BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 222
Author: Adams (R) and Ma (D), et al
Amended: 7/15/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, U.&C. COMMITTEE : 6-1, 7/7/09
AYES: Padilla, Benoit, Calderon, Cox, Strickland, Wright
NOES: Wiggins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Corbett, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Simitian
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/28/10
AYES: Simitian, Runner, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal,
Pavley, Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant
SUBJECT : Solid waste
SOURCE : BioEnergy Producers Association
DIGEST : This bill (1) repeals the term gasification in
the California Integrated Waste Management Act, (2) revises
and recasts the definition of transformation to exclude
from that definition, among other things, anaerobic
digestion, as defined, (3) to include in that definition
solid waste conversion at a biorefinery, as defined, and
(4) revises the definition of "solid waste" and removes
"gasification" from that definition.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS :
Under the California Integrated Waste Management Act (Act)
of 1989 :
1.Requires each city or county source reduction and
recycling element to include an implementation schedule
that shows a city or county must divert 25% of solid
waste from landfill disposal or transformation by January
1, 1995, through source reduction, recycling, and
composting services, and must divert 50% of solid waste
on and after January 1, 2000. (PRC Section 41780.)
2.Defines "gasification" to mean a technology that uses a
noncombustion thermal process to convert solid waste to a
clean burning fuel for the purpose of generating
electricity, and that, at minimum, meets all of the
following criteria:
A. The technology does not use air or oxygen in the
conversion process, except ambient air to maintain
temperature control.
B. The technology produces no discharges of air
contaminants or emissions, including greenhouse
gases, as defined in HSC Section 38505(g).
C. The technology produces no discharges to surface
or groundwaters of the state.
D. The technology produces no hazardous waste.
E. To the maximum extent feasible, the technology
removes all recyclable materials and marketable green
waste compostable materials from the solid waste
stream prior to the conversion process and the owner
or operator of the facility certifies that those
materials will be recycled or composted.
F. The facility where the technology is used is in
compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and
ordinances.
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G. The facility certifies to the board that any local
agency sending solid waste to the facility is in
compliance with this division and has reduced,
recycled, or composted solid waste to the maximum
extent feasible, and the board makes a finding that
the local agency has diverted at least 30 percent of
all solid waste through source reduction, recycling,
and composting.
3.Defines "solid waste disposal," "disposal," or "dispose"
to mean the final deposition of solid wastes onto land.
(PRC Section 40192.)
4.Defines "solid waste facility" to include a solid waste
transfer or processing station, a composting facility, a
gasification facility, a transformation facility, and a
disposal facility. For purposes of Part 5 (PRC Section
45000), "solid waste facility" additionally includes a
solid waste operation that may be carried out pursuant to
an enforcement agency notification, as provided in
regulations adopted by the board.;. (PRC 40194).
5.Defines "transformation" as incineration, pyrolysis,
distillation, or biological conversion other than
composting. "Transformation" does not include
composting, gasification, or biomass conversion. (PRC
Section 40201.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/4/10)
BioEnergy Producers Association (source)
adaptiveARC, Inc.
Biomass Coordinating Council
California Farm Bureau Federation
California State Association of Counties
Cities of Bell, Glendale, Hawthorne, Pico Rivera and Vernon
Clean Cities Coalition
Clements Environmental
Fulcrum BioEnergy,Inc.
Global Energy, Inc.
ICM, Inc.
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INEOS Bio
International Union of Operating Engineers
Interstate Waste Technologies
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County Solid Waste Management Committee
Long Beach Coalition for a Safe Environment
Marin Sanitary Service
Miller De Wulf Corporation
North Valley Coalition
New Planet Energy, LLC
Orange County Board of Supervisors
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Phoenix Biomass Energy, Inc.
Redwood City Planning
Remediation Earth, Inc.
Republic Services, Inc.
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors
San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management
Authority
Sempra Energy
Solid Waste Association of North America
Southern California Edison
Sustainable conservation
Ternion Bio Industries
ThermoChem Recovery International, Inc.
Theroux Environmental
Waste To Energy, LLC
Yolo County Board of Supervisors
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/4/10)
Alameda County Waste Management Authority and Recycling
Board
Breathe California
California Chamber of Commerce (unless amended)
California League of Conservation Voters Council
California Resource Recovery Association
Center for Biological Diversity
Clean Water Action
Coalition for Clean Air
Environment California
Environmental Defense Fund
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance
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GreenAction
Natural Resources Defense Council
Planning and Conservation League
Sierra Club California
Solid Waste Association (unless amended)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office indicates that
this bill repeals the term "gasification" in current code
and that it will also change the definition of
transformation to exclude anaerobic digestion, but include
solid waste conversion at a biorefinery.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Chamber of
Commerce states, "While California is aggressively working
to meets its ambitious environmental and energy goals, a
number of issues are arising that are causing delays in
building the infrastructure and system the state needs.
For this reason, it is even more important that the state
looks for ways to develop a basket of tools to meet our
goals. Unfortunately, the amendments of July 15th pose a
further obstacle by creating new permitting barriers by
imposing Siting Element requirements that do not currently
exist. Further, codifying in statute that solid waste
processed by the merging of all conversion technologies
count as disposal reflects quite a major setback..
DLW:cm 8/4/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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