BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2137
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2137
AUTHOR: Chesbro
AMENDED: June 7, 2010
FISCAL: No HEARING DATE: June 28, 2010
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Caroll
Mortensen
SUBJECT :
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Defines a fertilizing material label as "the display of all
written, printed, or graphic matter on the immediate
container of, or a statement, including the guaranteed
analysis, accompanying fertilizing material." (Food and
Agriculture Code 14540).
2) Defines a fertilizing material labeling as "all written,
printed, or graphic matter on, accompanying, or used in
promoting the sale of any fertilizing material, including
advertisements, brochures, posters, and television and
radio announcements." (14542).
3) Allows for misdemeanor and civil penalties for mislabeling
ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 for each offense.
(14651-14651.5).
4) Requires the California Department of Food and Agriculture
(CDFA) to evaluate organic input materials, which includes
compost and report if and how these materials should be
regulated. The report is due by January 1, 2012.
(14853.5).
5) Defines compost as a controlled biological decomposition of
organic materials; cocompost as a blend of compost and
bio-solids, animal manure, food residue or fish processing
byproducts and, mulch as material, including, but not
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limited to, lawn clippings and wood byproducts, broken down
by chipping and grinding. Compost, cocompost and mulch
must also be produced by a public or private supplier that
is in compliance with the Department of Resources,
Recycling and Recovery's (DRRR) composting operations
regulatory requirements. (Public Contract Code 12207).
6) Defines compost, for the purpose of fertilizer, as
biologically stable material derived from the composting
process. (Food and Agriculture Code 14525).
This bill :
1)Exempts certified laboratory analysis showing nutrient
content of compost, cocompost, or mulch from the definitions
of "label" and "labeling."
2)Requires that a certified laboratory analysis of compost,
cocompost, or mulch include a clear statement that the
nutrient content of the material may vary from the data in
the laboratory analysis.
3)Requires a certified laboratory analysis to be from random
samples, as provided in the California Code of Regulations.
4)Specifies that a certified laboratory analysis for material
from more than one 5,000 cubic yard batch would include
analysis on all batches in the material and include an
appended list of all feedstocks and additives in the compost
product.
5)Sunset the exemption from "label" and "labeling" for
certified laboratory analysis showing nutrient content of
compost, cocompost, or mulch on January 1, 2014.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of Bill . According to the author, AB 2137 allows
composters to continue the longstanding practice of
providing certified lab analyses showing the nutrient
contents of their product to their customers, pending the
completion of CDFA's evaluation of the proper regulatory
standards for this material.
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Compost is a vital agricultural input that helps build
healthy soils and increase crop yields. The production of
compost from municipal organic waste is also a key component
of the state's waste reduction and recycling efforts.
Furthermore, the diversion of organic waste from landfills
and increased agricultural use of compost have both been
identified as crucial greenhouse gas reduction strategies.
2)Composting . Compostable materials make up well over
one-third of most local jurisdictions' waste streams. State
mandated diversion requirements (50% diversion from
disposal) have resulted in an increasing number of
compostable material processing operations. Composting, and
other organics diversion activities are essential in the
diversion efforts. The former Integrated Waste Management
Board (now Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery)
has worked with state agencies for years to promote the use
of compost from waste green materials. They have worked
with CDFA on this issue as well. However, much more needs
to be done to bring compost into the forefront and move it
toward wide acceptance and use.
As a voluntary best management practice and in conjunction
with various certification programs, composters regularly
send samples of their product to third-party labs for an
independent analysis of the nutrient content and other
parameters in their compost. The results of recent lab
analyses are often provided to customers as an indication of
nutrient levels in the compost and to allow for the
application of compost and other inputs at agronomic rates.
The nutrient content of finished compost is subject to
significant variability based on the composition of incoming
waste feedstocks, weather conditions, and the level of
ongoing biological processes at work. As a result, nutrient
levels determined in these voluntarily-provided lab analyses
fluctuate, limiting any guarantee that the nutrient content
for a given batch of finished compost will remain static
over time.
CDFA has said that providing a laboratory analysis is
equivalent to making a labeling claim, and the compost
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product would have to maintain consistent nutrient levels to
comply with the labeling requirements. While this standard
is appropriate for traditional fertilizers, it can not be
meaningfully applied to the product of an inherently
variable biological process such as composting.
3)Issues with Implementation of AB 856 . AB 856, Chapter 257,
Statutes of 2009 established, among other things,
requirements for organic input materials, including compost.
Concerns were raised by many in the compost industry, as
well as from this Committee, that the approach did not lend
itself to the way compost is manufactured, the variable
nature of its feedstocks, or its sale, use and applications.
It was not clear how the requirements would be practically
applied to the compost industry. It was anticpated that the
new requirements would cause confusion as the industry
attempted to adapt its proceedures and practices to new
requirments. These concerns have been realized, thus the
need for the clarifications proposed by AB 2137.
SOURCE : Assemblymember Chesbro
SUPPORT : Alameda County Waste Management Authority
Cagwin & Dorward Landscape Contractors
California Bio-Mass, Inc.
California Certified Organic Farmers
California Compost Coalition
California Refuse Recycling Council
Californians Against Waste
City of San Diego Environmental Services
Department
Cold Canyon Landfill
Comgro Soil Amendments, Inc.
Community Alliance of Family Farmers
Department of Environment, City and County of
San Francisco
Humboldt Waste Management Authority
Nortech
Recology
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Republic Services, Inc.
Tulare County Compost and Biomass, Inc.
Upper Valley Disposal Recycling
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Z-Best Products
OPPOSITION : California Department of Food and Agriculture