Amended in Senate September 4, 2015

Amended in Senate August 17, 2015

Amended in Senate July 2, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 20, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1045

Introduced by Assembly Member Irwin

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Chiu)

February 26, 2015

An act to add begin insert and repeal end insert Sections 42649.87 and 43032 to the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1045, as amended, Irwin. Organic waste: composting.

(1) The existing 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, city and county, and regional agency, if any, to develop a source reduction and recycling element of an integrated waste management plan. Those entities are required to divert 50% of all solid waste through source reduction, recycling, and composting.

This bill would require the California Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with the department, the State Water Resources Control Board, the State Air Resources Board, and the Department of Food and Agriculture, to develop and implement policies to aid in diverting organic waste from landfills by promoting the composting of specified organic waste and by promoting the appropriate use of that compost throughout the state. The bill would require the agency to promote a goal of reducing at least 5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year through the development and application of compost on working lands, and would require the agency to work with the Department of Food and Agriculture to achieve this goal. The bill would also require the begin delete agency to convene an Organic Waste Recycling Group, consisting of representatives of the department, the State Water Resources Control Board, the State Air Resources Board, and the Department of Food and Agriculture, end delete begin insert Secretary for Environmental Protection and the Secretary end insert begin insert of Food and Agriculture end insert to ensure proper coordination of agency regulations and goals to implement these begin delete requirements, and end delete begin insert requirements and would require the agency and the Department of Food and Agriculture, with the department, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the State Air Resources Board, end insert to perform other specified functions. begin insert The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2021. end insert

(2) Existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to adopt regulations relating to waste management, including standards for the design, operation, maintenance, and ultimate reuse of solid waste facilities, and for solid waste handling, transfer, composting, transformation, and disposal. Existing law prohibits the solid waste handling, transfer, composting, transformation, and disposal standards from including any requirement that is under the authority of the State Air Resources Board for the prevention of air pollution or the State Water Resources Control Board for the prevention of water pollution and prohibits the solid waste facilities standards from including aspects of solid waste handling and disposal that are within the jurisdiction of the State Air Resources Board, air pollution control districts, and air quality management districts, or the State Water Resources Control Board or a regional water district.

Existing law prohibits a person from discharging a quantity of air contaminants or other material that causes injury, detriment, nuisance, or annoyance to the public, or that endangers the comfort, repose, health, or safety of the public, or that causes injury or damage to business or property, except as provided.

Under existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards are the principal state agencies with responsibility for the coordination and control of water quality in the state. The act, with certain exceptions, requires a waste discharger to file certain information with the appropriate regional board and to pay an annual fee.

This bill would begin delete require end delete begin insert require, until January 1, 2021, end insert the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, in coordination with the State Air Resources Board and the State Water Resources Control Board, to develop a policy that promotes the development of coordinated permitting and regulation of composting facilities while protecting the environment.

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

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 declared
that the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery and
local agencies shall promote composting.

(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 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) Composting organic materials results in substantial
environmental and agricultural benefits, including the reduction
of naturally occurring volatile organic compounds and ammonia.

(e) The Economic and Technology Advancement Advisory
Committee, formed pursuant to the California Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section
38500) of the Health and Safety Code), has identified composting
as a cost-effective technology for reducing greenhouse gas
emissions.

(f) The application of compost in agriculture and landscaping
has been shown to offer significant soil-carbon sequestration and
water quality benefits, provide erosion control, reduce the need
for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and conserve water and
irrigation-associated energy.

(g) In 2007, the department’s predecessor agency adopted
Strategic Directive 6.1 to reduce the amount of organics in the
waste stream by 50 percent by the year 2020.

(h) In 2014, the state required organic waste generators that
produce four cubic yards or more of organic waste a week to
arrange to recycle this material (Chapter 12.9 (commencing with
Section 42649.8) of the Public Resources Code).

(i) To reduce the amount of organics in landfills, the state must
promote the development and permitting of composting facilities
and ensure that state regulations account for the lifecycle emissions
reduction and water quality benefits of begin delete diverting organic waste
from landfills and into compost facilities, end delete begin insert compost, end insert while
continuing to protect air and water quality.

SEC. 2.  

Section 42649.87 is added to the Public Resources
Code, to read:

42649.87.  

(a) The California Environmental Protection
Agency, in coordination with the department, the State Water
Resources Control Board, the State Air Resources Board, and the
Department of Food and Agriculture, shall develop and implement
policies to aid in diverting organic waste from landfills by
promoting the use of agricultural, forestry, and urban organic waste
as a feedstock for compost and by promoting the appropriate use
of that compost throughout the state.

(b) In developing policies pursuant to subdivision (a), the
California Environmental Protection Agency shall promote a goal
of reducing at least five million metric tons of greenhouse gas
emissions per year through the development and application of
compost on working lands, which include, but are not limited to,
agricultural land, land used for forestry, and rangeland. The
California Environmental Protection Agency shall work with the
Department of Food and Agriculture to achieve this goal.

(c) The California begin insert Secretary for end insert Environmental Protection
Agency begin insert and the Secretary of Food and Agriculture end insert shall begin delete convene
an Organic Waste Recycling Group consisting of representatives
of the department, the State Water Resources Control Board, the
State Air Resources Board, and the Department of Food and
Agriculture to end delete ensure proper coordination of agency regulations
and goals to implement this section. The begin delete Organic Waste Recycling
Group end delete begin insert California Environmental Protection Agency and the
Department of Food and Agriculture, with the department, the
State Water Resources Control Board, and the State Air Resources
Board end insert shall do all of the following:

(1) Assess the state’s progress towards developing the organic
waste processing and recycling infrastructure necessary to meet
the state goals specified in Assembly Bill 341 (Chapter 476 of the
Statutes of 2011), begin insert Assembly Bill 1826 (Chapter 727 of the Statutes
of 2014), end insert the State Air Resources Board’s May 2015 Short-Lived
Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy concept paper, and the
Department of Food and Agriculture’s Healthy Soils Initiative.

(2) Meet at least quarterly and consult with interested
stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the compost industry,
local governments, and environmental organizations, to encourage
the continued viability of the state’s organic waste processing and
recycling infrastructure.

(3) Hold at least one public workshop annually to inform the
public of actions taken to implement this section and to receive
public comment.

(4) Develop recommendations for promoting organic waste
processing and recycling infrastructure statewide, which shall be
posted on the California Environmental Protection Agency’s
Internet Web site no later than January 1, 2017, and updated
annually thereafter.

begin insert

(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends that date.

end insert

SEC. 3.  

Section 43032 is added to the Public Resources Code,
to read:

43032.  

begin delete The end delete begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The end insert department, in coordination with the State
Air Resources Board and the State Water Resources Control Board,
shall develop a policy that promotes the development of
coordinated permitting and regulation of composting facilities
while protecting the environment.

begin insert

(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends that date.

end insert