BILL ANALYSIS
SB 25
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 6, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Nancy Skinner, Chair
SB 25 (Padilla) - As Amended: May 28, 2009
SENATE VOTE : 21-18
SUBJECT : Solid waste
SUMMARY : Increases solid waste diversion rate local
jurisdictions must achieve from 50% to 60% by 2015 and
establishes a statewide diversion target of 75% by 2020.
Mandates commercial recycling by 2012 for counties with a
population over 200,000. Increases the state solid waste
tipping fee from $1.40 to $2.13 with adjustments in the future
to reflect cost of living changes. Authorizes the California
Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) to create a grant
program to assist local governments with illegal dumping.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits any person from dumping or causing to be dumped any
waste matter, including rocks or dirt, in or upon any public
or private highway or road, without the consent of the owner,
or in or upon any public park or other public property,
without the consent of the state or local agency having
jurisdiction over the highway, road, or property and provides
for fines and penalties.
2)Authorizes the impoundment and, in specific instances, civil
forfeiture of a motor vehicle when the registered owner has
multiple convictions for misdemeanor illegal dumping of waste.
3)Pursuant to the California Integrated Waste Management Act of
1989 (Act):
a) 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
activities, and must divert 50% of solid waste on and after
January 1, 2000.
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b) Requires CIWMB to determine compliance status for cities
and counties in achieving and maintaining the 50% diversion
rate. Jurisdictions are found to be in compliance by
meeting or exceeding the 50% diversion rate and
implementing the programs described in their plans or by
making a good faith effort to implement their programs but
not achieving the 50% diversion rate. Jurisdictions who do
not meet the above are placed on compliance orders and are
subject to fines.
c) Authorizes a local government agency to determine
aspects of solid waste handling that are of local concern,
such as frequency of collection, levels of service, and
fees.
d) Prohibits a local agency from issuing a building permit
for a development project unless the project provides for
adequate space for collecting and loading recyclable
materials.
e) Requires the CIWMB to concur in or object to a solid
waste facility permit within 60 days of receipt of the
permit.
f) Authorizes CIWMB to designate and certify local
enforcement agencies (LEAs) to carry out local permitting
and enforcement of solid waste facilities.
g) Requires an operator of a solid waste facility to pay a
quarterly fee (tipping fee) to the Board of Equalization
(BOE) in an amount established by CIWMB sufficient to
generate revenues equivalent to the approved budget for
that fiscal year, including a prudent reserve. The fee
cannot exceed $1.40 per ton. Revenue from the fees must be
deposited in the Integrated Waste Management Account.
THIS BILL :
1)Defines "illegal dumping" as the act of disposing of solid
waste at a location that is not a permitted solid waste
disposal facility or that is not otherwise authorized for the
disposal of solid waste pursuant to this division or
regulations adopted by CIWMB.
2)Requires each city or county source reduction and recycling
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element to include an implementation schedule that shows a
city or county must divert through source reduction,
recycling, and composting activities, 60% of solid waste by
January 1, 2015.
3)Establishes a 75% waste diversion "target" for California by
January 1, 2020.
4)Except as provided in a local ordinance, requires the owner or
operator of a business that contracts for waste services and
generates more than four cubic yards of total waste and
recyclable materials per week, to arrange for recycling
services applicable to the extent that these services are
offered and reasonably available from a local service
provider.
5)Establishes commercial recycling requirements that:
a) Require by January 1, 2012, each city, county, solid
waste authority, or other joint powers authority located
within a county with a population of 200,000 or more to
adopt a commercial recycling ordinance that is consistent
with carrying out #5 above. The ordinance at a minimum must
ensure that a business provides for recycling of its waste;
education, implementation and enforcement provisions; and,
the existing right of a business to sell or donate its
recyclable materials.
b) Specify that this bill does not limit the authority of a
local agency to adopt, implement, or enforce a local
commercial recycling ordinance that is more stringent or
comprehensive than the requirements of this section or
limit the authority of a local agency in a county with a
population of less than 200,000 to require commercial
recycling.
c) Specify that this bill does not affect in any manner a
franchise granted or extended by a city, county, or other
local government agency or contract, license, or permit to
collect solid waste previously granted or extended by a
city, county, or other local government agency in effect
immediately preceding January 1, 2011.
