BILL NUMBER: AB 1045 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
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
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Irwin
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Chiu)
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to add and repeal Sections 42649.87 and 43032 to the Public
Resources Code, relating to solid waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1045, 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
Secretary for Environmental Protection and the Secretary of Food and
Agriculture to ensure proper coordination of agency regulations and
goals to implement these 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, to perform other specified functions. The bill would repeal
these provisions on January 1, 2021.
(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 require, until January 1, 2021, 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.
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 compost, 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 Secretary for Environmental Protection Agency
and the Secretary of Food and Agriculture shall ensure proper
coordination of agency regulations and goals to implement this
section. The 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
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), Assembly Bill 1826 (Chapter 727 of the Statutes of
2014), 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.
(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.
SEC. 3. Section 43032 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
43032. (a) The 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.
(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.