BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 162| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 162 Author: Galgiani (D) Amended: 6/22/15 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, Nielsen SENATE FLOOR: 38-0, 6/1/15 AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, De León, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall, Hancock, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Runner, Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk NO VOTE RECORDED: Hernandez, Morrell ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 9/01/15 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Treated wood waste SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill extends the sunset date that allows treated wood waste (TWW) to be disposed of in a Class II or III landfill so long as alternative management standards, established by the SB 162 Page 2 Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) are maintained to January 1, 2020. Assembly Amendments update the information required to be posted by wholesalers and retailers of treated wood and treated wood-like products and require the DTSC to conduct a survey and otherwise seek information on how households are currently handling, transporting, and disposing of treated wood waste, including available information from household hazardous waste collection facilities, solid waste transfer facilities, solid waste disposal facility load check programs, and certified unified program agencies. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 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 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, SB 162 Page 3 landscaping, outdoor structures, and similar uses. 6)Requires the DTSC to adopt regulations, as specified, establishing alternative management standards (AMS) for TWW. Authorizes DTSC to subsequently revise these regulations as necessary. 7)Requires DTSC, on or before June 1, 2011, to prepare and post on its Internet web site a report that makes a determination regarding the successful compliance with, and implementation of, TWW laws and regulations. 8)Sunsets the TWW requirements on June 1, 2017. This bill extends the sunset date on TWW statute from June 1, 2017, to December 31, 2020, and requires DTSC to prepare a comprehensive report on the implementation of TWW law. Specifically, this bill: 1)Deletes existing statute that prohibits the DTSC from imposing additional requirements on, or from exceeding existing statutory requirements for, TWW disposal. 2)Requires the DTSC, on or before January 1, 2018, to prepare, post on its website, and provide to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, a comprehensive report on the compliance with, and implementation of, TWW law. 3)Requires the TWW report to include, but not be limited to, all of the following: a) Data, and evaluation of that data, on the rates of compliance with TWW law and injuries associated with handling TWW based on the DTSC inspections of TWW generator sites and TWW disposal facilities; b) An evaluation of the adequacy of protective measures taken in tracking, handling, and disposing of TWW; c) Data regarding the unauthorized disposal of TWW at disposal facilities that have not been approved for that disposal; SB 162 Page 4 d) Conclusions regarding the handling of TWW; and, e) Recommendations for changes to the handling of TWW to ensure the protection of public health and the environment. 4)Requires the DTSC, in order to gather data to perform the required TWW study, to do all of the following: a) Inspect representative TWW generator sites and TWW disposal facilities, which shall not to be less than 25 percent of each; b) Survey and otherwise seek information on how households are currently handling, transporting, and disposing of TWW, including available information from household hazardous waste collection facilities, solid waste transfer facilities, solid waste disposal facility load check programs, and certified unified program agencies; and, c) Seek data, by survey or otherwise, to determine whether sufficient information and convenient collection and disposal options are available to household generators of TWW. 5)Extends the sunset date on TWW statute from June 1, 2017, to December 31, 2020. 6)Makes other clarifying amendments. Background 1)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 SB 162 Page 5 treated wood industry pursued legislation essentially codifying the variances previously granted and proposed to be rescinded by the 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. 2)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. SB 162 Page 6 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). 3)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 properties 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, the 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. 4)DTSC AMS for TWW. TWW has its own statute directing the DTSC to develop regulations for AMS (separate from universal SB 162 Page 7 waste). The AMS for TWW provide much less stringent storage requirements, extend accumulation periods, allow shipments without a hazardous waste manifest or a hazardous waste hauler, and allow disposal at specific non-hazardous waste landfills. The AMS for TWW provide for much less stringent requirements from HWCA but they are also considerably less stringent than universal requirements. For example, the AMS allow a shipping document, bill of lading, or invoice as documentation of the TWW and allows anyone to transport TWW. AMS require the waste to be labeled and a report to be sent by disposal facilities semi-annually to the DTSC. However, AMS do not require any sort of documentation to travel with this waste, like a manifest tracking the waste (unlike HWCA or universal waste regulation) that would allow for any accountability and enforcement. It appears that these regulations were written to be completed self-enforced by the generator with no way to actually track the waste, generators, or haulers that are not complying with the proper handling requirements. 5)The 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. 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. 6)Lack of Funding. The DTSC's HWCA implementation and enforcement activities are funded through fees on the regulated community (i.e., the generators, transporters and /storage/transfer/disposal facilities). When a waste, like TWW, is provided an alternative management scheme for the waste, which does not include the registration, licensure or SB 162 Page 8 permitting of the parties noted above, no fee is collected. Therefore, the DTSC does not have the needed resources to enforce the AMS. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: Yes According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill has increased annual special fund costs of $600,000 for two years from the HWCA for the required inspections and reporting requirements. According to DTSC, there are approximately 430 generators of TWW, 200 transfer stations, and 45 landfills. This bill requires DTSC to inspect 108, 50, and 45 of these facilities respectively. SUPPORT: (Verified9/1/15) Allweather Wood, LLC American Forest & Paper Association American Wood Council Bay Planning Coalition Brooks Manufacturing Company California Cattlemen's Association 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. Fontana Wood Preserving, Inc. Humboldt Waste Management Authority JH Baxter McFarland Cascade Natural Wood Solutions, LLC Osmose Railway Tie Association SB 162 Page 9 Republic Services, Inc. Rio Tinto Minerals Rural County Representatives of California Rutgers Canada, Inc. Solid Waste Association of North America Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Assn. Southern Pressure Treaters Association Treated Wood Council Waste Management West Coast Lumber & Building Materials Association Western Wood Preservers Institute Wine Institute OPPOSITION: (Verified9/1/15) None received ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 9/01/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins Prepared by:Rachel Machi Wagoner / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108 9/1/15 21:35:19 **** END **** SB 162 Page 10