6)Modifies the solid waste permit review process to:
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a) Allow CIWMB to determine if a permit submitted by an LEA
is complete and correct.
b) Require CIWMB to notify the LEA within 15 days if it
objects to a proposed permit and provide the basis for the
objection.
c) Allow CIWMB an extra 30 days if CIWMB does not have the
full 60 days to review and act upon a permit because of its
public meeting schedule.
7)Beginning January 1, 2012, increases the state tipping fee
from $1.40 to $2.13 per ton of solid waste disposed of in a
solid waste facility in California and provides for an
adjustment of the tipping fee every two years to reflect
increases or decreases in cost of living.
8)Authorizes CIWMB to establish an Illegal Dumping Prevention
Program Development Grant and Loan Program to provide grants
and zero-interest loans to public agencies to assist with
reducing illegal dumping.
9)Establishes a Refuse Service Provider Model Ordinance Program
that:
a) By January 1, 2011, requires CIWMB to adopt a model
ordinance that establishes an enforcement program for
residential refuse service providers as defined. The model
ordinance may include such things as registration
requirements, enforcement provisions, and funding
mechanisms.
b) States that a local government may adopt the model
ordinance.
10)Makes conforming changes to the Act.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, this bill increases the existing tipping fee from
$1.40 per ton to $2.13 per ton after January 2012. Based on
current levels of disposal, this should generate about $25
million per year in additional revenue. The tipping fee would be
adjusted for inflation every two years thereafter.
COMMENTS :
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1)Purpose of the bill. According to the author, this bill seeks
to reduce California's dependence on landfills, reduce
greenhouse gases and preserve our natural resources by
expanding efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle our solid
waste. When the Act was enacted in 1989, it sought to address
our landfill crisis by establishing waste diversion goals of
25% by 1995 and 50% by the year 2000. At the time, California
was recycling just 10% of its waste. Today, two thirds of
California municipalities have met or exceeded the 50% goal;
however, many local jurisdictions remain well below 50% and
the overall waste stream continues to grow. If we fail to
vigorously expand our efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle, we
will be unable to keep pace with a growing population's
growing waste stream.
2)Diversion rate increase . This bill increases the diversion
rate mandate on local jurisdictions from 50% to 60% by 2015.
The statewide solid waste diversion rate for 2007, which was
calculated and announced at the end of 2008, increased from
54% in 2006 to 58% in 2007. This equates to diverting about
53.5 million tons of solid waste away from landfills and into
higher and better uses.
Every two years, CIWMB evaluates the progress each
jurisdiction's progress toward meeting the diversion mandate
and whether the jurisdiction is adequately implementing waste
reduction. During 2008, a total of 340 jurisdictions were
deemed to have met these goals. The remaining 61
jurisdictions were below the requirement. These jurisdictions
went through a process to determine if they were making a
"good-faith effort" to implement their programs. Ultimately,
55 of those 61 jurisdictions were approved for a good-faith
effort finding in December 2008.
While hundreds of communities have met or exceeded the 50%
solid waste diversion goals established by the Act, actual
disposal of solid waste statewide has increased substantially
since 1990 because the goals are calculated using factors that
reflect population and other growth measures. Solid waste
disposed and subject to the state tipping fee amounted to 40.1
million tons in 1990, dropped to 32.9 million tons by 1996,
but has consistently increased to a projected 43 million tons
in 2008. This 31% increase solid waste disposal statewide
since 1996 has actually outpaced the 17% increase in the
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state's population.
3)Commercial recycling . Commercial entities are not currently
required to recycle by the state. The diversion mandate falls
solely on local jurisdictions. Many have programs in place to
work with commercial entities to reduce the amount of waste
disposed; others have adopted ordinances that require
commercial recycling. Most solid waste service providers have
programs designed for commercial customers that offer
recycling services. According to CIWMB about one-half the
waste generated in the state is from commercial sources. It
would be very challenging for local jurisdictions to further
increase solid waste reduction without additional requirements
on commercial generators.
