BILL ANALYSIS
SB 524
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Date of Hearing: August 19, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
SB 524 (Correa) - As Amended: July 7, 2009
Policy Committee: Environmental
Safety Vote: 5-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires establishment of a working group to consider
current regulation of auto shredder waste and potential changes
to that regulation. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection, on
or before February 1, 2010, to establish an auto shredder
residue working group, comprising representatives of the
Integrated Waste Management Board (IWMB), the Department of
Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), the Air Resources Board
(ARB), the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB),
members of the auto shredder industry, landfill operators,
members of the public health and environmental communities,
and other interested stakeholders.
2) Directs the working group to consider current regulation
of auto shredder residue and potential changes to that
regulation.
3) Requires the secretary to report to the Legislature on
the findings and recommendations of the working group by
December 1, 2010.
4) Provides that the requirement to establish the working
group exists only if the IWMB enters into an agreement by
which one or more of the nongovernmental members of the
working group agree to reimburse the state costs associated
with the working group.
5) Sunsets on July 1, 2011.
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FISCAL EFFECT
Negligible state costs as any such costs will be reimbursed by
private members of the working group.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author claims that DTSC has attempted to alter
its decades-old regulatory treatment of auto shredder waste
without adequate justification, evidence or consultation with
affected parties. The author contends that, because a change
in the regulatory status of auto shredder residue will affect
various state regulatory agencies and stakeholders, there
needs to be a joint review before DTSC change the way it
regulates this material.
2)Background .
a) Auto shredder waste is a byproduct of automobile and
household appliance recycling and disposal. Auto shredder
waste is what remains of vehicles and appliances after the
recyclable metals have been removed. Such waste primarily
is comprised of nonmetallic materials, such as glass,
fiber, rubber, automobile fluids, dirt and plastics. Auto
shredder waste oftentimes contains lead, cadmium, copper,
and zinc at levels above the state's regulatory thresholds.
Shredder waste has been found to contain polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs) at concentrations which occasionally
exceed the federal and State regulatory threshold of 50
parts per million. For these reasons, since 1984, DTSC
(and its predecessor agency, the Department of Health
Services (DHS)) has treated auto shredder waste as a
hazardous waste subject to California's Hazardous Waste
Control Law and regulations. (Prior to 1984, auto shredder
waste was not considered hazardous and, generally, was
disposed of in landfills.)
Between 1986 and 1992, DHS issued conditional nonhazardous
waste classifications to seven auto shredder facilities
that had successfully treated their auto shredder waste to
nonhazardous levels using similar metals fixation treatment
technologies. Auto shredder waste at these facilities was
no longer regulated as a hazardous waste.
b) Alternative daily cover (ADC) refers to material, aside
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from dirt and other earthen material, used to cover the
surface of an active municipal solid waste landfill at the
end of each operating day. ADC helps control vectors,
fires, odors, blowing litter, and scavenging. Currently,
IWMB has approved 11 ADC material types, including treated
auto shredder waste.
c) DTSC Recommends Rescinding Nonhazardous Status of Auto
Shredder Waste. In early 2000, DTSC initiated a
comprehensive review of its past policies to ensure that
they conform to current laws, regulations and science. As
part of that review, DTSC conducted on-site surveys at
several auto shredder facilities to test for levels of
hazardous materials. Following the review, DTSC released a
draft report that recommended the following changes to
regulatory treatment of auto shredder waste:
i) Rescind existing DTSC auto shredder waste policy and
procedures.
ii) Require facilities that wish to continue treating
their shredder waste on site to obtain the appropriate
authorization within a specified period of time.
iii) Rescind all previously issued nonhazardous waste
classifications for treated shredder waste.
On September 29, 2008, DTSC sent a letter to the shredders
notifying them of the requirement that all auto shredders
in California register as hazardous waste generators. With
auto shredder waste categorized as a hazardous waste,
landfill facilities could no longer use it as ADC.
3)Arguments in Support. Supporters, including California
Chapters of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries
(sponsor) and the League of California Cities, argue that DTSC
has the initial burden of proof to demonstrate the need to
alter the regulatory status quo regarding auto shredder waste.
Proponents contend DTSC is relying on inadequate data to
justify substantial changes to longstanding and effective
policy. In addition, proponents claim that DTSC has failed to
consult with stakeholders affected by the regulatory change,
including industry and other state agencies, and that DTSC has
failed to complete legally required review of the
environmental effects of its proposed regulatory changes.
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Finally, proponents note that nothing in the latest version of
this bill prevents DTSC from regulating auto shredder waste
pursuant to its existing authority.
4)Arguments in Opposition . The Sierra Club of California is the
sole registered opposition to this bill. According to the
club, the multiparty working group required by this bill is
unnecessary because multimedia coordination among various
regulators already takes place. The club claims this bill
indicates that the Legislature will, at the behest of
polluters, interfere in DTSC's science-driven waste
classification process.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081