BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 654 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 19, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair SB 654 (De León) - As Amended June 2, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Environmental Safety and Toxic |Vote:|5 - 2 | |Committee: |Materials | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill revises the permitting process for hazardous waste facilities permitted by the Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC). Specifically, this bill: SB 654 Page 2 1)Requires the owner or operator of a facility to submit a complete application for a permit renewal at least 2 years prior to the expiration date of the permit. 2)Provides that when a complete renewal application has been submitted before the end of a permit's fixed term, the permit is deemed extended for a period not to exceed 36 months, until the renewal application is approved or denied. 3)Requires the 36 month time period extension to include any applicable rights to appeal the DTSC action on a permit. 4)Provides an alternative timeline to apply to renew permits that expire before January 1, 2019. FISCAL EFFECT: 1)Increased ongoing DTSC costs of approximately $1.2 million (Hazardous Waste Control Account) for staffing necessary to make permit decisions within the required timeframes. 2)Increased ongoing DTSC costs of approximately $880,000 to extend one-time funding to address the current backlog and ensure all permits are up to date in the future (Hazardous Waste Control Account). 3)Increased one-time DTSC costs of approximately $65,000 (Hazardous Waste Control Account) to revise existing regulations. SB 654 Page 3 COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, DTSC has a long-standing failure to protect California's disadvantaged communities through its lack of enforcement and oversight of its hazardous waste facilities permitting process. The drawn out process has created de facto permitted facilities without adequate review of the permits or operations. This bill provides early submittal of permit renewal applications and provides that if the process is not complete, the facility will be in violation of the Hazardous Waste Control Act. 2)Background. Under the California Hazardous Waste Control Act, facilities that treat, store, handle, and/or dispose of hazardous waste are required to be permitted by the DTSC. The hazardous waste facility permit specifies specific requirements for the facility to ensure safe operation. There are currently 117 facilities permitted by DTSC. While these permits expire after 10-years, the facility is allowed to continue to operate past this date while DTSC considers their permit renewal application. These permits are referred to as "continued permits." DTSC currently has a backlog of 24 permits operating as "continued permits" with pending permit renewal applications. The backlog is anticipated to grow to 34 pending applications by 2017. Facilities operating under continued permits are held to the standards in the original permit and do not have the advantage of the most recent technologies, practices, and safeguards to prevent releases of hazardous waste into the environment. In addition, assessments to identify releases of hazardous waste from the facility will not have been conducted, potentially allowing contaminants to migrate SB 654 Page 4 further, possibly causing increased environmental damage and public exposure. 3)Permit Process Review and Analysis. DTSC entered into a contract with CPS HR Consulting to conduct a Permitting Process Review and Analysis. CPS HR was asked to review the existing permitting program and develop a recommended standardized process with clear decision criteria and corresponding standards of performance. CPS HR was also asked to document the changes in the permitting process over the past five years based primarily on the records obtained from past internal review, and to obtain perspectives of designated subject matter experts, including representatives from the environmentalist, environmental justice, and industry communities. The CPS review found that the overall average permitting process time, which was 5.0 years prior to 2003, improved to a 3.2 year average for the period from 2003 to 2007, before increasing to 4.3 years in the most recent time period. While there was an improvement from the oldest period studied to the most recent, the current trend is towards longer processing times again. 4)Related Legislation. SB 673 (Lara) revises DTSC permitting process and public participation requirements for hazardous waste facilities by creating the Community Oversight Committee SB 654 Page 5 and by revising the statutes related to permitting regulation. This measure is pending in this committee. Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081