."
(RM:nl):ej 5/22/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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