Amended in Senate April 25, 2016

Amended in Senate March 28, 2016

Senate BillNo. 970


Introduced by Senator Leyva

February 8, 2016


An act tobegin delete add Section 42649.88 toend deletebegin insert amend Section 42999 ofend insert the Public Resources Code, relating tobegin delete solid waste.end deletebegin insert greenhouse gases.end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 970, as amended, Leyva. begin deleteOrganic food waste diversion. end deletebegin insertGreenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: grant program: recyclable materials.end insert

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The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from the market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature.

end insert
begin insert

Existing law requires certain moneys appropriated by the Legislature from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to be used by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery for a grant program to provide financial assistance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by promoting in-state development of infrastructure to process organic and other recyclable materials into new, value-added products.

end insert
begin insert

This bill would require the department, in awarding a grant under the program, to consider, among other things, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions reductions that may result from the project and the amount of organic material that may be diverted from landfills as a result of the project.

end insert
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Existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to identify and recommend actions to address permitting and siting challenges and to encourage the continued viability of the state’s organic waste processing and recycling infrastructure, in partnership with the California Environmental Protection Agency and other specified state and regional agencies. Existing law requires the department to cooperate with local jurisdictions and industry to provide assistance for increasing the feasibility of organic waste recycling and to identify certain state financing mechanisms and state funding incentives and post this information on its Internet Web site.

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This bill would require the department, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, by June 1, 2017, to develop a pilot demonstration program to award matching grant funding for cost effective and efficient integrated organic food waste diversion projects at existing wastewater treatment facilities, as provided.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1begin insert

begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

end insert

begin insertSection 42999 of the end insertbegin insertPublic Resources Codeend insertbegin insert is
2amended to read:end insert

3

42999.  

(a) Any additional funds appropriated by the
4Legislature from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, established
5pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the Government Code, to the
6department shall be used to administer a grant program to provide
7financial assistance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
8promoting in-state development of infrastructure to process
9organics and other recyclable materials into new value-added
10products. The moneys shall be expended consistent with the
11requirements of Article 9.7 (commencing with Section 16428.8)
12of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government
13Code and Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 39710) of Part
142 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code.

15(b) begin deleteFor a grant made pursuant to end deletebegin insertFrom moneys appropriated
16for purposes of end insert
this section, the department shallbegin delete expend the
17moneys toend delete
provide grants, incentive payments, contracts, or other
P3    1funding mechanisms to public and private entities located in the
2state for any of the following:

3(1) Organics composting.

4(2) Anaerobic digestion.

5(3) Recyclable material manufacturing infrastructure projects
6or other related activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

7(c) For purposes of this section, eligible infrastructure projects
8that reduce greenhouse gas emissions include, but are not limited
9to, any of the following:

10(1) Capital investments in new facilities and increased
11throughput at existing facilities for activities, such as converting
12windrow composting to aerated-static-pile composting to use food
13waste as feedstock.

14(2) Designing and constructing anaerobic digestion facilities to
15produce biofuels and bioenergy.

16(3) Designing and constructing facilities for processing
17recyclable materials.

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18
(d) In awarding a grant pursuant to this section, the department
19shall consider all of the following:

end insert
begin insert

20
(1) The amount of greenhouse gas emissions reductions that
21may result from the project.

end insert
begin insert

22
(2) The amount of organic material that may be diverted from
23landfills as a result of the project.

end insert
begin insert

24
(3) If, and how, the project may benefit disadvantaged
25communities.

end insert
begin insert

26
(4) Project readiness and permitting that the project may
27require.

end insert
begin insert

28
(5) Air and water quality benefits that the project may provide.

end insert
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29

SECTION 1.  

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
30Regional Integrated Organics Diversion and Beneficial Utilization
31Act.

32

SEC. 2.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

33(a) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
34(Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health
35and Safety Code) establishes a policy to reduce emissions of
36greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2020 and to continue those
37reductions of greenhouse gases beyond 2020.

38(b) The critical role that short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs)
39must play in the state’s climate efforts is recognized in Chapter
404.2 (commencing with Section 39730) of Part 2 of Division 26 of
P4    1the Health and Safety Code, which requires the State Air Resources
2Board to develop a strategy to reduce the emissions of SLCPs.

