BILL ANALYSIS
SB 346
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Date of Hearing: June 15, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Pedro Nava, Chair
SB 346 (Kehoe) - As Amended: June 7, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 22-16
SUBJECT : Motor vehicle brake pads: copper.
SUMMARY : Restricts the use of copper and other toxic chemicals
in automobile brake pads. Specifically, this bill :
1)Limits the use of copper in motor vehicle brake pads to no
more than .5 percent by weight by January 2025.
2)Exempts vehicles from the copper limitation on brake pad
including:
a) Military vehicles:
b) Vehicles with internal closed oil immersed brakes that
do not emit copper or other debris under normal operating
conditions;
c) Parking brakes; and
d) Motorcycles.
3)Restricts the use of the following toxic materials in brake
pads by January 1, 2014:
a) Cadmium and its compounds: 0.01 percent by weight,
b) Chromium (VI)-salts: 0.1 percent by weight,
c) Lead and its compounds: 0.1 percent by weight; and
d) Mercury and its compounds: 0.1 percent by weight.
4)Requires manufacturers of brake pads to follow the process to
be adopted by DTSC regarding criteria to evaluate alternatives
to copper in brake pads.
5)Require brake pad manufacturers, beginning in 2014, to obtain
certification to demonstrate compliance with these
requirements and include that certification of the content of
the brake pads.
6)Requires vehicle manufacturers and retailers of brake pads to
ensure that only compliant brake pads are sold in this state.
7)Establishes a civil fine of up to $10,000 per violation of the
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brake pad certification requirements.
8)Establishes Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) as
the enforcing agency for the new article and permits them to
remove non-compliant brake pads from sale, but specifically
does not authorize the recall of vehicles to effect the
removal of illegal brake pads.
EXISTING LAW
1)Requires DTSC, by January 1, 2011, to adopt regulations to
establish a process to identify and prioritize chemicals or
chemical ingredients in consumer products that may be
considered a "chemical of concern," in accordance with a
review process, as specified.
2)Requires DTSC, on or before January 1, 2011, to adopt
regulations to establish a process to evaluate chemicals of
concern, and their potential alternatives, in consumer
products in order to determine how best to limit exposure or
to reduce the level of hazard posed by a chemical of concern,
as specified.
3)Requires the State Water Resources Control Board and the
California Regional Water Quality Control Boards to regulate
the discharge of stormwater in accordance with the Federal
Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control
Act.
FISCAL EFFECT : Not known.
COMMENTS :
1)Need for the bill . According the author, elevated copper
levels occur in urban watersheds across California. Dissolved
copper is toxic to phytoplankton (the base of the aquatic food
chain). It also impairs salmon's ability to avoid predators
and deters them from returning to their home streams to spawn.
Scientific studies have shown that a major source of copper
in highly urbanized watersheds is material worn off vehicle
brake pads. It is estimated that about one-half of the copper
found in run-off is attributed to brake pads.
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2)Copper in the aquatic environment . According to the U.S. EPA,
elevated levels of copper are toxic in aquatic environments
and may adversely affect fish, invertebrates, plants, and
amphibians. Acute toxic effects may include mortality of
organisms; chronic toxicity can result in reductions in
survival, reproduction, and growth.<1>
Motor vehicles are a major source of toxic contaminants such
as copper, a metal that originates from vehicle exhaust and
brake pad wear. Copper and other pollutants are deposited on
roads and other impervious surfaces and then transported to
aquatic habitats via stormwater runoff.
3)Total Maximum Daily Loads . The State Water Resources Control
Board (SWRCB) has established Total Maximum Daily Loads
(TMDLs) as allowable pollution limits on copper and other
pollutants in several Southern California urban watersheds.
Failure to comply with these TMDLs will result in serious
penalties to the local governments. The SWRCB is working to
establish these TMDLs for watersheds throughout California.
The ubiquity of copper in the urban environment, and the
technical difficulty and impracticality of treating stormwater
to remove it, mean that compliance with copper TMDLs will not
be feasible without source reduction of copper. Cost could go
into the billions of dollars to remediate if source reduction
measures are not taken.
4)Washington State Copper Brake Pad Legislation . In March of
2010 the state of Washington enacted the first state
restriction on copper brake pads. That bill, SB 6556,
provides that by January 1, 2015, brake pads sold as
replacement parts (after-market brake pads) may not exceed 5
percent copper by weight. By January 1, 2020, new vehicles may
not have brake pads that exceed 5 percent copper. The State
of Washington may require copper levels as low as .5 percent
if they find that those products are available.
