BILL NUMBER: SB 524 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 28, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 29, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 31, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Correa
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add Section 42173 to the Public Resources Code, relating
to solid waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 524, as amended, Correa. Solid waste: auto shredder residue.
The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 requires
materials that require special handling, as defined, to be removed
from major appliances and vehicles in which they are contained prior
to crushing for transport or transferring to a baler or shredder for
recycling. The act requires the California Integrated Waste
Management Board (board), in consultation with specified entities,
including the Department of Toxic Substances Control, to evaluate the
use of recycling residue, which is defined as nonhazardous residue
or residue treated to be nonhazardous that is a direct result of a
metals recovery operation for the express purposes of recycling, for
use as solid waste landfill cover materials or for use as extenders
for currently used cover material.
Existing law, by regulation, authorizes auto shredder waste that
is treated as required by regulation to be used as alternative daily
cover if specified requirements are met.
This bill would require the Secretary for Environmental
Protection, on or before February 1, 2010, subject to the
availability of funding, to establish an auto shredder residue
working group, comprised of representatives of the board, the
department, the State Air Resources Board, the State Water Resources
Control Board, members of the auto shredder industry, landfill
operators, and other interested stakeholders. The bill would require
the working group to review and evaluate the existing practice of
using treated auto shredder residue as alternative daily cover,
determine the effects of the department's proposed revocation of the
current regulatory classification of treated auto shredder residue
and resulting prohibitions on its use as alternative daily cover,
determine whether the current regulatory classification of treated
auto shredder residue poses a threat to human health and the
environment, identify the constituents in auto shredder residue that
could pose health and safety or environmental problems when used as
alternative daily cover in accordance with applicable regulations,
recommend approaches to work with the auto industry to manufacture
vehicles that produce less hazardous waste at end-of-life, and
recommend changes to statute, regulation, or agency practice, if any,
based on the working group's analysis.
The bill would require the secretary, on or before December 31,
2010, to report to the Legislature on the findings of the working
group, and would prohibit the department from altering the current
regulatory status of auto shredder residue without first considering
the factors the working group is required to consider. The
bill would require a decision by the department to change the
regulatory status of auto shredder residue to be implemented in
accordance with the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative
Procedure Act.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) State and federal law require operators of solid waste
landfills to cover disposed solid waste with six inches of earthen
material at the end of each operating day to control disease vectors,
fires, odors, blowing litter, and scavenging. Certain alternative
materials are allowed to be used to meet this daily cover
requirement.
(b) The California Integrated Waste Management Board has adopted
regulations allowing treated auto shredder residue to be used as
alternative cover material. Auto shredder residue is the nonmetallic
residue that remains after the removal of recyclable ferrous and
nonferrous metals from shredder feedstock. The primary sources of
these recyclable metals include end-of-life vehicles and common
household appliances.
(c) Treated auto shredder residue has been used as alternative
daily cover at California's solid waste landfills since the late
1980s. In 2008, over 500,000 tons of treated auto shredder residue
were used as alternative daily cover at California solid waste
landfills. Studies have been conducted that demonstrate the benefits
of using treated auto shredder residue as alternative daily cover.
(d) The Department of Toxic Substances Control has announced its
intention to alter the current regulatory status of treated auto
shredder residue. If this action were taken, it could, among other
things, result in higher landfill costs, increased use of green waste
as alternative daily cover, significant increases in vehicle miles
traveled and greenhouse gas emissions, and severe disruption of the
metal recycling industry in California.
(e) It is in the best interest of the people of the State of
California to identify in advance the environmental and economic
effects of the Department of Toxic Substances Control's proposed
alteration of the regulatory status quo relating to treated auto
shredder residue, including, but not limited to, the consequences if
the residue no longer could be used as alternative daily cover.
SEC. 2. Section 42173 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
42173. (a) On or before February 1, 2010, subject to the
availability of funding pursuant to subdivision (e), the
Secretary for Environmental Protection shall establish an auto
shredder residue working group, comprised of representatives of the
board, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the State Air
Resources Board, the State Water Resources Control Board, members of
the auto shredder industry, landfill operators, and other interested
stakeholders.
(b) The auto shredder residue working group shall do all of the
following:
(1) Review and evaluate the existing practice of using treated
auto shredder residue as alternative daily cover.
(2) Determine the effects of the Department of Toxic Substances
Control's proposed revocation of the current regulatory
classification of treated auto shredder residue and resulting
prohibitions on its use as alternative daily cover, including the
potential effects of those prohibitions or curtailments on recycling.
(3) Determine whether the current regulatory classification of
treated auto shredder residue poses a threat to human health or the
environment.
(4) Identify the constituents in auto shredder residue that could
pose health and safety or environmental problems when used as
alternative daily cover in accordance with applicable regulations.
(5) Recommend approaches to work with the auto industry to
manufacture vehicles that produce less hazardous waste at
end-of-life.
(6) Recommend changes to statute, regulation, or agency practice,
if any, based on the results of the working group's analysis.
(c) On or before December 1, 2010, the Secretary for Environmental
Protection shall report to the Legislature on the findings and
recommendations of the auto shredder residue working group.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Department of
Toxic Substances Control shall not alter the current regulatory
status of auto shredder residue without first considering the factors
in subdivision (b). A decision by the Department of Toxic
Substances Control to change the regulatory status of auto shredder
residue shall be implemented pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, the
Secretary for Environmental Protection shall not be required to
establish an auto shredder residue working group or submit a report
to the Legislature unless the board has entered into a written
agreement with one or more nongovernmental members of the working
group to reimburse the office of the Secretary for Environmental
Protection, the board, the Department of Toxic Substances Control,
the State Air Resources Board, and the State Water Resources Control
Board for their costs in complying with this section.