BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 162|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 162
Author: Galgiani (D)
Amended: 5/5/15
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 3-3, 4/15/15 (FAIL)
AYES: Gaines, Bates, Pavley
NOES: Wieckowski, Hill, Leno
NO VOTE RECORDED: Jackson
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/29/15
AYES: Wieckowski, Gaines, Bates, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/28/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza and Nielsen
SUBJECT: Treated wood waste: disposal
SOURCE: Western Wood Preservers Institute
DIGEST: This bill extends the sunset date for Alternative
Management Standards (AMS) for treated wood waste (TWW) to June
1, 2020, and requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control
(DTSC) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the AMS and make
findings regarding the adequate protection of public health and
the environment.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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1)Under the Hazardous Waste Control Act (HWCA), provides for the
registration, licensure and permitting of hazardous waste
generators, transporters and storage, transfer and disposal
facilities. HWCA requires the DTSC to implement and enforce
the HWCA.
2)Defines "treated wood" as wood that has been treated with a
chemical preservative for purposes of protecting the wood
against attacks from insects, microorganisms, fungi, and other
environmental conditions that can lead to decay of the wood
and the chemical preservative is registered pursuant to the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
3)Defines "wood preserving industry" as business concerns, other
than retailers, that manufacture or sell treated wood products
in the state.
4)Requires TWW to be disposed of in either a Class I hazardous
waste landfill, or in a composite-lined portion of a solid
waste landfill unit that meets specified requirements.
5)Requires each wholesaler and retailer of treated wood and
treated wood-like products to conspicuously post specified
warning information at or near the point of display or
customer selection of treated wood and treated wood-like
products used for fencing, decking, retaining walls,
landscaping, outdoor structures, and similar uses.
6)Requires the DTSC, in consultation with the California
Integrated Waste Management Board (now the Department of
Resources, Recycling and Recovery), the State Water Resources
Control Board, and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment, and after consideration of any known health
hazards associated with treated wood waste, to adopt
regulations, as specified, establishing AMS for TWW.
Authorizes the DTSC to subsequently revise these regulations
as necessary.
7)Provides that the AMS shall remain in effect June 1, 2017.
8)Requires the DTSC, on or before June 1, 2011, to prepare and
post on its Internet Web site a report that makes a
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determination regarding the successful compliance with, and
implementation of, TWW laws and regulations.
This bill extends the above-stated sunset date to June 1, 2020,
and requires the DTSC to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of
the AMS and make findings regarding the adequate protection of
public health and the environment.
Background
Purpose of bill. The author states that this bill "would extend
the operation of provisions in current law that require TWW to
be disposed of in either a Class I hazardous waste landfill or
in a composite-lined portion of a solid waste (Class II and III)
landfill and maintains the existing management standards
established in the original statute in 2004. This bill extends
current law as it sunsets on June 1, 2017."
The author states that "industrial customers of treated wood,
such as railroads, utilities, ports, marinas, harbors and parks
are among the users of treated wood who benefit from the
continuation of the current disposal structure of treated wood
waste in California. Additionally, contractors and consumers of
housing and decking material would assume the benefit of making
current law permanent."
The author asserts that "this statute has been successful for
business, the environment and regulators."
California's TWW Program. During the 1980s, the DTSC issued a
number of variances authorizing the disposal of wood waste
treated with wood preservatives at lined municipal landfills
rather than at Class I facilities if the water quality permits
allow for such disposal.
In the late 1990s, the variances were scrutinized as not
providing sufficient protection to public health and the
environment and the DTSC opined that the variances were illegal
and intended to rescind them in the early 2000s. The treated
wood industry pursued legislation essentially codifying the
variances previously granted and proposed to be rescinded by the
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DTSC. AB 1353 (Matthews, Chapter 597, Statutes of 2004), was
enacted, creating disposal guidelines and regulatory authority
for TWW, requiring the DTSC to adopt regulations establishing
AMS for TWW and authorizing the disposal of TWW in either a
Class I hazardous waste landfill, or in a composite-lined
portion of a solid waste landfill unit that meets specified
requirements.
What is treated wood, TWW and why is it a hazardous waste?
