BILL ANALYSIS
AB 274
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 274 (Portantino)
As Introduced February 12, 2009
Majority vote
NATURAL RESOURCES 9-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Skinner, Gilmore, |Ayes:|De Leon, Nielsen, |
| |Brownley, Chesbro, De | |Ammiano, |
| |Leon, Hill, Huffman, | |Charles Calderon, Davis, |
| |Knight, Logue | |Duvall, Fuentes, Hall, |
| | | |Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |John A. Perez, Price, |
| | | |Skinner, Solorio, Audra |
| | | |Strickland, Torlakson, |
| | | |Krekorian |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Prohibits the owner or operator of a closed solid
waste landfill that is subject to a closure or postclosure
maintenance plan from selling, or offering for sale, any portion
of the landfill unless the purchaser provides evidence of
ability to meet the financial assurance requirements of the
Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (Act) to the
satisfaction of the California Integrated Waste Management Board
(CIWMB).
EXISTING LAW requires:
1)Under Federal Subtitle D regulations, owners and operators of
landfills to conduct postclosure maintenance activities for a
period of 30 years.
2)Under Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations, all
operators of Class II and Class III municipal solid waste
landfills to prepare and file a preliminary closure plan, a
postclosure maintenance plan, and a partial final, or a final
closure plan at the time an operator files for a permit or
revisions of project or permit review or renewal.
3)Under the Act, an owner or operator of a landfill to submit to
CIWMB, the appropriate California regional water quality
AB 274
Page 2
control board, and the local enforcement agency, a closure
plan and a postclosure maintenance plan for the solid waste
landfill. An owner or operator of a landfill is required to
submit to CIWMB evidence of financial ability to provide for
closure and postclosure maintenance contained in the closure
and postclosure plans for the landfill for a minimum of 30
years.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, one-time special fund costs of about $150,000 to
develop criteria and regulations and about $50,000 ongoing
special fund costs to implement and administer the program
activities required by the bill. (Integrated Waste Management
Account)
COMMENTS : Closure is the process during which a landfill is no
longer receiving waste and is being prepared for postclosure
maintenance according to an approved plan and construction
schedule. When a site is closed, it has ceased accepting waste
and has been closed in accordance with applicable statutes,
regulations, and local ordinances in effect at the time.
Closure and postclosure maintenance plans ensure that landfill
closure and postclosure maintenance and the eventual reuse of
disposal sites will conform to state performance standards and
minimum substantive requirements. Common postclosure
maintenance activities include leachate collection and
treatment, groundwater monitoring, inspection and maintenance of
the final landfill cover, and monitoring to ensure that landfill
gases don't migrate offsite or into onsite buildings.
According to CIWMB, by the end of this year half of the state's
282 landfills subject to financial assurance requirements will
be closed and entering the postclosure maintenance period. By
2021, the first California landfill could exhaust its required
30-year postclosure maintenance financial assurance
demonstration and the state would enter into an unassured
postclosure maintenance period. While the owner or operator
still maintains the legal requirement to provide for maintenance
and corrective action costs, there is no assurance in place that
the owner or operator will be able to fund landfill costs,
including catastrophic failures. By the middle of this century,
CIWMB estimates that unassured risk of closed landfills will be
more than $600 million.
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In November 2007, CIWMB completed a report on financial
assurance risks. The report identified divestiture of landfill
property to a party that is incapable of providing financial
assurances as a significant risk to the state and local
governments. This bill is intended to alleviate this concern by
ensuring that a purchaser of landfill property provides adequate
financial assurances to cover the postclosure maintenance costs.
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0001099