BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1787 Page 1 Date of Hearing: March 14, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES Das Williams, Chair AB 1787 (Gomez) - As Introduced February 4, 2016 SUBJECT: California Environmental Protection Agency: cross-media enforcement unit SUMMARY: Requires the California Environmental Protection Agency's (CalEPA) cross-media enforcement unit to prioritize the state's most disadvantaged communities. EXISTING LAW: 1)Defines "environmental justice" to mean the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. 2)Requires CalEPA to: a) Conduct its programs, policies, and activities, and enforce all health and environmental statutes within its jurisdiction in a manner that ensures the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and income levels, including minority and low-income populations. b) Convene a Working Group on Environmental Justice AB 1787 Page 2 comprised of the Secretary for Environmental Protection, the Chairs of the Air Resources Board (ARB) and the State Water Resources Control Board, and the Directors of Toxic Substances Control, Pesticide Regulation, Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Resources Recycling and Recovery, and Planning and Research, which has been tasked with examining existing data and studies on environmental justice and recommending policies for implementation by CalEPA. c) In consultation with the Attorney General, establish a cross-media enforcement unit to assist the boards, departments, and offices within CalEPA to investigate and prepare matters for enforcement action. The unit is authorized to inspect and investigate violations within the jurisdiction of a board, department, office, or other agency, as specified. d) No later than July 1, 2002, adopt an agency-wide strategy for identifying and addressing gaps in existing programs, policies, or activities of CalEPA's boards, departments, and offices that may impede the achievement of environmental justice. e) No later than January 1, 2004, and every three years thereafter, prepare and submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature on the implementation of these requirements. 3)Establishes the Environmental Justice Small Grant Program, administered by CalEPA, to award funds to community-based, grassroots nonprofit organizations serving communities adversely impacted by environmental justice issues. 4)Names the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) as the coordinating agency in state government for environmental justice programs. 5)Requires CalEPA to identify disadvantaged communities based on AB 1787 Page 3 geographic, socioeconomic, public health, and environmental hazard criteria for investment opportunities using the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (i.e., cap-and-trade auction revenues). THIS BILL: 1)Requires the cross-media enforcement unit to prioritize the state's most disadvantaged communities when exercising its authority. 2)Defines "state's most disadvantaged communities" as communities identified by the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen) as the disadvantaged communities most disproportionately burdened and vulnerable to multiple sources of pollution. FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown COMMENTS: 1)Background. According to the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), approximately 8 million Californians (21%) live in zip codes that are considered "highly impacted" by environmental, public health, and socioeconomic stressors. Nearly half of all Californians live within six miles of a facility that is a significant greenhouse gas emitter (46%), but they are disproportionately people of color (62%). Throughout California, people of color face a 50% higher risk of cancer from ambient concentrations of air pollutants listed under the Clean Air Act. Throughout California, ARB estimates that air pollution exposure accounts for 19,000 premature deaths, 280,000 cases of asthma, and 1.9 million lost work days every year. AB 1787 Page 4 Additionally, enforcement of environmental laws tends to be more rigorous in white and more affluent communities; whereas, lower income communities and communities of color tend to correlate with fewer inspections and enforcement actions. In 2000, legislation [SB 89 (Escutia), Chapter 728] required CalEPA to convene the Environmental Justice Working Group and develop an agency-wide environmental justice strategy. In 2001, follow up legislation [SB 828 (Alarcon), Chapter 765] established a timeline for these requirements and required CalEPA to update its report to the Legislature every three years. In October of 2004, CalEPA released its Environmental Justice Action Plan; however, the agency has never completed the required updates. In 2012, SB 535 (De Leon), Chapter 830, required CalEPA to identify disadvantaged communities for investment opportunities using the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Pursuant to this requirement, OEHHA has developed CalEnviroScreen that uses existing environmental, health, and socioeconomic data to determine the extent to which communities across the state are burdened by and vulnerable to pollution. OEHHA states that the results generated by CalEnviroScreen are not intended to assign responsibility for any issues identified. The intent is to provide information that enables the state to focus time, resources, and programs on areas that are in the greatest need of assistance. In 2013, CalEPA established an Environmental Justice Compliance and Enforcement Working Group (working group) to improve multi-media enforcement and environmental justice efforts. The working group includes representatives from the CalEPA boards, departments, and offices, as well as local agencies that have enforcement authority. According to CalEPA, the primary objective of the working group is to coordinate compliance assistance and enforcement activities in the state's most disadvantaged communities, where multiple sources of pollution exist and residents are disproportionately vulnerable. The working group's first AB 1787 Page 5 initiative was conducted in 2013 and 2014 in Fresno. It included community consultation, compliance assistance for regulated entities, and coordinated, multi-agency compliance sweeps. The initiative overall resulted in 46 citations for violations of air pollution regulations and 3 enforcement actions relating to improper management of hazardous waste. The working group is in the process of selecting the next community for an initiative. 2)This bill. This bill directs CalEPA's cross-media enforcement unit to focus its activities on the communities that are most in need of assistance. According to the author: [The] discrepancy in the exposure to environmental hazards and response by authorities persists to this day. The natural gas leak in affluent, predominantly white Porter Ranch, received immediate attention from the media, state and federal elected officials, and regulators. Numerous residents have access to attorneys to defend themselves. Conversely, the Exide Technologies battery recycling plant has been polluting the air and soil of working class, predominantly Latino residents in East Los Angeles with lead and other toxic chemicals for decades - and was allowed to continue operating for years on a temporary permit. This is a poignant example of environmental discrimination and unequal treatment of communities. It is critically important that state regulators make a concerted effort to enforce the law against polluters who have been building their facilities and operating with some level of impunity in disadvantaged, low-income, and minority communities lacking resources, support, and capacity to demand swift action. 3)Previous legislation. SB 535 (De León) Chapter 830, Statutes of 2012, requires CalEPA to identify disadvantaged communities for investment opportunities using the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. AB 1787 Page 6 SB 828 (Alarcon), Chapter 765, Statutes of 2001, establishes a timeline for the requirements of SB 89 and requires CalEPA to update its report to the Legislature every three years. SB 89 (Escutia), Chapter 728, Statutes of 2000, requires CalEPA to convene the Environmental Justice Working Group and develop an agency-wide environmental justice strategy. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION: Support California Environmental Justice Alliance Coalition for Clean Air Sierra Club California AB 1787 Page 7 Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by:Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092