BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1115
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jim Frazier, Chair
AB 1115
(Salas) - As Amended March 26, 2015
SUBJECT: State highways: litter cleanup and abatement
SUMMARY: Requires the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) to use litter traps in drains and any other effective
technology in carrying out its responsibilities related to
litter cleanup and abatement on highways near waterways.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Designates Caltrans as the owner and operator of the state
highway system.
2)Requires Caltrans to place a high priority on litter pickup on
highways adjoining storm drains, streams, rivers, waterways,
beaches, the ocean, and other environmentally sensitive areas.
3)Allows Caltrans to use litter traps in drains and any other
effective technology in its litter cleanup and abatement
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efforts.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Caltrans installed in-drain litter traps in the
southern California region as a result of litigation between
Caltrans and the United States Environmental Protection Agency,
among others. That litigation resulted in a requirement that
Caltrans develop a Best Management Practice (BMP) Retrofit Pilot
Program in Caltrans Districts 7 (Los Angeles) and 11 (San
Diego). The objective of the program was to acquire experience
in the installation and operation of a wide range of structural
BMPs for treating stormwater runoff from existing Caltrans
facilities and to evaluate the performance and costs of these
devices.
A study team made up of representatives from the parties to the
lawsuit, their attorneys, local vector control agencies, and
outside technical experts provided oversight of the retrofit
pilot program. This study was designed to allow the parties to
gain experience with the actual design, installation, operation,
and maintenance of structural BMPs in the setting of the freeway
system in southern California. Many BMPs have been used in
other parts of the country, but cost, performance, and operation
data were not generally available for retrofit implementation,
especially in a semi-arid highway environment.
The study included in-drain litter traps, as would be required
to be used by this bill. Data collected during the study
indicated that the in-drain litter traps cannot be operated
unattended because of hydraulic limitations that resulted in
flooding on a number of occasions and clogging that caused
bypass of untreated runoff. Further, the study found, "Their
pollutant removal was also minimal. The absolute number of
maintenance hours was not large; however, the timing of
maintenance was critical, right before and during storm events.
Because of their frequent maintenance requirements and safety
considerations (access along active freeways and highways),
implementation on roadsides would not be appropriate.
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Installation at maintenance stations might be considered safer;
however, timely maintenance is often infeasible due to other
maintenance activities required during storm events. In
addition, they were only marginally effective, with constituent
removal generally less than 10%." As a result of the study,
Caltrans found the in-drain litter traps were not effective and,
consequently, it does not use them anywhere else in the state.
Provisions requiring Caltrans to prioritize litter pickup along
highways near sensitive areas, such as waterways, were added by
AB 260 (Jackson), Chapter 489, Statutes of 2003. AB 260
reportedly stemmed from an episode where heavy rain caused trash
and blight along highways in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties
to be swept into the ocean via storm drains and other natural
waterways. Recognizing Caltrans' maintenance budget
restrictions, the author included provisions in AB 260 to allow
litter abatement by means of physical intervention, such as
litter traps in drains and any other relevant and effective
technology, with the idea that physical intervention of the
litter could be a cost-effective alternative.
In 2013, Caltrans spent about $62 million statewide cleaning up
litter and collecting more 155,000 cubic yards of trash enough
to fill more than 1,000 swimming pools with 30,000 gallons of
water in each. Clearly, litter continues to plague the state
highway system and increasingly stringent stormwater runoff
requirements will eventually prohibit any litter from getting
into the stormwater runoff system.
Committee concerns: AB 1115 mandates, rather than allows,
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in-drain litter traps, a technology that has been found to be
ineffective. The Legislature should not direct Caltrans to use
a litter abatement technology that does not work, especially
given that ever tighter stormwater regulations loom on the
horizon.
Previous legislation: AB 260 (Jackson), Chapter 489, Statutes
of 2003, required Caltrans to prioritize litter pickup along
highways near sensitive areas, such as waterways.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
AB 1115
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