BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 654
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
654 (De León)
As Amended September 2, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 21-16
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Environmental |5-2 |Alejo, Gonzalez, |Dahle, Gallagher |
|Safety | |Gray, McCarty, Ting | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |12-5 |Gomez, Bloom, Bonta, |Bigelow, Chang, |
| | |Calderon, Nazarian, |Gallagher, Jones, |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo |Wagner |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Rendon, Weber, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Modifies the permitting process for hazardous waste
facilities permitted by the Department of Toxic Substances
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Control (DTSC). Specifically, this bill:
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
shall be 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 to include any applicable
rights to appeal the DTSC action on a permit.
4)Provides that an alternative timeline would apply to renewal
for permits that expire before January 1, 2019.
5)Provides that permits applications would be provided to the
DTSC independent review panel.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, several fiscal effects from this bill including the
following:
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
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Waste Control Account).
3)Increased one-time DTSC costs of approximately $65,000
(Hazardous Waste Control Account) to revise existing
regulations.
COMMENTS:
Need for this bill: According to the author, DTSC has a
long-standing failure to protect California's disadvantaged
communities through its lack of oversight and enforcement of its
hazardous waste facilities permitting process.
The author states that, "DTSC's consistent failure to complete
the permitting renewal process prior to permit expiration has
been a systemic problem with the program since its inception.
DTSC's regulations require a submittal of a permit renewal
application only six months prior to the permit expiration, yet
the time it takes for DTSC to review and decide on that renewal
is often two or more years. It doesn't make sense to have a
timeline that assumes that the permit will expire and then allow
facilities to continue to operate without a current permit under
the assumption that the facility's permit renewal should or will
be granted.
"The drawn out process has created de facto permitted operation
of hazardous waste facilities without adequate review of the
facilities permit and operation.
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"SB 654 will correct this failure in permitting by requiring
earlier submittal of permit renewal applications and states that
if the process is not complete then the facility will be in
violation with the Hazardous Waste Control Act."
Permitting hazardous waste storage, treatment, and disposal
facilities: DTSC is responsible for the review of Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and non-RCRA hazardous
waste permit applications to ensure safe design and operation;
issuance/denial of operating permits; issuance of post closure
permits; approval/denial of permit modifications;
issuance/denial of emergency permits; review and approval of
closure plans; provide closure oversight of approved closure
plans; issuance/denial of variances; provide assistance to
regulated industry on permitting matters; and provide for public
involvement.
Hazardous waste facility permitting backlog: 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 further, possibly causing increased
environmental damage and public exposure.
DTSC Advisory Committee: Current law establishes an independent
review panel to make recommendations regarding improvements to
DTSC's permitting, enforcement, public outreach and fiscal
management. SB 83 (Senate Budget Committee), Chapter 24,
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Statutes of 2015, established of an independent review panel at
DTSC to make recommendations regarding improvements to the
department's permitting, enforcement, public outreach, and
fiscal management.
Analysis Prepared by:
Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965
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