BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1824
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 13, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Pedro Nava, Chair
AB 1824 (Monning) - As Amended: April 7, 2010
SUBJECT : Hazardous materials: toxic chemicals: sewage systems.
SUMMARY : Prohibits a person from using or selling a chemical
that is detrimental to a sewage disposal system, as specified.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits a person from using a chemical that is detrimental
to a sewage disposal system in a chemical toilet, a
recreational vehicle, or a waste facility of a vessel.
2)Prohibits a person from selling a chemical that is detrimental
to a sewage disposal system in a container that indicates that
the chemical could be used in a chemical toilet or a waste
facility of a recreational vehicle or vessel.
3)Deletes the requirement for Department of Toxic Substances
Control (DTSC) to adopt regulations to limit the sale of
non-biodegradable toxic chemicals.
4)Defines a chemical that is detrimental to a sewage disposal
system as any of the following:
a) 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol, known as bronopol; or,
b) 1-(3-chlorallyl)-3,5,7-triaza-1-azoniaadamantane
chloride, known as dowicil; or,
c) Formaldehyde; or,
d) Glutaraldehyde; or,
e) Para-formaldehyde; or
f) Para-dichlorobenzene; or,
g) A chemical identified by DTSC as being detrimental to a
sewage disposal system, in regulations that may be adopted
by DTSC.
AB 1824
Page 2
5)Authorizes DTSC, by regulation, to limit or prohibit the use
or sale of a chemical detrimental to a sewage disposal system
in a product used for a chemical toilet, a recreational
vehicle, or a vessel.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 25210:
a) Prohibits the use of a non-biodegradable toxic chemical
in a chemical toilet, recreational vehicle, or waste
facility.
b) Prohibits the sale of a non-biodegradable toxic chemical
in a container which indicates that the chemical could be
used in a chemical toilet, a waste facility of a
recreational vehicle, or a waste facility of a vessel as
the term vessel.
c) Requires DTSC to develop and adopt regulations to define
non-biodegradable toxic chemicals and limitations on the
sale thereof.
2)Pursuant to California Code of Regulations, Chapter 41,
Sections 67410.1 through 67410.4:
a) Prohibits a person from manufacturing, formulating,
packaging, importing or receiving from outside the State
and selling or offering for sale a material for use as a
chemical toilet additive, as indicated on a label on the
container or by any other representation by said person,
which contains a non-biodegradable toxic chemical
substance.
b) Prohibits a person from using, or causing to be used, a
material as a chemical toilet additive which contains a
non-biodegradable toxic chemical substance.
3)Pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act
of 1986 (Proposition 65):
a) Requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
AB 1824
Page 3
Assessment (OEHHA) to publish a list of chemicals known to
cause cancer or reproductive toxicity and to annually
revise the list. Formadehyde was listed as a carcinogen in
1988.
b) Prohibits the discharge or release of a chemical known
to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity into
water, onto or into land from which the chemical may pass
into drinking water.
4)Requires DTSC to adopt regulations by January 1, 2011, to
identify and prioritize chemicals of concern, to evaluate
alternatives, and to specify regulatory responses to limit
exposure or to reduce the level of hazard posed by a chemical
of concern found in consumer products.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS:
Purpose of the bill : According to the author, "Many RV park
septic systems operate using natural bio-organisms to treat and
breakdown sewage. However, toxic chemicals, like those used in
many common RV toilet additives, kill the natural bio-organisms
and cause the septic systems to fail, causing sewage to seep
into surrounding soil and groundwater. The RV toilet additives,
and the toxic chemicals that some contain, make their way into
RV park septic systems when RVs hook-up to the park septic
system during overnight stays.
AB 1824 furthers a public policy put forth by the Legislature in
1977, when it was determined that certain chemicals should not
be used in RV toilet additives. There are already nineteen
chemicals already banned in regulations. AB 1824 will simply
clarify that six additional chemicals cannot be used in RV
toilet additives."
How septic systems work : A typical septic system (sewage
disposal system) uses natural processes to treat wastewater
onsite, as opposed to offsite at a municipal wastewater
treatment plant. The purpose of the septic tank is to separate
solids from the liquid waste, and to promote partial breakdown
of contaminants by microorganisms (bacteria) naturally present
in wastewater. According to the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA), when chemicals, such as formaldehyde,
AB 1824
Page 4
are added to septic systems, they can cause bacteria in the
system to die. When this happens, the septic system cannot
treat waste adequately. Solids that are allowed to pass from
the septic tank, and, due to inadequate or incomplete treatment,
may clog the leachfield. Clogged systems may send inadequately
or incompletely treated sewage to the surface, threatening the
health of people or pets, who come into contact with it. The
inadequately treated sewage may also percolate to ground water,
where the chemicals and untreated wastewater could contaminate
nearby drinking water wells, rivers and streams.
