BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 612 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 612 (Jackson) As Amended August 31, 2015 Majority vote SENATE VOTE: 37-0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Environmental |6-0 |Alejo, Dahle, | | |Safety | |Gonzalez, Gray, | | | | |McCarty, Ting | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Appropriations |16-1 |Gomez, Bigelow, |Gallagher | | | |Bloom, Bonta, | | | | |Calderon, Chang, | | | | |Nazarian, Eggman, | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Eduardo Garcia, | | | | |Holden, Jones, Quirk, | | | | |Rendon, Wagner, | | | | |Weber, Wood | | | | | | | | | | | | SB 612 Page 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY: Modifies the statute related to Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPA) administration to clarify the provisions of the Health and Safety Code related to CUPAs to provide consistent interpretation of the statute statewide. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires the CUPA to certify to Office of Emergency Services (OES) every three years that it has conducted a review of its area plan and has made any necessary revisions or that no substantial changes have been made. 2)Provides that any additional map requirements required by a CUPA be adopted pursuant to a local ordinance. 3)Revises the definition of "aboveground storage tank" to include a tank or container that has the capacity to store 55 gallons or more of petroleum, including drums, intermediate bulk containers, totes, mobile refuelers, oil-filled operational equipment, and oil-filled manufacturing equipment, and that is substantially or totally above the surface of the ground and a tank in an underground area. 4)Revises the exception to the plan and inspection requirements to require that the tank facility be operated by, instead of located on, the farm, nursery, logging site, or construction site and requires that the plan address best management practices to prevent petroleum releases, as specified. 5)Revises the definition of "storage" and "store" for purposes of the regulation of the storage of hazardous substances in underground storage tanks, to exempt storage that is in compliance with specified alternative laws for the regulation of hazardous materials. SB 612 Page 3 6)Provides a due process for the CUPA enforcement of the Medical Waste Management Act. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill would result in first-year costs of $150,000 and $100,000 ongoing from the CUPA to the State Fire Marshall for additional responsibilities under the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act. COMMENTS: Need for this bill: According to the California Association of Environmental Health Administrators (CAEHA), "SB 612 is the third bill authored by Senator Jackson and co-sponsored by CAEHA and the Fire Chiefs that is intended to help in clarifying the complex codes that govern the seven elements in the 'Unified Program'. Like SB 483 and SB 1261, this measure updates, rearranges, and clarifies parts of the law in an attempt to make the requirements clearer for both the regulated community and the regulators? SB 612 will improve clarity, reduce inconsistencies and ambiguities, and increase environmental protection by closing gaps in certain regulatory programs. These changes will ensure that the programs under the jurisdiction of CUPAs operate as efficiently as possible, which in turn will facilitate compliance for regulated businesses without reducing the protection of public health, safety and the environment." Elements of SB 612 - CUPA reforms: This bill is designed to provide technical clarification to both the language of the Unified Program enforcement act as well as operational definitions of hazardous materials management. This bill contains numerous technical modifications that address the following program elements: SB 612 Page 4 1)General duty clause: The objective of the California Accidental Release Prevention Program is to prevent accidental releases and to minimize the consequences of any such release at facilities that fall under the program. The owners and operators of stationary sources producing, processing, handling or storing hazardous materials have a general duty, in the same manner and to the same extent as federal law United States Code Title 29, Section 654), to identify hazards which may result from such releases using appropriate hazard assessment techniques to design and maintain a safe facility taking such steps as are necessary to prevent releases and to minimize the consequences of accidental releases which do occur. 2)Additional map requirements: Concern has been raised by businesses that each CUPA may have additional map requirements for hazardous material business plans. This poses an extra burden of inconsistency for regulated businesses. This bill proposes that if a new local requirement is warranted, it should be substantiated by a governing body action. 7)Business or facility amendments: Previous legislative actions (SB 1261 (Jackson) Chapter 715, Statutes of 2014) made numerous changes to the terms "facility" and "business." Some of these changes remain confusing to both local regulators and businesses. This bill proposes to make consistent distinctions between facilities and business. 8)Used Oil Collection Centers (UOCC): For several years, the Hazardous Waste Technical Advisory Group of the CUPA Board has identified an issue related to the regulatory responsibility of UOCC and the need to provide clear authority for CUPAs to inspect and regulate these types of facilities. The ambiguity in the law was raised by a UOCC who argued that the facility was not under the UPA regulatory authority. This amendment will provide such authority. SB 612 Page 5 9)Hazardous waste counting: The amount of hazardous waste generated by a business determines their generator status. Businesses that generate more waste have additional requirements for emergency preparedness, employee training, inspection frequency, disposal frequency, state/federal reporting and more. Larger generators are expected to pay for their disposal through pickup by a registered transporter and may be subject to professional engineer's assessments of tank systems. Smaller generators have less training and documentation requirements, and may be allowed to take small quantities of their own waste to a collection event. 10)Above ground storage tanks and underground storage tanks: This bill increases environmental protection in California by closing gaps in regulatory programs and rationalizing the regulatory requirements among the APSA, Underground Storage Tank (UST) law and Hazardous Waste Control Law. Compliance with one set of rules is easier for regulated facilities to achieve and regulatory agencies to enforce. 11)Due process for Medical Waste Management Act: Twenty five counties and one city have been delegated with the authority by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to administer the Medical Waste Management Act in their local jurisdictions. CDPH has not adopted regulations specifying the existing administrative penalty process that is available to local enforcement agencies. This bill provides administrative enforcement procedures established for the enforcement of the Unified Program consistent with the Medical Waste Management Act in these provisions will establish the necessary due process and enhance regulatory consistency. Analysis Prepared by: SB 612 Page 6 Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965 FN: 0001690