Treated wood contains hazardous chemicals that pose a risk to
human health and the environment. Arsenic, chromium, copper,
creosote, chromated copper arsenate (CCA) and pentachlorophenol
are among the chemicals used to preserve wood and are known to
be toxic or carcinogenic.
Treated wood is commonly used to build telephone poles, road
signs and marine pilings as well as decks, play structures and
raised garden beds. Insects and mold can damage wood over time.
To prevent that damage, wood is often treated with these
pesticides and preservatives.
Precautions have been taken by both the federal and state
governments in concert with the treated wood industry to limit
exposure to these harmful chemicals, especially in residential
settings. As of January 1, 2004, United States Environmental
Protection Agency does not allow CCA products to be used to
treat wood intended for any of these residential uses such as:
wood used in play-structures, decks, picnic tables, landscaping
timbers, residential fencing, patios, and walkways/boardwalks.
Wood preservatives help to extend the life of wood, however as
the product degrades in the environment, preservatives can
slowly leach into the surrounding soil or water. Additionally,
touching the wood can leave residue on exposed skin. While the
product is in use it is important to keep the wood sealed,
providing a protective barrier, in order to prevent human
exposure and leaching into surrounding soil and groundwater.
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At end of life, the wood and its sealant are degraded providing
opportunity for the pesticides and preservatives to more easily
leach out, presenting health and environmental risks. Proper
handling is essential to protecting human health and the
environment.
Harmful exposure to these chemicals may result from exposure to
both treated wood and TWW. The exposure pathways are touching,
inhaling or ingesting the chemicals (e.g., handling of wood,
especially wood with degraded sealant or degraded wood, inhaling
sawdust and smoke or putting one's hand to one's mouth after
touching degraded wood or wood with degraded sealant).
What is hazardous waste and what are the statutory protections
of the HWCA? A hazardous waste is a waste with a chemical
composition or other property that make it capable of causing
illness, death, or some other harm to humans and other life
forms when mismanaged or released into the environment.
Among the risks associated with hazardous waste are ground water
contamination, air pollution, soil contamination, and human
health risks associated with direct exposure.
In California, HWCA provides for registration, training and/or
permitting of hazardous waste generators, transporters/haulers,
collection, storage or transfer facilities and disposal
facilities.
Additionally, HWCA provides for tracking of hazardous waste by
all parties who handle the waste through a universal manifest
system and ultimately requires that those manifests are provided
to the DTSC in order to track, account for all hazardous waste
in California, and enforce HWCA and the regulations implementing
HWCA.
This system creates accountability and when followed protects
the environment and public health from release of, or exposure
to, the hazards of the waste.
Comments
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DTSC report. AB 1353 required the DTSC to conduct an evaluation
of TWW statute and regulations and report back to the
Legislature. In 2011, the DTSC issued a 12-page report that
contained vague language and insufficient information to
evaluate the program.
For instance:
"To obtain baseline information about compliance with AB 1353
and the AMS regulations, DTSC's Enforcement and Emergency
Response Program has inspected a number of TWW generators and
facilities. This initial survey reveals that the rate of
compliance by TWW facilities is generally high. Generators of
TWW appear to have more compliance issues, however."
"DTSC's initial round of inspections found that TWW facilities
are generally in compliance with most AMS regulatory
requirements for storage and disposal of TWW, as well as with
reporting requirements. Most commonly violated by TWW
facilities was the requirement to provide specific occupational
safety and health training to employees who handle TWW."
"Based on a very limited number of inspections, TWW generators
inspected by DTSC were found to have more - and more- serious -
violations, some of which posed potential threats to the
environment and /or public health."
What do "a number," "appears to," "generally," "most commonly,"
"a very limited number," and "more-and more-serious" mean?
The intent of the Legislature in asking for this report from the
DTSC was to gain insight and information to evaluate the
efficacy of allowing AMS for this wastestream, assuming that a
scientific regulatory agency, such as the DTSC, would have
provided a report with specific data to allow that evaluation.
These vague statements raise significant concerns about what
type of risks are actually occurring in the mishandling of this
wastestream.
It is clear that there are risks to worker safety, public
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health, and the environment. What is not clear is why and to
what extent.
