BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
                              Senator Wieckowski, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 
           
          Bill No:           AB 1045
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Author:    |Irwin                                                |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |-----------+-----------------------+-------------+----------------|
          |Version:   |4/20/2015              |Hearing      |7/1/2015        |
          |           |                       |Date:        |                |
          |-----------+-----------------------+-------------+----------------|
          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:      |Yes             |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Consultant:|Joanne Roy                                           |
          |           |                                                     |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          
          SUBJECT:  Organic waste:  composting.

            ANALYSIS:
          
          Existing law: 
          
          1) Requires pursuant to the Integrated Waste Management Act of  
             1989 (Act) (Public Resources Code §40000 et seq.):

             a)    Establishes a statewide diversion goal of 75% by 2020.  

             b)    Requires local agencies to divert, through source  
                reduction, recycling, and composting, 50% of solid waste  
                disposed by their jurisdictions.  

             c)    Requires a commercial waste generator, including  
                multi-family dwellings, to arrange for recycling services  
                and requires local governments to implement commercial  
                solid waste recycling programs designed to divert solid  
                waste from businesses.

             d)    Requires generators of specified amounts of organic  
                waste (i.e., food waste and yard waste) to arrange for  
                recycling services for that material. 


          2) Under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006  
             (commonly referred to as AB 32), requires the Air Resources  
             Board (ARB) to determine the 1990 statewide greenhouse gas  
             (GHG) emissions level and approve a statewide GHG emissions  







          AB 1045 (Irwin)                                         Page 2 of  
          ?
          
          
             limit that is equivalent to that level, to be achieved by  
             2020, and to adopt GHG emissions reductions measures by  
             regulation.  ARB is authorized to include the use of  
             market-based mechanisms to comply with these regulations.   
             (Health and Safety Code §38500 et seq.).















































          AB 1045 (Irwin)                                         Page 3 of  
          ?
          
          

          This bill:  

          1) States legislative findings and declarations regarding the  
             state's recycling and composting policies and the  
             environmental and agricultural benefits of compost development  
             and application.

          2) Requires the California Environmental Protection Agency  
             (CalEPA), in coordination with the Department of Resources  
             Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to develop and implement  
             policies to aid in diverting organic waste from landfills by  
             promoting composting, as specified.

          3) Requires CalEPA, in developing these policies, to work with  
             the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to  
             promote a goal of 5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas  
             (GHG) emissions reductions through development and application  
             of compost on working lands.

          4) Requires CalEPA to convene CalRecycle, the State Water  
             Resources Control Board (SWRCB), and the Air Resource Board  
             (ARB) to ensure coordination of goals and policies.

          5) Requires CalRecycle, in coordination with the ARB and SWRCB,  
             to develop a policy to promote streamlined permitting and  
             regulation of composting facilities while protecting air and  
             water quality.

            Background  
           
          1) Statewide waste diversion goals.  CalRecycle is tasked with  
             diverting at least 75% of solid waste statewide by 2020.   
             Currently, an estimated 35 million tons of waste are disposed  
             of in California's landfills annually, of which 32% is  
             compostable organic materials, 29% is construction and  
             demolition debris, and 17% is paper. 

             In addition, CalRecycle is charged with implementing Strategic  
             Directive 6.1, which calls for reducing organic waste disposal  
             by 50% by 2020.  According to CalRecycle, significant gains in  
             organic waste diversion (through recycling technologies or  
             organic waste, including composting and anaerobic digestion)  
             are necessary to meet the 75% goal and to implement Strategic  








          AB 1045 (Irwin)                                         Page 4 of  
          ?
          
          
             Directive 6.1.

          2) Recycling organic waste.  For purposes of recycling, "organic  
             waste" is defined as food waste, green waste, landscape and  
             pruning waste, nonhazardous wood waste, and food-soiled paper  
             waste that is mixed in with food waste.  Organic material,  
             like food waste and yard waste, represents about one-third of  
             the solid waste sent to landfills even though a large  
             percentage can be recycled or composted. 

          Recycling technologies for organic waste include composting,  
             anaerobic digestion, and other types of processing that  
             generate renewable fuels, energy, soil amendments, and mulch.   
             Anaerobic digestion, which produces biogas that can be  
             processed into biomethane fuel, is particularly suited to  
             handle food waste.  Green waste is more efficiently processed  
             through composting.  

          3) What is compost?  According to CalRecycle, compost is the  
             controlled decomposition of organic material such as leaves,  
             twigs, grass clippings and food scraps.  A wide range of  
             materials may be composted, but they must consist of  
             principally organic components (i.e. carbon-containing  
             remnants or residues of life processes).  Compost products may  
             vary since the properties of any given compost depend on the  
             nature of the original feedstock and the conditions under  
             which it was decomposed.  However, mature compost is normally  
             dark brown in color and should have an even texture and a  
             pleasant, earthy aroma.  

          Composting is a means of controlling and accelerating the  
             decomposition process.  An overabundance of soil organisms is  
             responsible for transforming the organic matter in compost  
             into carbon dioxide, water, humic substances (components of  
             soil that affect physical and chemical properties and improve  
             soil fertility) and energy in the form of heat.  Most  
             composting facilities use a thermophilic process, which breaks  
             down the waste with heat-loving bacteria, and rely on high  
             temperatures to meet pathogen reduction standards.  

