BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1325
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
1325 (De León)
As Amended August 18, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 30-1
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Environmental |7-0 |Alejo, Dahle, | |
|Safety | |Arambula, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Beth Gaines, Gray, | |
| | |Lopez, McCarty | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Holden, Jones, | |
| | |Obernolte, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood, Chau | |
SB 1325
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SUMMARY: Requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control
(DTSC) to, on or before January 1, 2018, adopt regulations to
impose post-closure plan requirements on the owner or operator
of a hazardous waste facility through the issuance of an
enforcement order, an enforceable agreement, or a post-closure
permit. Deletes the January 1, 2009, sunset date which
authorized DTSC to impose post-closure plan requirements through
an enforcement order or an enforceable agreement. Incorporates
language to avoid chaptering conflicts with the Resources Budget
trailer bills, AB 1611 (Committee on Budget) and SB 839
(Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), both of the current
legislative session.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires each owner or operator of a hazardous waste facility
to submit a hazardous waste facility closure and post-closure
plan to DTSC and the California Regional Water Quality Control
Board for the region in which the facility is located.
Requires the closure and post-closure plan to contain the
owner's or operator's estimate of the cost of closure and
subsequent maintenance, and to conform to the regulations
adotped by DTSC. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) Section 25246)
2)Authorizes DTSC, consistent with the federal Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), to impose the
requirements of a hazardous waste facility post-closure plan
on the owner or operator of a facility through the issuance of
an enforcement order, by entering into an enforceable
agreement, or by issuing a post-closure permit. (HSC Section
25247 (d)(1))
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3)Authorizes DTSC to impose post-closure requirements through an
enforcement order or an enforceable agreement until January 1,
2009. (HSC Section 25247(f)(1))
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, enactment of this bill could result in one-time costs
of approximately $58,000 for DTSC to develop and adopt
regulations and unknown potential annual revenue losses
determined by whether owners or operators choose to pursue
post-closure permits or enforcement orders or enforceable
agreements.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill: According to the author, "SB 1325 repeals an
obsolete law that currently prohibits DTSC from imposing
hazardous waste closure requirements unless they are done as
part of an enforcement order. The bill also directs DTSC to
adopt new closure requirements for hazardous waste facilities by
January 1, 2018."
Federal hazardous waste law: RCRA gives the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) the authority to
regulate hazardous waste from the "cradle-to-grave." This
includes the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and
disposal of hazardous waste. California is a RCRA-authorized
state, meaning that DTSC implements RCRA in California on behalf
of the US EPA.
Closure and post-closure: When a hazardous waste management
unit stops receiving waste at the end of its active life, it
must be cleaned up, closed, monitored, and maintained in
SB 1325
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accordance with the RCRA closure and post-closure care
requirements. All hazardous waste management units, and the
treatment, storage and disposal facilities where they are
located, are subject to closure and post-closure requirements.
Post-closure care is required for land disposal units that leave
waste in place upon closure (i.e. landfills, land treatment
units, surface impoundments, or any other hazardous waste
management unit that cannot achieve the clean closure
standards). These sites must monitor and maintain liners, final
covers, leachate collection and removal systems, leak detection
systems, and gas collection system to protect the surrounding
environment and population from releases of hazardous
constituents. In California, DTSC issues post-closure permits
for these regulated hazardous waste management units.
RCRA post-closure rule: In 1998, the US EPA adopted a final
rule (40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 264, 265, 270
and 271) allowing alternatives to a permit for hazardous waste
management units subject to post-closure. This final rule
allows the US EPA and authorized states to issue an enforceable
document in lieu of a post-closure permit.
This bill removes an impediment for DTSC to be able to use
additional legal mechanisms, other than a permit, for
post-closure care of hazardous waste management units. This
bill requires DTSC to adopt regulations for post-closure
requirements and requires DTSC to include the issuance of an
enforcement order or an enforceable agreement as additional
post-closure management tools. The regulatory process provides
a means for the public to participate in the development of the
regulation, including providing feedback on the mechanisms DTSC
may use for post-closure.
Analysis Prepared by:
SB 1325
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Josh Tooker / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965 FN:
0004265