History of RV park operators and toilet additives : According to
the California Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds
(CalARVC), the sponsors of the bill, most RV owners do not know
there are environmentally safe or "green" products that can be
used in RV toilets instead of the products that can be
detrimental to septic systems. RV park owners are attempting to
educate their customers about alternatives available to them.
However, until a vast majority of RV owners learn to use
alternative products, or until the state prohibits the use of
certain chemical products, it is unfair and ineffective to
require the park owners to become the enforcement agents.
Furthermore, it is very expensive for a RV park owner to replace
or repair a septic system, costing upwards of $10,000 or more.
A vast majority of parks are "mom and pop" small businesses that
cannot afford such an expense, especially when a viable and much
more affordable solution is available.
CalARVC maintains that they have been working for almost five
years with regulatory agencies on a solution to address RV
toilet additives that contain harmful chemicals. They argue
that state agencies have been unwilling or unable to address the
problem.
Selection of chemicals : The author and sponsors contend that
they selected the chemicals in this bill for prohibition in
chemical toilet additives because, "In 2009, DTSC listed these
specific chemicals in background sheets that they prepared and
posted on their website." The fact sheet in question, dated
January 2009, states, "Based on chemical information,
formaldehyde may be a non-biodegradable toxic chemical substance
and you should avoid purchasing and using any chemical toilet
product that lists formaldehyde as an ingredient in any
concentration." It also lists the five other chemicals
AB 1824
Page 5
prohibited by this bill (bronopol; dowicil; glutaraldehyde;
para-formaldehyde; and para-dichlorobenzene) as, "active
ingredients you should avoid using in your RV holding tank
deodorizers." DTSC sources a fact sheet prepared by the
University of Arizona, Cooperative Extension.
California's Green Chemistry Initiative: As part of the Green
Chemistry Initiative, in 2009, the Governor signed AB 1879
(Feuer and Huffman) Chapter 559, Statutes of 2008, into law. AB
1879 requires DTSC to adopt regulations by January 1, 2011 to
identify and prioritize chemicals of concern, to evaluate
alternatives, and to specify regulatory responses where
chemicals of concern are found in consumer products. The Green
Chemistry program should yield a comprehensive process to
identify and manage chemicals of concern and their alternatives.
Prohibiting chemicals in products in statute: The sponsors of
the bill indicate that, "state agencies have been unwilling or
unable to address the problem." DTSC's current authority to
regulate toilet additives appears to only include authority over
non-biodegradable toxic chemicals. The chemicals in this bill
are mostly biocides and likely would not conform to the
definition of "non-biodegradable toxic chemicals." Under the
Green Chemistry Initiative, however, DTSC has the broad
authority to regulate chemicals in consumer products. DTSC is
not required to adopt Green Chemistry regulations until January
2011 and seems on track to do so. Is it appropriate to prohibit
specific chemicals in specific products in statute, where they
cannot be readily adjusted after consideration of new scientific
evidence or advances in technology, or is it more effective to
regulate chemicals in products through the existing regulatory
process, which is more dynamic?
Recommended amendments : The Committee may wish to consider the
following amendments to ensure that DTSC retains authority to
further regulate chemical toilet additives.
1)Add the following language: This chapter does not limit,
supersede, duplicate, or otherwise conflict with the authority
of the Department of Toxic Substances Control to fully
implement Article 14 (commencing with Section 25251) of
Chapter 6.5 of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code,
including the authority of the Department of Toxic Substances
Control to include products in its product registry.
AB 1824
Page 6
Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 25257.1 of the
Health and Safety Code, chemical toilet additives shall not be
considered as a product category already regulated or subject
to pending regulation consistent with the purposes of Article
14.
2)Restore the requirement for DTSC to adopt regulations to limit
the sale of non-biodegradable toxic chemicals.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (sponsor)
California Travel Industry Association
Sierra Club California
Opposition
Thetford Corporation
Analysis Prepared by : Shannon McKinney / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965