          Composting diverts organic materials out of landfills and turns  
             it into a product that is useful for soil restoration.  In  
             addition to improving the quality of soil, compost prevents  
             soil erosion, reduces the need for chemical fertilizers,  








          AB 1045 (Irwin)                                         Page 5 of  
          ?
          
          
             herbicides, and pesticides, and enables better soil water  
             retention.

          4) Composting in California.  According to CalRecycle, there are  
             181 composting facilities in the state.  However, some of  
             these facilities may not be involved in waste diversion (e.g.  
             agricultural residuals, manure, and other material not  
             destined for disposal).  CalRecycle estimates that the top 30  
             compost facilities that take organics out of the waste stream  
             handle approximately 80% of the material.

            Comments
          
          1) Purpose of Bill.  According to the author, "AB 1045  
             establishes a statewide policy to promote the use of compost  
             by requiring state entities to work together to establish a  
             coordinated effort for the development and deployment of  
             compost in order to achieve multiple state goals."

          2) Coordinating efforts.  Multiple state agencies are involved  
             with regulating composting.  CalRecycle permits compostable  
             material handling operations and facilities.  ARB is the state  
             agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of  
             emissions of GHGs that cause global warming in order to reduce  
             emissions of GHGs.  CDFA annually inspects compost facilities  
             selling to organic food producers for adherence to National  
             Organic Program regulations.  SWRCB and the regional water  
             quality control boards issue individual waste discharge  
             requirements for larger composting facilities.  This bill  
             proposes to provide for improved state agency coordination of  
             composting efforts and development.

          3) Amendments Needed.  This bill requires CalRecycle, in  
             coordination with the ARB and SWRCB, to develop a policy to  
             promote streamlined permitting and regulation of composting  
             facilities while protecting air and water quality.  

             a)    Streamlined.  "Streamlined" is a term that may connote  
                cutting corners or favoring speed to the potential  
                detriment of what has been forsaken.  Streamlining  
                permitting and regulatory processes may more expeditiously  
                get a facility up and running, but it also may result in  
                long-term, unintended consequences.  









          AB 1045 (Irwin)                                         Page 6 of  
          ?
          
          
             For example, a streamlined permitting process to authorize a  
                new composting facility may be on a fast track for approval  
                because of various factors such as location in an area  
                zoned for industrial use - However, was that location  
                analyzed to consider potential environmental impacts, such  
                as whether the location is upwind to a residential area?   
                Depending on how the permitting process was expedited, was  
                the public provided an opportunity to participate; was the  
                process transparent?  Permitting and regulatory  
                requirements exist to protect public health and safety as  
                well as the environment; and such purposes should not be  
                compromised for the sake of speed.  

             On the other hand, "coordination" of permitting and regulatory  
                requirements would serve to increase efficiency and ensure  
                that efforts do not overlap unnecessarily, while preserving  
                the goal of protecting the public and environment.  It  
                would be prudent for the agencies to coordinate permitting  
                and regulatory requirements rather than streamline them. 

             An amendment is needed on page 4, line 31, to delete  
                "streamlined" and replace with "coordinated."

             b)    "Protecting air and water quality."  Although air and  
                water quality are certainly worth protecting, they are not  
                the only environmental impacts that should be considered.   
                For example, other impacts in permitting and regulating  
                composting facilities may include land use planning,  
                natural resources, agricultural resources, biological  
                resources, noise, transportation/traffic, cultural  
                resources, and utilities.  It would be prudent to broaden  
                the spectrum of protection beyond air and water only, and  
                include the environment as a whole. 

             An amendment is needed on page 4, lines 32-33, to delete "air  
                and water quality," and replace the term with "the  
                environment."
             
            Related/Prior Legislation

          AB 876 (McCarty) would require a county or regional agency to  
          include in its annual report to CalRecycle specified information  
          regarding organic waste recycling.  AB 876 is scheduled to be  
          heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on July 1,  








          AB 1045 (Irwin)                                         Page 7 of  
          ?
          
          
          2015.

          AB 1826 (Chesbro, Chapter 727, Statutes of 2014) phased in  
          requirements for generators of specified amounts of organic waste  
          to arrange recycling services for that material beginning January  
          1, 2016, through January 1, 2019.

          AB 341 (Chesbro, Chapter 476, Statutes of 2011) required local  
          businesses and multifamily residential dwellings of five or more  
          units that generate more than four cubic yards of solid waste per  
          week to separate recyclable materials from solid waste and  
          subscribe to a basic level of recycling service that included  
          collection, self-hauling, or other arrangements for the pickup of  
          the recyclable materials or subscribe to a recycling service that  
          may include mixed waste processing that yields diversion results  
          comparable to source separation.

          SOURCE:               Author  

           SUPPORT:               
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees  
                         (AFSCME), 
               AFL-CIO 
          California Compost Coalition
          California League of Conservation Voters
          California Organics Recycling Council
          Californians Against Waste
          Carbon Cycle Institute
          City and County of San Francisco Department of the Environment
          City of Thousand Oaks
          Community Alliance with Family Farmers
          Planning and Conservation League
          Republic Services, Inc.
          Rural County Representatives of California 
          San Francisco Department of the Environment
          Stop Waste
          West Marin Compost Coalition
          1 Individual
           
           OPPOSITION:    
          None received  
                                            
                                       -- END -









          AB 1045 (Irwin)                                         Page 8 of  
          ?