BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 489 Page 1 Date of Hearing: July 15, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair SB 489 (Monning) - As Amended June 23, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Environmental Safety and Toxic |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: |Materials | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to regulate and manage end-of-life photovoltaic (PV) modules (i.e. solar panels) that are identified as hazardous SB 489 Page 2 waste as universal waste. FISCAL EFFECT: Potential one-time cost for DTSC of approximately $27,000 (Hazardous Waste Control Account) to prepare the documents required to resubmit the universal waste regulations for PV modules. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill allows for a universal waste designation for hazardous waste PV modules, which will provide flexibility for companies or third parties to develop more effective and cost efficient methods of handling PV modules within a take-back and recycling program. Universal waste designation relieves the burden of meeting some of the state's rigorous hazardous waste laws and allows the waste to be streamlined in existing systems for proper management - similar to electronic devices, batteries, or cathode ray tubes. 2)Background. The federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) directs the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to establish a system for managing hazardous waste from the time it is generated to its ultimate disposal. In 1992, DTSC received authorization from US EPA to implement and enforce RCRA hazardous waste requirements in California. California's Universal Waste Rule allows individuals and businesses to transport, handle and recycle certain common SB 489 Page 3 hazardous wastes - referred to as universal wastes - differently than the requirements for most hazardous wastes. Universal wastes, such as batteries and fluorescent tubes, are subject to streamlined hazardous waste management standards and cannot be discarded in household trash or disposed of in landfills. In recent years, California has seen a growing number of solar energy system installations that use PV technology to capture sunlight and convert that energy into electricity. The estimated useful life for PV modules ranges from 25-40 years. According to the author, as part of California's effort to invest in solar installation, it is critical to consider its inevitable waste stream by making it easier for end-users to properly dispose and recycle these PV modules and foster a comprehensive system for take-back and recycling. In 2009, DTSC determined that most solar panels on the market do not fail the federal hazardous waste criteria for toxicity, and some solar panels would likely only be classified as hazardous waste under California hazardous waste criteria for toxicity. Furthermore, given that solar panels can be recycled and portions of the panels can be reclaimed for other uses, DTSC prepared proposed regulations to manage solar panels that are identified as hazardous waste as a universal waste. However, in 2013, the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) disapproved the proposed regulations due to DTSC's expired statutory authority to adopt new universal waste regulations. This bill grants DTSC the authority it needs to resubmit its universal waste regulations for PV modules. SB 489 Page 4 3)Related Legislation. SB 1020 (Monning, 2014) would have classified solar panels with hazardous waste properties as universal waste. The bill would also have required manufacturers of solar panels to have a take-back and recycling plan. SB 1020 bill was held by the author in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. 4)Author's Amendment. This bill contains uncodified intent language related to the state's need for a comprehensive take-back and recycling program for used solar panels. A previous version of the bill included a landfill ban, and the author wishes to amend the bill to make a conforming change in the intent language to no longer reference a landfill ban as follows: Section 1 b) It is the intent of the Legislature to do all of the following: (1) Foster a comprehensive and innovative system for the reuse, recycling, and proper and legal disposal of end-of-life photovoltaic modules. (2) Encourage the photovoltaic module industry to make end-of-life management of photovoltaic modules convenient for consumers and the public, to ensure the return and recycling of photovoltaic modules, which is the most efficient and environmentally safe disposition of end-of-life photovoltaic modules, by creating a photovoltaic module recycling organization to develop a plan for recycling end-of-life photovoltaic modules in the state in an economically efficient manner. (3) Reduce the likelihood ofimproper disposal by SB 489Page 5 prohibiting end-of-life photovoltaic modules fromenteringbeing disposed in landfills. Analysis Prepared by:Nikita Koraddi/ Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081