BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 901 (Gordon) - Solid waste: reporting requirements:
enforcement.
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|Version: July 16, 2015 |Policy Vote: E.Q. 6 - 1 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Marie Liu |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 901 would alter reporting requirements for disposal
facilities, recycling and composting facilities, and local
governments and would establish civil penalties for failing to
report or willfully filling false information.
Fiscal
Impact: Annual costs of $168,000 for two years to the
Integrated Waste Management Account (special) for increased
enforcement by the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery (CalRecycle).
Background: The California Integrated Waste Management Act (PRC §40000 et
seq.) requires that each local jurisdiction divert at least 50%
of solid waste generated from landfill disposal through source
reduction, recycling, and composting. It is the state goal to
increase the diversion rate to 75% by 2020. Local governments,
AB 901 (Gordon) Page 1 of
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disposal facilities, and recycling and composting facilities are
required to report specified information to CalRecycle and to
each other. CalRecycle tracks the amount of waste disposed and
the jurisdictions in which waste was produced using its Disposal
Reporting System (DRS). CalRecycle is moving towards electronic
reporting through the electronic DRS (eDRS).
According to CalRecycle's report, "State of Disposal in
California" (March 2015), a significant number of the reports
submitted by counties and facilities are late, incomplete, or
incorrect. Additionally, facilities also sometimes fail to
submit reports completely. The report notes that statutes and
the DRGS regulations lack enforcement provisions and there are
limited options for encouraging compliance. Reporting problems
hampers CalRecycle's efforts to oversee diversion mandates.
CalRecycle has regulatory authority to adopt practices and
procedures related to waste tracking in the state, as long as
the regulations do not impose an unreasonable burden on waste
handling, processing, or disposal operations.
Proposed Law:
This bill would make various changes to reporting requirements
regarding solid waste disposal and diversion. Specifically, this
bill would:
Require disposal facility operators and recycling and
composting facilities to submit information on disposal
tonnages to CalRecycle instead of the counties. Counties would
continue to receive the information upon request directly from
disposal facility operators or through CalRecycle for
recycling and composting facilities.
Delete the requirement for counties to submit periodic
disposal and diversion information to cities, regional
agencies, and CalRecycle.
Require that all records related to solid waste disposal and
diversion be kept and be subject to inspection and copying by
CalRecycle.
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Authorize an employee of a government entity to inspect and
copy records at a disposal facility related to tonnage
received at the facility and originating within its geographic
jurisdiction, except as specified.
Regulations regarding the reporting requirements would be
obliged to include: (1) opportunity to comply prior to the
initiation of enforcement actions, and (2) factors to be
considered in determining penalty amounts.
Impose civil penalties between $500 and $5,000 per violation
for refusing or failing to provide required information. This
bill would also impose civil penalties between $500 and
$10,000 per violation on any person who knowingly or willfully
files a false report or refuses to allow CalRecycle to perform
an inspection or an examination of records.
Authorize CalRecycle to conduct audits, perform site
inspections, observe facility operations, and otherwise
investigate the recordkeeping and reporting of persons
subjected to the Integrated Waste Management Act.
Establish the procedure for CalRecycle to issue an
administrative complaint about any person with civil liability
under the Integrated Waste Management Act.
Establish timeframes for orders settling civil liability.
Staff
Comments: CalRecycle anticipates that it will have increased
enforcement costs of approximately $168,000 annually for two
years as a result of this bill to improve compliance with new
and existing reporting requirement costs. CalRecycle anticipates
that these costs are temporary because once the affected parties
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become more familiar with the reporting requirements and the
associated penalties, the requirements will mostly be
self-enforcing.
While this bill does create penalties, CalRecycle is not
anticipating its enforcement costs to be offset by penalty
revenues because its goal is to increase compliance, not to
raise revenues. Staff notes that this goal is reflected in the
bill's requirement that CalRecycle offer an opportunity for a
regulated party to comply before beginning enforcement actions.
No costs to develop regulations are associated with this bill
because CalRecycle was already intending to develop a regulation
package on reporting in which the changes in this bill can be
incorporated.
There are no costs associated with updating the eDRS as the
system was designed to anticipate mandatory reporting
requirements.
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