BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 673|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 673
Author: Lara (D), et al.
Amended: 9/4/15
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 4/29/15
AYES: Wieckowski, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
NOES: Gaines, Bates
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/28/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
SENATE FLOOR: 21-14, 6/1/15
AYES: Allen, Beall, De León, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill,
Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza,
Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Pavley, Wieckowski, Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Cannella, Fuller, Gaines,
Huff, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Runner, Stone, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Galgiani, Glazer, Hertzberg, Roth
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 50-25, 9/10/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Hazardous waste
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill revises the Department of Toxic Substances
Control's (DTSC) permitting process and public participation
requirements for hazardous waste facilities.
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Assembly Amendments remove language:
1)Creating the DTSC California Communities Committee within the
DTSC.
2)Requiring the DTSC to adopt regulations establishing
additional criteria that the DTSC shall use to determine
whether to issue a new or modified permit or a renewal of a
permit pursuant to this article and rather require the DTSC to
adopt regulations that establish or update criteria used for
the issuance of a new or modified permit or renewal of a
permit, which may include criteria for the denial or
suspension of a permit.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law, the Hazardous Waste Control Law, authorizes the
DTSC to regulate the generation and disposal of hazardous waste.
This bill revises the Department of Toxic Substances Control's
(DTSC) permitting process and public participation requirements
for hazardous waste facilities. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the DTSC, by July 1, 2018, to adopt criteria for use
in determining whether to issue a new or modified hazardous
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Page 3
waste facilities permit or a renewal of a hazardous waste
facilities permit, and to develop and implement programmatic
reforms designed to improve the protectiveness, timeliness,
legal defensibility, and enforceability of the DTSC's
permitting program.
2)Requires the DTSC to consider vulnerable communities in making
permit decisions using the available assessment tools, local
and regional health risk assessments, the region's federal
Clean Air Act attainment status, and other indicators of
community vulnerability, cumulative impact, and potential
risks to health and well-being.
3)Requires the DTSC to consider minimum facility setback
distances from sensitive receptors, such as schools, child
care facilities, residences, hospitals, elder care facilities,
and other sensitive locations when making permit decisions.
4)Requires the DTSC to establish criteria of the completion of a
health risk assessment associated with facility permit
reviews.
Background
Permitting hazardous waste storage, treatment, and disposal
facilities: The DTSC is responsible for the review of RCRA and
non-RCRA hazardous waste permit applications to ensure the safe
design and operation; for issuance/denial of operating permits;
issuance of post closure permits; approval/denial of permit
modifications; issuance/denial of emergency permits; review and
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approval of closure plans; closure oversight of approved closure
plans; issuance/denial of variances; assistance to regulated
industry on permitting matters; public involvement.
The DTSC external peer review of permit reforms: The DTSC has
undertaken a review of permitting and enforcement processes for
hazardous waste facilities. To do this, the DTSC contracted for
an outside program evaluation by CPS HR Consulting that provided
a review of the DTSC permit process to develop a standardized
process with decision criteria and corresponding standards of
performance.
The program evaluation of the DTSC permitting process found that
there has been significant dissatisfaction with the performance
of the permitting office, directed at the cost and length of
time in completing the permit process and a perception that the
office does not deny or revoke permits as often as it should to
address community concerns.
The DTSC Permitting Enhancement Work Plan (PEWP): In 2014, the
DTSC developed PEWP to improve the DTSC's permitting program and
to ensure that the problems of the past do not resurface in the
future. The PEWP will serve as a comprehensive work plan for
the DTSC's efforts to improve the permitting program's ability
to issue protective, timely, and enforceable permits using more
transparent standards and consistent procedures.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:
YesLocal: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill
would have an increased one-time cost of $600,000 for DTSC to
revise permitting regulations.
SUPPORT: (Verified9/10/15)
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California Environmental Justice Alliance
Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice
Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment
Clean Water Action
Communities for a Better Environment
Concerned Neighbors of Wildomar
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
Environmental Working Group
Greater Pasadena Jews for Justice
LA Human Right to Housing Collective
Natural Resources Defense Council
People Organizing to Demand Environmental & Economic Rights
People's Senate and Leadership Institute
Physicians for Social Responsibility, Los Angeles
OPPOSITION: (Verified9/10/15)
Clean Harbors Environmental Services, Inc.
DeMenno/Kerdoon
Safety-Kleen
World Oil Corp
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 50-25, 9/10/15
AYES: Alejo, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd,
Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Medina, Mullin,
Nazarian, O'Donnell, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber,
Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Chang,
Chávez, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Grove, Harper, Jones, Kim,
Lackey, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte,
Olsen, Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Dahle, Frazier, Gipson, Hadley, Linder
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Prepared by:Rachel Machi Wagoner / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
9/10/15 23:22:51
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