4)Solid waste facility permit review . According to CIWMB, the
public hearing noticing and meeting schedule frequently does
not allow a full 60 days to act on a proposed permit, as
required by statute. Also, information submitted (as required
by regulation) to support the permit decision is often
incomplete. In these cases CIWMB is faced with making a
decision on a permit without benefit of all the required
information and without adequate time to request and review
the information.
5)Solid waste tipping fee . In addition to any local fees, there
is a state tipping fee of $1.40 per ton imposed on waste
disposed in California. The original tipping fee was
established by statute at $1.34 ton and CIWMB was given the
authority to increase that fee to $1.40, but has not been
adjusted since 1994. The tipping fee established by this bill
of $2.13 is equal to the original tipping fee adjusted for
inflation.
6)Illegal dumping . Illegal dumping is a significant statewide
problem, with significant social, environmental, and economic
impacts. A 2006 survey of 80 California cities and counties
by CIWMB revealed an annual cost of $34 million to local
governments for cleanup of illegal dump sites. CIWMB has
established a high-level state and local illegal dumping task
force to assess the extent of the illegal dumping problem and
develop recommendations to improve the effectiveness of state
and local responses to the problem. This bill contains
several of the recommendations of the task force.
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7)Refuse service providers . According to the author, in most
cities and counties, local government agencies administer
franchise agreements with residential and commercial waste
hauling businesses. These franchise agreements provide the
refuse hauler with exclusive, geographically-based operational
authority to collect, transport, and dispose of solid waste
generated by the residents of the dwelling units and
businesses. In turn, the franchisee has the obligation to
provide the refuse removal service on a scheduled routine
basis, often to provide containers for the waste (these often
include separate containers and services for green wastes and
recyclable wastes), maintain the refuse hauling equipment in
an acceptable manner, transport the refuse in covered units,
and dispose of the materials at a approved transfer station or
sanitary landfill.
In contrast, the refuse hauler industry operates outside of
the exclusive franchise agreements because they provide the
service on an as-requested basis. These operators usually
physically remove the waste materials from the subject
property and place it in their own vehicles for transport and
disposal, and collect the removal and disposal fee directly
from the individual requesting the service. Refuse haulers
include the private entrepreneur with the pickup and
sideboards, commercial gardeners that remove the yard waste as
part of their service, and special districts that haul their
own landscape wastes. Disreputable refuse haulers can
increase their profit margin by illegally disposing of the
waste they collect along a road or on a vacant lot and retain
the disposal fee they charged the customers.
Some counties and cities, including Sacramento and Monterey,
maintain a list of refuse haulers that have registered with
the local agency and encourage the public to only employ
individuals or firms on the list. Contra Costa County has an
ordinance in place requiring the annual permitting of these
haulers, but it does not apply to the cities within the county
or to haulers operating from outside of the county. Thus,
effective regulation of the refuse hauler industry is absent,
yet the operators are recognized by local illegal dumping
enforcement agencies as being a significant contributor to the
statewide illegal dumping problem.
8)Current market and economic challenges . The current state of
the economy coupled with the downturn in markets for recycled
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materials have created concerns as to the ability of local
governments and businesses to implement the requirements in
this bill.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Californians Against Waste
Sierra Club California
Opposition
California Business Properties Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Grocers Association
California League of Food Processors
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
California State Association of Counties
California Taxpayers' Association
Canyon Lake City Council
Chemical Industry Council of California
City of Norwalk
City of San Diego
Consumer Specialty Products Association
Executive Committee of the Western Riverside County of
Governments
Grocery Manufacturers Association
Lassen Regional Solid Waste Management Authority
League of California Cities
Orange County Board of Supervisors
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Republic Services, Inc.
Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County
Soap and Detergent Association
Solid Waste Association of North America
Stop Hidden Taxes Coalition
Western Placer Waste Management Authority
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092