BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 1249
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 13, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                     SB 1249 (Hill) - As Amended:  August 4, 2014

          Policy Committee:                             Environmental  
          Safety and Toxic Materials                    Vote: 6-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill allows the Department of Toxic Substance Control  
          (DTSC), in consultation with CalRecycle, the State Water  
          Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and local air quality management  
          districts, to adopt regulations by January 1, 2017 establishing  
          management standards for hazardous waste at metal shredding  
          facilities.  If adopted, these standards would serve as an  
          alternative to current statutory hazardous waste management laws  
          and regulations.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Increased one-time costs to DTSC of approximately $200,000  
            (Hazardous Waste Control Account) to perform fee rulemaking  
            and the treatability study.

          2)Increased ongoing costs to DTSC of approximately $450,000  
            (Hazardous Waste Control Account) for rulemaking, compliance  
            and ongoing administration.

          This bill provides fee authority to cover costs.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose.   According to the author, shredder facilities are  
            operating under hazardous waste exemptions from the Department  
            of Health Services dating back to the 1980s.  Over the last  
            decade DTSC has concluded that shredder waste exceeds state  
            regulatory thresholds for lead, zinc and cadmium  and the  
            exemptions are outdated and legally incorrect.   This bill  
            requires DTSC to follow through on its own recommendations.  








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           2)Background.  The California Hazardous Waste Control Act of 1972  
            (HWCA/act) directs DTSC to regulate the handling, processing,  
            and disposal of hazardous and extremely hazardous waste to  
            protect the public, livestock, and wildlife from hazards to  
            health and safety. Under the act, facilities that treat,  
            store, handle, and/or dispose of hazardous waste are required  
            to be permitted by the DTSC. The hazardous waste facility  
            permit specifies specific requirements for the facility to  
            ensure safe operation. The act also implements federal  
            tracking requirements for the handling and transportation of  
            hazardous waste from generation to ultimate disposition. DTSC  
            activities under this act are funded by fees.

            The Integrated Waste Management Act requires materials that  
            require special handling to be removed from major appliances  
            and vehicles in which they are contained before crushing for  
            transport or transferring to a baler or shredder for  
            recycling.
             The federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of  
             1976, governs the disposal of hazardous waste and sets   
             standards for the treatment, storage, transport, tracking,  
             and disposal of hazardous waste in the United States.  RCRA  
             authorizes states to carry out many of the functions of the  
             federal law through their own hazardous waste laws if such  
             programs have been approved by the United States  
             Environmental Protection Agency.

            3) Shredder Waste.   According to DTSC,  the shredding of  
             automobiles and major household appliances produces a waste  
             consisting primarily of non-metallic materials, such as  
             glass, fiber, rubber, automobile fluids, dirt, and plastics,  
             that remain after the recyclable metals have been removed.  

             The waste produced at metal shredding facilities large enough  
             to shred an automobile is referred to as "automobile shredder  
             waste," "automobile shredder residue," "shredder waste"  
             (these facilities shred a variety of recyclable metals) or  
             simply as "fluff."  In California, shredder waste has been  
             found to contain lead, cadmium, copper, zinc, and  
             polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at levels above the state's  
             regulatory thresholds.  According to DTSC's draft report,  
             shredder waste is both a hazardous waste and a recyclable  
             material subject to California's Hazardous Waste Control Law  
             and the regulations that apply to hazardous wastes.








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             According to DTSC, approximately 440,000 tons of metal  
             shredder residue are generated per year, making it the second  
             largest hazardous waste generated in California by volume  
             (used oil is the largest).  According to CalRecycle records,  
             6,056,026 tons of shredder waste was disposed of in  
             California landfills between 1998 and 2007.
             
           4) Regulating Shredder Waste.   Prior to 1984, shredder waste  
             was not considered hazardous and was either disposed of or  
             used as daily cover in municipal solid waste landfills.  In  
             1984, the Department of Health Services (DHS), Toxic  
             Substances Control Division (the predecessor to DTSC)  
             determined that shredder waste was a non-Resource  
             Conservation and Recovery Act (non-RCRA) hazardous waste in  
             California due to the presence of lead, cadmium, copper, and  
             zinc at levels above the state's regulatory thresholds for  
             those metals.  Shredder waste has also been found to contain  
             PCBs at concentrations that exceed the federal and state  
             regulatory threshold.

             Between 1986 and 1992, DHS issued conditional nonhazardous  
             waste classifications (also referred to as "f letters") to  
             seven shredder facilities in California that had treated  
             their shredder waste to nonhazardous levels using metals  
             fixation treatment technologies, often by coating it with  
             cement to prevent the heavy metals from seeping or leaching.   
             Once the facility operator received a nonhazardous waste  
             classification from DHS, the treated shredder waste was no  
             longer regulated as a hazardous waste and could be disposed  
             of in a landfill.  California's regulation of shredder waste  
             and shredder facilities was formalized in 1988 in the DHS  
             Policy and Procedure 88-6.

             In early 2000, DTSC initiated a comprehensive review of its  
             past policies to ensure that the policies conformed to  
             current laws and regulations and were still valid,  
             considering scientific advances changes in the composition of  
             shredder residue.  One of the policies that came under review  
             was Policy and Procedure 88-6.  

             As part of reviewing the policy, DTSC selected three  
             facilities for sampling both untreated and treated shredder  
             waste.  According to its draft report, DTSC found that all  
             samples of untreated shredder waste exceeded the state  








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             regulatory thresholds for total lead, copper, and zinc, and  
             soluble lead, cadmium, and zinc.  Additionally, treated  
             shredder waste from each facility exceeded the state  
             regulatory thresholds for total lead and zinc, and some  
             samples exceeded the state's soluble regulatory threshold for  
             PCBs, zinc, and cadmium, thereby disqualifying the treated  
             wastes from classification as nonhazardous.  DTSC contends  
             that treated shredder waste that fails to meet the conditions  
             of its nonhazardous waste classification is subject to all  
             applicable hazardous waste management requirements, including  
             the payment of hazardous waste generation fees.  As a result  
             of the findings of their investigation and other research,  
             DTSC recommended rescinding all previously issued  
             nonhazardous waste classifications for treated shredder  
             waste.

             Despite making recommendations, DTSC has taken no action.  


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081