Issues:
1)Do we need a regulatory process for vehicles for which brake
---------------------------
<1> US, EPA, Aquatic Life Ambient Freshwater Quality
Criteria-Copper 2007 Revision (February 22, 2007).
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friction materials containing less than .5% copper content
cannot be developed by the statutory deadline? Auto industry
and brake pad manufactures have suggested that an "off-ramp"
is needed in the event the industry does not meet the 2025
deadline based on the inability to develop an effective
alternative to the copper content in vehicle brake pads.
2)Should the existing vehicle fleet be allowed to continue to
use copper brake pads after the 2025 deadline ? Auto industry
and brake pad manufactures have argued that there needs to be
an exemption from the .5% copper limit for brake pads designed
for vehicles manufactured prior to the operative date of the
.5% copper limit. At this time the State does not know if new
non-copper brake pads will operate effectively on the current
and future auto braking systems.
3)Is third party certification needed to insure proper
enforcement of the copper restrictions ? The bill as currently
drafted provides for certification by an independent third
party certification process for brake pads sold in California
after 2014. This private party certification may provide a
less expensive and more user friendly process for insuring
enforcement of this new copper standard than a traditional
DTSC certification and enforcement model.
4)Green Chemistry coordination and evaluation of safer
alternatives. As part of the Green Chemistry Initiative, 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. "Consumer product" is broadly defined as a
product or part of the product that is used, bought, or leased
for use by a person for any purpose including auto parts like
vehicle brake pads.
The current Green Chemistry statute contains two relevant
provisions. This bill and the green chemistry statute
provides for an evaluation of alternatives to a chemical of
concern. This means that manufactures must examine the
alternatives to a chemical to assure that the replacement
product is less harmful to the environment. SB 346 attempts
to reference the current Green Chemistry statute addressing
the alternatives analysis but appears to in fact adopt the
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entirety of the green chemistry process established in Health
and Safety Code section 25253.
The enactment of this bill may have the effect of precluding
any action by DTSC on brake pads under the State Green
Chemistry statute. Specifically, the current law provides an
exemption from Green Chemistry for those products subject to
regulation similar to the Green Chemistry Statutes (H&S code
252571(c)). This bill may be interpreted as an exemption for
vehicle brake pads from the current authority under Green
Chemistry.
The Committee may consider adopting an amendment to
limit the manufactures obligation to perform an alternative
analysis to those already outlined in the Green Chemistry
statute.
The Committee may consider adopting amendments to allow
the Green Chemistry process to establish new standards for
brake pads if DTSC finds that more stringent standards are
warranted as a result of the Green Chemistry evaluation.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support:
Sustainable Conservation (co-sponsor)
City of San Diego (co-sponsor)
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
California League of Conservation Voters
California Product Stewardship Council
California State Association of Counties
California Stormwater Quality Association
Center for Environmental Health
City and County of San Francisco
City of Arcadia
City of Azusa
City of Bellflower
City of Beverly Hills
City of Camarillo
City of Carson
City of Cerritos
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City of Commerce
City of Covina
City of Downey
City of Duarte
City of La Marada
City of Lakewood
City of Long Beach
City of Los Angeles
City of Lynwood
City of Monterey Park
City of Norwalk
City of Paramount
City of Rolling Hills
City of San Jose
City of San Pablo
City of Santa Marino
City of Sante Fe Springs
City of Signal Hill
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Torrance
City of Vernon
City of Vista
City of Whittier
City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County
Clean Water Action
Coalition for Practical Regulation
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation
Environmental Entrepreneurs
Forests Forever
Heal the Bay
Industrial Environmental Association
League of California Cities
Los Angeles County Flood Control District
Natural Resources Defense Council
Planning and Conservation League
Port of San Diego
San Diego Coastkeeper
Save the Bay
Sierra Club California
StopWaste.Org
TDC Environmental
U.S. Department of the Navy
UC San Diego
Ventura County Board of Supervisors
Ventura Countywide Stormwater Quality Management Program
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Opposition
Association of International Automobile Manufacturers
Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association
Automotive Service Councils of California
Best Brakes
California Autobody Association
California Automotive Business Coalition
California Automotive Wholesalers' Association
California New Car Dealers Association
California Retailers Association
Centric Parts
Coalition for Auto Repair Equality
Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association
O'Reilly Auto Parts
Power Slot
Stop Tech
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965