Senate Bill No. 1043

Introduced by Senator Allen

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Williams)

February 12, 2016

An act to amend Section 25420 of, and to add Section 39735 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to biogas.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1043, as introduced, Allen. Renewable gas: biogas and biomethane.

(1) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of statewide greenhouse gas emissions and to monitor and enforce compliance with this program. The act requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, to be achieved by 2020 equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990. Existing law requires the state board to complete a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants, as defined, in the state.

This bill would require the state board to consider and adopt policies to significantly increase the sustainable production and use of renewable gas, as defined, and, in so doing, would require the state board, among other things, to ensure the production and use of renewable gas provides direct environmental benefits and identify barriers to the rapid development and use of renewable gas and potential sources of funding.

(2) Existing law requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, in consultation with the state board, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, and the California Environmental Protection Agency, to compile a list of constituents of concern that could pose risks to human health and that are found in biogas, as defined, at concentrations that significantly exceed the concentrations of those constituents in natural gas. Existing law requires the office to determine the health protective levels for that list, as specified, and requires the state board to identify realistic exposure scenarios and the health risks associated with those scenarios, as specified.

Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to adopt, by rule or order, standards for biomethane, as defined, that specify the concentrations of constituents of concern that are reasonably necessary to protect public health and ensure pipeline integrity and safety, as specified, and requirements for monitoring, testing, reporting, and recordkeeping, as specified. Existing law requires a gas corporation to comply with those standards and requirements and requires the commission to require gas corporation tariffs to condition access to common carrier pipelines on the applicable customer meeting those standards and requirements.

This bill would revise the definitions of biogas and biomethane for these purposes.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) California has enacted numerous policies to reduce emissions
of greenhouse gases and to increase the use of renewable energy
resources and renewable fuels, including the California Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with
Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code), the California
Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16 (commencing
with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the
Public Utilities Code), the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulation
(Executive Order S-01-07 (January 19, 2007), Sections 95480 to
95490, inclusive, of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations),
an energy storage portfolio requirement (Chapter 469 of the
Statutes of 2010), emissions goals for 2030 and 2050 (Executive
Order B-30-15), and the state’s comprehensive strategy to reduce
emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (Section 39730 of the
Health and Safety Code).

(b) Natural gas, which is used for a wide variety of purposes,
including the generation of electricity, heating, cooling, industrial,
commercial, residential, and transportation fuel, causes more than
one-quarter of all emissions of greenhouse gases in California.
Methane emissions from a variety of sources, including wastewater
treatment facilities, landfills, dairies, agricultural production, and
oil and gas, represent up to 15 percent of California’s total climate
change emissions. Wildfires cause two-thirds of all black carbon
emissions, which accounts for approximately 10 percent of
California's’s total climate change emissions.

(c) Reducing emissions of methane, black carbon, and other
short-lived climate pollutants is the most effective way to
immediately slow global warming and reduce the impacts of
climate change. Capturing and using methane (renewable gas) can
significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from fossil
fuel use, organic waste, wildfires, and petroleum-based fertilizers.
Increasing the production and use of renewable gas could reduce
emissions of greenhouse gases by tens of millions of metric tons
of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year.

(d) Renewable gas generated from organic waste can be used
to produce the lowest carbon transportation fuel, flexible generation
of electricity from a renewable resource, energy storage, and a
low-carbon gas supply for heating, cooling, and other purposes.

(e) Using forest biomass collected as part of a sustainable
forestry plan can significantly reduce the risks and impacts of
catastrophic wildfires, including black carbon emissions and air
pollution, impacts on water supply and quality, impacts on utility
and other infrastructure, threats to public safety and communities,
impacts on fisheries and wildlife, and effects on precipitation.

(f) Increasing the use of renewable gas in heavy-duty vehicles
in California can help protect disadvantaged communities in the
state by reducing toxic air contaminants and smog-forming
emissions.

(g) Renewable gas can provide significant economic benefits
to California, including job creation, an in-state source of gas,
increased energy security, revenue and energy for public agencies,
and revenue for dairies, farms, rural forest communities, and other
areas.

(h) Increasing the use of renewable gas will diversify and
decarbonize California’s gas supply.

(i) Increasing the use of renewable gas can help California to
meet the waste diversion requirements of Section 41781.3, Article
1 (commencing with Section 41780) of Chapter 6 of Part 2 of, and
Chapter 12.9 (commencing with Section 42649.8) of Part 3 of,
Division 30 of, the Public Resources Code, and the Short-Lived
Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy being developed by the State
Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 39730 of the Health and
Safety Code by using diverted organic waste to produce renewable
gas.

