BILL ANALYSIS
SB 624
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2008-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 624
AUTHOR: Romero
AMENDED: April 13, 2009
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 27, 2008
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Caroll
Mortensen
SUBJECT : SOLID WASTE: ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
SUMMARY :
Existing law , under the California Integrated Waste Management
Act of 1989:
1)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.
2)Defines "compost" as the product resulting from the
controlled biological decomposition of organic wastes that
are source separated from the municipal solid waste stream,
or which are separated at a centralized facility.
3)Defines the term "transformation" as meaning incineration,
pyrolysis, distillation, or biological conversion, and
excludes composting, gasification, or biomass conversion
from that definition.
This bill :
1)Defines "anaerobic digestion" (AD) as a process of bacterial
breakdown or organic materials that involves the natural
biodegradation in the absence of oxygen and does not exceed
a temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
2)Defines "composting operation" or "composting facility" to
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mean a operation or facility that produces compost,
including but limited to an entity that produces compost
either aerobically or nonaerobically and an operation or
facility the utilizes AD.
3)Clarifies that "AD" is not a transformation technology.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of Bill . According to the author, there is a need
to clarify the definition of both AD and composting
operations, to make clear that the former involves a natural
process of decomposition absent any oxygen, and to make
clear that the latter include facilities that can produce
compost either aerobically (with oxygen) and anaerobically
(without). As additional facilities of this type come
online, there is a need for the state to clearly establish
guidelines on the range of their activities to ensure that
our environment is adequately protected.
2)Background . This bill updates the Integrated Waste
Management Board's (IWMB) framework for regulating
composting facilities to acknowledge the AD process for
producing compost. This bill also specifies that
"transformation," the process of burning or heating solid
waste to reduce its volume, does not include AD. SB 624
clarifies that AD is a composting technology and is not
transformation (burning of waste).
Composting is regulated by the IWMB as one of the options
available for reducing the volume of solid waste disposed of
in landfills and reducing the emissions of landfill gases.
AD is a composting system that employs microorganisms to
break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen
to reduce its volume and mass. The process produces methane
and carbon dioxide rich biogas in a controlled environment
that is captured and can be used for energy and the solids
remaining after digestion can be used as a fertilizer. AD
is a low-heat technology with optimum temperatures
maintained in the range of 95 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and
no higher than 140 degrees Fahrenheit. When used as a solid
waste management technique, AD diverts organic solid wastes
such as paper and cardboard, yard trimmings, and food waste
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from landfill disposal to assist local governments in
reaching their diversion mandates with the added benefit of
energy and fertilizer production.
3)Solid Waste and Biomass Facilities . The IWMB regulates
facilities, including composting facilities that manage
municipal solid waste. AD is a technique used by a wide
range of other facilities that utilize waste streams that
are not normally disposed in a solid waste landfill such as
agriculture and forestry wastes. These facilities are not
regulated by the IWMB. Farms, dairies, wood and paper mill
facilities often utilize AD as a pollution prevention and
energy production strategy. Thus, AD is a widely used
technique not exclusive to the management of municipal solid
waste. AD, while more capital intensive than traditional
composting, has the added benefit of a controlled
environment that limits water and/or leachate run-off and
increases control of air emissions that cause pollution
(including greenhouse gasses) and odors.
SOURCE : Senator Romero
SUPPORT : None on File
OPPOSITION : None on file