BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1075
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1075 (Alejo)
As Amended September 2, 2015
Majority vote
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |45-28 |(May 28, 2015) |SENATE: | |(September 8, |
| | | | |24-15 |2015) |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: E.S. & T.M.
SUMMARY: Establishes standards for what constitutes a repeat
serious hazardous waste facility violation and specifies the
enforcement or permit revocation action to be taken by the
Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).
The Senate amendments:
1)Provide that a violation that would trigger a permit
revocation at a federal hazardous waste facility be limited to
a violation or noncompliance within the permitted boundaries
of the facility.
2)Remove the reference to fire or explosions at a hazardous
waste facility as the basis of a revocation and instead
provides that the basis for a violation is one that creates a
significant risk of harm to the public health or safety of the
environment.
AB 1075
Page 2
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
this bill would result in minor, if any, costs to the Hazardous
Waste Control Account for DTSC to administer the additional
considerations and civil penalties for persons with multiple
violations.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill:
1)Defined a repeating or recurring pattern of violation or
noncompliance as a facility operator that has previously been
found to be liable for, or convicted of, three or more
violations of, or noncompliance with, within a five-year
period.
2)Specified that violation or noncompliance means an action that
creates a significant threat of immediate and acute exposure
to hazardous waste or hazardous waste constituents at a
facility or offsite from a facility.
3)Defined a serious violation as including any of the following:
a) Fire, explosion, or an uncontrolled chemical reaction;
b) Serious or acute injury or illness;
c) Violation of any order issued by DTSC to the applicant
or holder of the permit; or
d) Federal or state felony conviction for violations of
hazardous waste laws.
4)Excluded minor violations from violations that would be
counted toward the three incident standards.
5)Provides that DTSC shall consider a repeating or recurring
pattern of violation or noncompliance as compelling cause to
AB 1075
Page 3
deny, suspend, or revoke the permit for a hazardous waste
facility.
6)Authorizes DTSC to temporarily suspend a hazardous waste
facility permit prior to a hearing, if the DTSC determines
that conditions may present an imminent and substantial
endangerment to the public health or safety or the
environment.
7)Imposes an additional civil penalty of not less than $5,000 or
more than $50,000 for each day of a serious hazardous waste
violation, if the person has been found liable for, or been
convicted of, 3 or more previous violations within any
consecutive 60 months.
COMMENTS:
Need for this bill: According to the author, "AB 1075
establishes a bright regulatory line for permit denial and
revocation. The key feature of AB 1075 is to strengthen the
authority of the Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) by
specifying that three or more serious violations during a
five-year period results in a clear obligation on DTSC to revoke
a hazardous waste facility permit. AB 1075 was developed based
on the information gathered at the Environmental Safety and
Toxic Materials oversight hearing in September of 2014, where
community groups came forward to report on issues in their
neighborhood."
Permitting hazardous waste storage, treatment, and disposal
facilities: DTSC is responsible for the review of hazardous
waste permit applications to ensure safe design and operation;
issuance and denial of operating permits; issuance of
post-closure permits; approval and denial of permit
modifications; issuance and denial of emergency permits; review
and approval of closure plans; providing closure oversight of
approved closure plans; issuance and denial of variances;
AB 1075
Page 4
provide assistance to regulated industry on permitting matters;
and provide for public involvement.
DTSC has undertaken a review of permitting and enforcement
processes for hazardous waste facilities. To do this, DTSC
contracted for an outside program evaluation by CPS HR
Consulting which provided a review of the DTSC permit process in
order to develop a standardized process with decision criteria
and corresponding standards of performance. The DTSC evaluation
included a review and assessment of the current timeliness of
decisions, and evaluates the adequacy of program staffing.
Creating a bright line for regulatory action on hazardous waste
facility permits: The CPS HR Consulting report recommended that
DTSC develop a new system of categorizing violations that
reflects whether they present an immediate and direct threat to
human health and safety, versus a less urgent threat that can be
mitigated or resolved through further actions of DTSC. The
current definition of "Class I violations," although mandated by
law, includes both violations that pose immediate and direct
threats along with many that are relatively low- or long-term
threats. Until the DTSC has a system to assess violations that
can distinguish between significant threats to human health and
safety and lesser threats, it will not be able to provide an
objective standard to guide its own staff actions and to inform
the public that the significant threats have been mitigated
through actions such as permit modification, denial or
revocation.
Analysis Prepared by:
Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965
FN:
0002091
AB 1075
Page 5