BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 812 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 812 (De León) As Amended August 22, 2014 Majority vote SENATE VOTE :27-7 ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 5-1APPROPRIATIONS 12-5 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Alejo, Bloom, Gomez, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, | | |Lowenthal, Ting | |Bradford, | | | | |Ian Calderon, Campos, | | | | |Eggman, Gomez, Holden, | | | | |Pan, Quirk, | | | | |Ridley-Thomas, Weber | | | | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| |Nays:|Donnelly |Nays:|Bigelow, Donnelly, Jones, | | | | |Linder, Wagner | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Revises the Department of Toxic Substance Control's (DTSC) permitting process and public participation requirements for hazardous waste facilities. Specifically, this bill : 1)Requires DTSC to adopt regulations by January 1, 2017, to specify conditions for new permits and the renewal of existing permits as specified. Establishes deadlines for the submission and processing of facility applications as specified. 2)Establishes the DTSC Community Oversight Committee to receive and review allegations of misconduct from the public, and establishes the Bureau of Internal Affairs to oversee DTSC and investigate department conduct. 3)Requires the Community Oversight Committee to be comprised of thirteen members appointed by California Environmental Protection Agency (five members), Senate Rules Committee (four members) and Speaker of the Assembly (four members). Members of the Community Oversight Committee receive per diem and serve at the pleasure of the respective appointing authorities. SB 812 Page 2 4)Specifies that the Community Oversight Committee is providing input to the Director of DTSC on improving outreach and communications with communities and stakeholders to increase public participation and transparency. 5)Provides that financial assurance requirements for hazardous waste facilities contaminated with hazardous waste may be set by DTSC at an early stage in the corrective action process rather than only at the time that a full remediation plan has been approved. 6)Provides that DTSC may increase the penalty for late hazardous waste cleanup cost recovery payments from the current rate linked to the State's Pooled Money Investment Fund to the penalty interest rate established by the State Board of Equalization for delinquent tax payments. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill would result in the following costs: 1)Increased costs to DTSC from the Hazardous Waste Control Account (HWCA) of approximately $1.2 million to administer and staff the Citizens Oversight Committee. This bill requires the Committee to operate independently from DTSC. 2)Increased costs to DTSC from the HWCA of approximately $1.1 million to meet permit renewal processing deadlines. 3)Increased costs to DTSC from the HWCA of approximately $600,000 to implement financial assurance provisions. 4)Increased costs to DTSC from the HWCA of approximately $450,000 to post expanded information on the website (English) and provide pre-permit public notice and comment periods. COMMENTS : Need for the bill: According to the author, "SB 814 will strengthen the hazardous waste regulatory system, beginning with addressing when final permit decisions must be made by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). We are not going SB 812 Page 3 to let hazardous waste facilities continue to pollute vulnerable neighborhoods anymore. Some facilities are emitting toxic hazardous waste, including lead, mercury, and arsenic. Many of them have been operating under expired permits for decades. Facilities not in compliance with public health and environmental standards will be shut down." Permitting hazardous waste storage, treatment, and disposal facilities: DTSC is responsible for the review of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and non-RCRA hazardous waste permit applications to ensure safe design and operation; issuance/denial of operating permits; issuance of post-closure permits; approval/denial of permit modifications; issuance/denial of emergency permits; review and approval of closure plans; provide closure oversight of approved closure plans; issuance/denial of variances; provide assistance to regulated industry on permitting matters; and provide for public involvement. There are currently 118 DTSC permitted hazardous waste facilities in California. These facilities include: 44 storage sites, 43 treatment facilities, three disposal sites, and 28 post-closure sites. Criticism of the DTSC hazardous waste facility permitting process: A report entitled Golden Wasteland, prepared by a consumer advocacy organization, issued in February of 2013, was critical of DTSC hazardous waste permitting and enforcement process. According the report, DTSC settled cases out of court with facility operators, levies ineffective fines, and fails to develop and refer cases for prosecution. It was asserted that the DTSC often awards permits without environmental review, and it has not revoked the permit of a serial violator of environmental laws in more than 15 years, the report found. DTSC has undertaken a review of permitting and enforcement processes for hazardous waste facilities. To do this, DTSC has contracted for an outside program evaluation by CPS HR Consulting that provided a review of the DTSC permit process to develop a standardized process with decision criteria and corresponding standards of performance. The DTSC process will review and assess the current timeliness of decisions, and SB 812 Page 4 evaluate the adequacy of program staffing. It will make recommendations for process improvement. DTSC is currently taking action on the specific recommendations through the review process for permit process changes. The program changes have been included with the Governor's budget for fiscal year 2014-2015. Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965 FN: 0005360