SEC. 2.  

Section 25420 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

25420.  

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
apply:

(a) “Biogas” means gas that is produced from begin delete the anaerobic
decomposition of organic material. end delete begin insert organic waste through
anaerobic digestion or eligible conversion technologies, consistent
with Section 40106 of the Public Resources Code. end insert

(b) “Biomethane” means begin delete biogas that meets the standards adopted
pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 25421 for injection
into a common carrier pipeline. end delete begin insert the methane derived from biogas. end insert

(c) “Board” means the State Air Resources Board.

(d) “CalRecycle” means the Department of Resources Recycling
and Recovery.

(e) “Commission” means the Public Utilities Commission.

(f) “Common carrier pipeline” means a gas conveyance begin delete pipeline, end delete
begin insert pipeline end insert located in begin delete California, end delete begin insert California end insert that is owned or operated
by a utility or gas corporation, excluding a dedicated pipeline.

(g) “Dedicated pipeline” means a conveyance of biogas or
biomethane that is not part of a common carrier pipeline begin delete system, end delete
begin insert system end insert and begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert conveys biogas from a biogas producer to
a conditioning facility or an electrical generation facility.

(h) “Department” means the Department of Toxic Substances
Control.

(i) “Gas corporation” has the same meaning as defined in Section
222 of the Public Utilities Code and is subject to rate regulation
by the commission.

(j) “Hazardous waste landfill” means a landfill that is a
hazardous waste facility, as defined in Section 25117.1.

(k) “Office” means the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment.

begin insert

(l) “Organic waste” means waste of biological origins,
including organic waste, as defined in Section 42649.8 of the
Public Resources Code; biomass feedstock, consistent with Section
40106 of the Public Resources Code; and livestock waste.

end insert begin delete

(l )

end delete

begin insert (m) end insert  “Person” means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock
company, partnership, association, business concern, limited
liability company, or corporation. “Person” also includes any city,
county, district, and the state or any department or agency thereof,
or the federal government or any department or agency thereof to
the extent permitted by law.

SEC. 3.  

Section 39735 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:

39735.  

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:

(1) “Biogas” has the same meaning as defined in Section 25420,
except that it does not include gas produced from forest biomass
unless is it produced from forest waste remaining after all other
reasonable forest products have been produced and harvested
pursuant to the Governor’s state of emergency proclamation issued
on October 30, 2015, or a subsequent emergency order related to
forests, defensible space within 150 feet of a legally permitted
structure, or a harvesting operation that advances the establishment
of a well-distributed mature forest on the site.

(2) “Renewable gas” means biogas or synthetic gas generated
by an eligible renewable energy resource meeting the requirements
of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article
16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of
Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code).

(3) “Short-lived climate pollutant” has the same meaning as
defined in Section 39730.

(b) In order to meet the state’s climate change, low-carbon fuel,
renewable energy, landfill diversion, and wildfire reduction goals,
the state board shall consider and adopt policies to significantly
increase the sustainable production and use of renewable gas. In
doing so, the state board shall do all the following:

(1) Consider adopting a low-carbon gas standard, a renewable
gas portfolio standard, public utility purchase requirements,
purchase requirements by end-use sectors, including transportation,
electrical generation, fuels refining, and public utility purchasing,
and other policies to increase the production and use of renewable
gas and to reduce the carbon intensity of the state’s gas supply.

(2) Ensure that any policy is coordinated and consistent with
existing state policies to:

(A) Promote renewable fuels and eligible renewable energy
resources, as defined in the California Renewables Portfolio
Standard Program (Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11)
of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code).

(B) Reduce life-cycle emissions of greenhouse gases and
short-lived climate pollutants and increase carbon sequestration.

(C) Divert organic waste from landfills, consistent with Section
39730 and other state policies.

(D) Reduce air and water pollution.

(E) Reduce wildfires.

(F) Promote resilient and sustainable forests.

(3) Ensure that the production and use of renewable gas provides
direct benefits to the state’s environment by avoiding or reducing
the emission of criteria pollutants, avoiding or reducing emissions
of short-lived climate pollutants and greenhouse gases, avoiding
or reducing emissions that adversely affect the waters of the state,
avoiding or reducing nuisances associated with the emission of
odors, or helping the state to meet its landfill diversion
requirements.

(4) Identify barriers to the rapid development and use of
renewable gas and make specific recommendations to remove
those barriers.

(5) Coordinate with the Public Utilities Commission, the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission,
publicly owned utilities, the Department of Resources Recycling
and Recovery, and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

(6) Identify potential sources of funding to provide incentives
for renewable gas production and use.