3(c) California must achieve deep reductions in the emissions of
4SLCPs by 2030 to meet potential or actual future greenhouse gas
5emissions targets and air quality goals.

6(d) Intensified state and global action to reduce the emissions
7of SLCPs is the only way to immediately slow global warming
8and manage the damaging effects of climate change.

9(e) California has clear goals to reduce waste and to divert
10organic materials from landfills and put them to beneficial use.
11The state has a target to reduce landfilling of solid waste by 75
12percent by 2020.

13(f) Organic waste constitutes more than one-third of California’s
14waste stream. Food waste alone accounts for about five million
15tons of landfilled organics each year.

16(g) Conservative estimates suggest that publicly owned
17wastewater treatment agencies have existing capacity to codigest
18up to 75 percent or more of the food waste currently being
19landfilled.

20(h) The diversion of food waste, fats, oils, and grease from
21landfills by using existing infrastructure and facilities at wastewater
22treatment agencies is recognized by the State Air Resources Board
23as an effective and cost-efficient strategy to maximize the resource
24recovery of the organic waste. Using existing facilities also ensures
25projects can be sited, permitted, and constructed in a timely fashion
26to meet the state’s ambitious waste diversion goals.

27(i) Significant efforts to divert organic materials from landfills,
28 reduce methane emissions, and create clean energy, including low
29or negative carbon transportation fuels, should be encouraged by
30state policies.

31(j) As future clean energy investments are planned and
32implemented, state officials should ensure targeted investment,
33regional cooperation, and public-private partnerships are utilized
34at existing wastewater agencies to maximize the state’s organics
35diversion efforts and achieve cost effective and environmentally
36beneficial reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases.

37

SEC. 3.  

Section 42649.88 is added to the Public Resources
38Code
, to read:

39

42649.88.  

(a) No later than June 1, 2017, the department, in
40consultation with the State Air Resources Board and the State
P5    1Water Resources Control Board, shall develop a pilot
2demonstration program to provide matching grant funds for cost
3effective and efficient regional integrated food waste diversion
4projects at existing wastewater treatment facilities. The pilot
5demonstration program shall give priority to projects that provide
6the following benefits:

7(1) Maximize food waste diversion in a cost-effective manner
8that uses existing facilities and infrastructure.

9(2) Maximize resource recovery of diverted waste, including
10the production of clean energy, or low or negative carbon
11transportation fuels.

12(3) Maximize regional cooperation among publicly owned
13wastewater treatment agencies, cities or counties, waste haulers,
14landfill operators, and other relevant regional entities.

15(4) Demonstrate effective and efficient organics management
16 strategies that can be duplicated throughout the state.

17(b) Projects funded pursuant to the program shall be located at
18existing wastewater treatment facilities in California and result in
19all of the following:

20(1) Permanent, annual, measurable, and verifiable reductions
21in the emissions of greenhouse gases from the diversion of food
22waste through avoidance of methane release at landfill and capture
23and use of methane at wastewater treatment facilities.

24(2) Permanent, annual, measurable, and verifiable increases in
25the quantity of food waste diverted from landfills to digestion or
26composting.

27(3) Permanent, annual, measurable, and verifiable environmental
28benefits for disadvantaged communities, as identified pursuant to
29Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.

30(c) (1) The department shall give priority to projects with
31minimal siting and permitting requirements.

32(2) In awarding grants pursuant to the program, the department
33shall seek to maximize the reduction in the emissions of greenhouse
34gases achieved by a project for each grant dollar awarded.

35(d) (1) Projects eligible for matching grant funds pursuant to
36the program include, but are not limited to, the modification,
37renovation, or expansion of existing wastewater treatment facilities
38to accept and process food waste streams.

39(2) The department shall identify three to five regional projects
40for matching grant funds pursuant to the program. The department,
P6    1upon appropriation by the Legislature, may expend moneys from
2the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund established pursuant to
3Section 16428.8 of the Government Code for awarding grants
4pursuant to the program.

5(3) The department may award matching funds of up to ten
6million dollars ($10,000,000) for each project. The amount awarded
7shall not exceed 50 percent of the project cost.

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