BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 970
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
970 (Leyva)
As Amended June 29, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 27-4
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Natural |8-0 |Williams, Cristina | |
|Resources | |Garcia, Gomez, | |
| | |Hadley, Harper, | |
| | |McCarty, Mark Stone, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |19-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Holden, Jones, | |
| | |Obernolte, Quirk, | |
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| | |Santiago, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood, Chu | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Requires the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery (CalRecycle) to consider specified factors when
awarding grants for organic waste projects funded by the
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF.) Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires CalRecycle, in awarding a grant for organics
composting or anaerobic digestion to reduce greenhouse gas
(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) For anaerobic digestion projects, if, and how, the
project maximizes resource recovery, including the
production of clean energy or low-carbon or carbon negative
transportation fuels;
e) Project readiness and permitting that the project may
require; and,
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f) Air and water quality benefits that the project may
provide.
1)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 Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill has no additional state costs. This bill
codifies criteria that are already part of grant award
consideration for anaerobic digestion and composting projects.
Further, CalRecycle contends they have the ability to award
larger grants for large-scale projects under current law.
COMMENTS: 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 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.
Recycling provides significant GHG reductions over landfilling.
The Air Resources Board's (ARB's) First Update to the Climate
Change Scoping Plan identifies waste management as a key sector
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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.
This bill is intended to 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.
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Analysis Prepared by:
Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092
FN: 0004108