BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 970
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Date of Hearing: June 27, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
SB
970 (Leyva) - As Amended June 20, 2016
SENATE VOTE: 27-4
SUBJECT: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: grant program:
recyclable materials
SUMMARY: Requires CalRecycle to consider various factors when
awarding grants for organic waste projects funded by the
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF.)
EXISTING LAW:
1)Pursuant to the Integrated Waste Management Act:
a) Establishes a statewide recycling goal of 75% by 2020;
b) Requires local agencies to divert, through source
reduction, recycling, and composting, 50% of solid waste
disposed by their jurisdictions;
c) Requires commercial waste generators, including
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multi-family dwellings, to arrange for recycling services
and requires local governments to implement commercial
solid waste recycling programs designed to divert solid
waste from businesses; and,
d) Requires generators of specified amounts of organic
waste to arrange for recycling services for that material.
2)Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB), pursuant to California
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 [AB 32 (Nunez), Chapter
488, Statutes of 2006], to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions limit equivalent to 1990 levels by 2020 and
adopt regulations to achieve maximum technologically feasible
and cost-effective GHG emission reductions. AB 32 authorizes
ARB to permit the use of market-based compliance mechanisms to
comply with GHG reduction regulations, once specified
conditions are met.
3)Establishes the GGRF in the State Treasury, requires all
moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected pursuant to
a market-based mechanism be deposited in the GGRF and requires
the Department of Finance, in consultation with ARB and any
other relevant state agency, to develop a three-year
investment plan for the moneys deposited in the GGRF.
4)Specifies that allocations for a measure or program using GGRF
moneys must further the regulatory purposes of AB 32, and
requires moneys from the GGRF be used to facilitate the
achievement of reductions of GHG emissions in California.
5)Requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
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(CalRecycle) to administer a grant program to provide
financial assistance to reduce GHG emissions by promoting
in-state development and infrastructure to process organics
and other recyclable materials into new value-added products
using funding from the GGRF. Specifies that the funding may
be used for projects including organics composting, anaerobic
digestion, recyclable material manufacturing infrastructure
projects, or other related activities that reduce GHG
emissions.
THIS BILL:
1)Requires CalRecycle, in awarding a grant for organics
composting or anaerobic digestion to reduce GHG emissions
using GGRF funding, to consider the following:
a) The amount of GHG emissions reductions that may result
from the project;
b) The amount of organic material that may be diverted from
landfills as a result of the project;
c) If, and how, the project may benefit disadvantaged
communities;
d) If, and how, the project leverages existing waste water
treatment infrastructure;
e) If, and how, the project maximizes resource recovery,
including the production of clean energy or low-carbon or
carbon negative transportation fuels;
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f) If, and how, the project encourages and results in broad
regional solutions that maximize environmental and economic
potential;
g) Project readiness and permitting that the project may
require; and,
h) Air and water quality benefits that the project may
provide.
2)To the extent funds are available, authorizes CalRecycle to
provide larger grant awards for large-scale regional
integrated projects that provide cost-effective organic waste
diversion and maximize environmental benefits.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, this bill has
negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
1)Meeting the state's recycling goals. CalRecycle is tasked
with diverting at least 75% of solid waste statewide by 2020.
Organic materials make up one-third of the waste stream and
food continues to be the greatest single item disposed, making
up over 15% of materials landfilled. CalRecycle is also
charged with implementing its Strategic Directive 6.1, which
calls for reducing organic waste disposal by 50% by 2020.
According to CalRecycle, significant gains in organic waste
diversion are necessary to meet the 75% goal and to implement
Strategic Directive 6.1. Recycling technologies for organic
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waste include composting, anaerobic digestion, and other types
of processing that generate renewable fuels, energy, soil
amendments, and mulch. California's state agencies play an
essential role in meeting the state's waste reduction
requirements.
2)Waste reduction and GHGs. Recycling provides significant GHG
reductions over landfilling. ARB's First Update to the
Climate Change Scoping Plan identifies waste management as a
key sector for GHG emissions reductions and states, "Meeting
the [state's] 75% recycling goal is the best path forward to
maximizing GHG emission reductions from the Waste Management
Sector and putting California on the path for even greater GHG
emission reductions in the future." Composting and other
organics processing technologies, including anaerobic
digestion, reduce GHGs by avoiding the emissions that would be
generated by the material's decomposition in a landfill.
Landfill gas is generated by the decomposition of organic
materials such as food, paper, wood, and yard waste.
Short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) are GHGs that remain in
the atmosphere for less time than carbon dioxide, but have a
much greater climate impact. SLCPs include black carbon,
fluorinated gases, and methane. While methane does not linger
in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, it is over 80
times more potent than carbon dioxide over the first 20 years.
Methane is responsible for about 20% of current climate
change, and methane concentrations continue to increase
globally.
Fifty percent of landfill gas is methane. While most modern
landfills have systems in place to capture methane,
significant amounts continue to escape into the atmosphere.
According to ARB, landfills generated 20% of the state's
methane emissions in 2013. In addition to organic waste,
source reduction and recycling reduce GHG emissions associated
with the production and transportation of products.
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3)Author statement:
SB 970 would prioritize grant funding for projects that
reduce GHG emissions, divert organic material, provide
benefits to disadvantaged communities, require minimal
siting and permitting, and provide air and water quality
benefits.
This bill would help the state meet multiple environmental
goals as organics are diverted from landfills and methane
is recovered and repurposed as clean energy and fuels.
Most importantly, this bill [would] provide an example of
how these prioritized projects can reduce criteria
pollutants in disadvantaged communities and improve local
health outcomes throughout the state.
4)Suggested amendment. This bill includes certain provisions
that have the potential to grant funding preference to
anaerobic digesters located at waste water treatment
facilities. The committee may wish to amend the bill to
ensure that the bill maintains a level playing field for
organic materials recycling facilities.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Association of Sanitation Agencies
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County
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Opposition
California Compost Coalition
Analysis Prepared by:Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092