To address the inadequacy of this report, SB 162 requires a
thorough and robust evaluation based on comprehensive data
collected on inspections of a more representative number of
facilities and generators.
Emerging issues - biomass conversion. In recent years,
California has developed, explored and created incentives for
alternative technologies for waste disposal that have the
potential to harness our waste and use it for energy.
One of these technologies is biomass conversion. Biomass
conversion is the controlled combustion of agricultural waste,
yard and garden clippings, leaves and forestry residue, wood
chips, wood waste, and non-recyclable pulp or non-recyclable
paper materials (when these substances are separated from other
solid waste) {for the production of electricity}.
According to the California Energy Commission (CEC), at present,
biomass in California is converted to electric power though one
of two processes based on the characteristics of the biomass.
Two-thirds of California's biomass power capacity is generated
by the direct combustion of solid biomass in boiler-steam
turbine plants. The remainder is generated by the combustion of
landfill gas and biogas in a range of power generating
equipment, including boiler-steam turbine systems, reciprocating
engines, and gas turbines.
According to the California Biomass Collaborative, there are 27
wood waste and agricultural biomass conversion facilities in
commercial operation in California. These plants are located
throughout the state, often near timber harvest or agricultural
operations.
Could TWW be going into biomass conversion facilities? If so,
those facilities do not have the technology built into the
operation to extract the hazardous chemicals released during the
combustion process. This would present a public health and
environmental risk.
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Without adequate tracking and enforcement, there is no way to
know if TWW could be going to these facilities.
Additionally, the energy created by biomass conversion is
eligible for diversion credit from the Department of Resources,
Recycling and Recovery and renewable portfolio standard (RPS)
credit from the CEC, which creates an incentive to send wood to
these facilities.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 1353 (Matthews, Chapter 597, Statutes of 2004) rescinded
variances that had been previously issued by the DTSC allowing
TWW to be disposed of in lined municipal landfills. At the same
time AB 1353 provided for the disposal of TWW under similar
restrictions as provided by the rescinded variance while DTSC
adopted predisposal management and worker safety regulations. A
final version of these regulations took effect July 1, 2007.
SB 909 (La Malfa, Chapter 601, Statutes of 2011) extended the
sunset of above statute related to TWW disposal requirements
from 2012 to 2017, deleted obsolete sections of code, and
specified the Web site and phone number that wholesalers and
retailers of treated wood and treated wood-like products are
required to post on warning signs so that consumers can access
information about treated wood. (NOTE: This bill, as
introduced, would have removed the sunset date, extending the
program indefinitely. However, because the DTSC's report had
not been released at the time the legislation was in the
Legislature, the bill was amended to extend the sunset date.)
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According the Senate Appropriations Committee would have the
following fiscal impact:
Annual costs of $600,000 for two years from the Hazardous
Waste Control Account (special) for required inspections and
reporting requirements.
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Unknown annual costs for two years with the first year costs
likely being a minimum of $150,000, to identify, then inspect,
TWW generators that are not required to report to the DTSC
under existing regulations.
SUPPORT: (Verified5/28/15)
Western Wood Preservers Institute (source)
Allweather Wood, LLC
American Forest & Paper Association
American Wood Council
Brooks Manufacturing Company
California Cascade Industries
California Chamber of Commerce
California Construction and Industrial Materials Association
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Forestry Association
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
Chemical Industry Council of California
Exterior Wood, Inc.
JH Baxter
McFarland Cascade
Natural Wood Solutions, LLC
Osmose
Railway Tie Association
Republic Services, Inc.
Rio Tinto Minerals
Ruetgers Canada, Inc.
Rural County Representatives of California
Solid Waste Association of Northern America, California Chapters
Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association
Southern Pressure Treaters Association
Treated Wood Council
West Coast Lumber & Building Material Association
Western Wood Preservers Institute
Wine Institute
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/28/15)
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None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the sponsor, "this
legislation will continue to provide clear statutory guidance
for the disposal of treated wood waste in either a Class I
hazardous waste landfill or in a composite-line portion of a
solid waste (Class II and III) landfill. When treated wood
waste is properly disposed of, it becomes non-hazardous waste."
Prepared by:Rachel Machi Wagoner / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
5/31/15 13:03:47
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