Amended in Assembly June 1, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 6, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 876

Introduced by Assembly Member McCarty

February 26, 2015

An act to begin delete amend end delete begin insert add end insert Section begin delete 41701 of end delete begin insert 41821.4 to end insert the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 876, as amended, McCarty. Compostable organics.

The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, establishes an integrated waste management program. Existing law requires each city, county, and regional agency, if any, to develop a source reduction and recycling element of an integrated waste management plan. begin delete Existing law requires each county to prepare a countywide siting element that provides, among other things, for an estimate of the total transformation or disposal capacity that will be needed for a 15-year period to safely handle solid wastes generated with the county that cannot be reduced, recycled, or composted, and to identify areas for the location of new or expanded solid waste transformation or disposal facilities, if needed or desired. end delete begin insert On and after January 1, 2000, the element is required to provide for the diversion of 50% of the solid waste subject to the element, except as specified, through source reduction, recycling, and composting activities. Existing law requires each city, county, and regional agency to submit an annual report to the department summarizing its progress in reducing solid waste. end insert

This bill would begin delete require each countywide siting element to provide end delete begin insert require, commencing August 1, 2017, a county or regional agency to include in its annual report to the department end insert an estimate of the begin delete total organics processing capacity that will be needed end delete begin insert amount of end insert begin insert organic waste in cubic yards that will be generated in the county or region end insert over a 15-year begin delete period to safely handle organic wastes generated with the county end delete begin insert period, an estimate of the additional organic waste recycling facility capacity in cubic yards that will be needed to process that amount of waste, end insert and begin delete to identify end delete areas begin delete for the location of organics processing facilities, if needed or desired, end delete begin insert identified by the county or regional agency as locations for new or expanded organic waste recycling facilities capable of safely meeting that additional need, end insert thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would also make legislative findings and declarations.

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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) With the enactment of the California Integrated Waste
Management Act of 1989 (Division 30 (commencing with Section
40000) of the Public Resources Code), the Legislature required
the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery and local
agencies to promote recycling, anaerobic digestion, and composting
over land disposal and transformation.

(b) Since the enactment of the act, local governments and private
industries have worked jointly to create an extensive material
collection infrastructure and have implemented effective programs
to achieve a statewide diversion rate of greater than 50 percent.

(c) Although California now leads the nation in waste reduction
and recycling, the state continues to dispose of more than 15
million tons of compostable organics each year in solid waste
landfills.

(d) To reduce the landfilling of organics, increase composting
and anaerobic digestion, and meet the state’s organic diversion
goals, cities and counties must plan for organics processing
facilities that can process organics diverted from landfills and
organics waste generators.

begin delete

SEC. 2.  

Section 41701 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

41701.  

Each countywide siting element and revision thereto
shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(a) A statement of goals and policies for the environmentally
safe transformation or disposal of solid waste that cannot be
reduced, recycled, or composted.

(b) An estimate of the total transformation or disposal capacity
in cubic yards that will be needed for a 15-year period to safely
handle solid wastes generated with the county that cannot be
reduced, recycled, or composted.

(c) An estimate of the total organics processing capacity in cubic
yards that will be needed for a 15-year period to safely handle
organic wastes generated with the county.

(d) The remaining combined capacity of existing solid waste
transformation or disposal facilities existing at the time of the
preparation of the siting element, or revision thereto, in cubic yards
and years.

(e) The identification of an area or areas for the location of new
solid waste transformation or disposal facilities, or new organics
processing facilities, or the expansion of existing solid waste or
organics facilities, that are consistent with the applicable city or
county general plan, if the county determines that existing capacity
will be exhausted within 15 years or additional capacity is desired.

(f) For countywide elements submitted or revised on or after
January 1, 2003, a description of the actions taken by the city or
county to solicit public participation by the affected communities,
including, but not limited to, minority and low-income populations.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 41821.4 is added to the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 41821.4. end insert   

(a) Commencing August 1, 2017, a county or regional
agency shall include, in the annual report required pursuant to
Section 41821, the following information:

(1) An estimate of the amount of organic waste in cubic yards
that will be generated in the county or region over a 15-year
period.

(2) An estimate of the additional organic waste recycling facility
capacity in cubic yards that will be needed to process the amount
of organic waste identified pursuant to paragraph (1).

(3) Areas identified by the county or regional agency as
locations for new or expanded organic waste recycling facilities
capable of safely meeting the additional organic waste recycling
facility capacity need identified pursuant to paragraph (2).

(b) To provide the information pursuant to subdivision (a), the
county or regional agency may use existing data regarding its
diversion programs and is not required to perform additional
waste characterization studies.

(c) For purposes of this section, “organic waste recycling
facility” has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (d) of Section 42649.82.

end insert

SEC. 3.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.