BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE FOOD and AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE
Senator Dean Florez, Chairman
BILL NO: SB 1107 HEARING: 4/6/10
AUTHOR: Kehoe FISCAL: Yes
VERSION: 3/24/10 CONSULTANT: John Chandler
Water quality: interceptor and trap grease.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
The Food and Agriculture Code defines "interceptor and trap
grease" as grease principally derived from food preparation,
processing, or waste that is removed from a grease trap or
grease interceptor. The Food and Agriculture Code defines
"inedible kitchen grease" as any fat or used cooking greases and
oils obtained from any source.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) issues
licenses to individuals who operate rendering plants and
collection centers. Additionally, a person who transports
inedible kitchen grease must be registered by CDFA. The
registration application shall include the applicant's name and
address, a description of the operation, vehicles used in the
transportation, list of drivers, and any other information
deemed necessary. The registration includes a $100 fee. CDFA
has the authority to charge an additional fee of not more than
$300 per year per vehicle and not more than $3,000 per year per
registered transporter to cover the costs of administering the
program.
Licensed transporters of inedible kitchen grease shall maintain
records for one year. The records shall include the name and
address of each location from which the transporter obtained the
material, the quantity of material received, and the date the
material was obtained.
The State Water Resources Control Board (state board) was
created by the Legislature in 1967. The joint authority of water
allocation and water quality protection enables the state board
to provide comprehensive protection for California's waters.
The state board consists of five full-time salaried members
appointed to four-year terms by the governor and confirmed by
the Senate.
On May 2, 2006, the state board adopted statewide waste
discharge requirements for sanitary sewer systems. The Sanitary
Sewer Order requires public agencies that own or operate
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sanitary sewer systems to develop and implement sewer system
management plans and report all sanitary sewer overflows (SSO)
to the state board's online SSO database. An SSO is any
overflow, spill, release, discharge or diversion of untreated or
partially treated wastewater from a sanitary sewer system. SSOs
often contain high levels of suspended solids, pathogenic
organisms, toxic pollutants, nutrients, oil, and grease.
AB 2633 (Frommer) of 2004 attempted to create the Interceptor
Grease Transportation, Recycling and Disposal Act of 2004 to
manage the transportation and disposal of interceptor grease.
This bill was vetoed by the governor.
AB 1333 (Frommer), Chapter 186, Statutes of 2006, made it a
misdemeanor to improperly dispose or incompletely remove grease
from traps or interceptors.
AB 1065 (Matthews), Chapter 533, Statutes of 2005, established a
method for tracking inedible kitchen grease; defined
"interceptor grease"; separated for licensed renderers and
transporters; required transporters to be insured; changed the
suspension or revocation of a license or registration; and
expanded the conditions that may lead to a suspension or
revocation of a license or registration.
SB 1138 (Cedillo) would create a Rendering Industry Advisory
Board. This bill is currently in the Senate Food and
Agriculture Committee.
PROPOSED LAW
SB 1107 would transfer the authority for grease trap waste from
CDFA to the state board by establishing within the Water Code
the Interceptor and Trap Grease Transportation Act of 2010.
Specifically, the bill would do the following:
Move the definition of "interceptor and trap grease"
from the Food and Agriculture Code to the Water Code.
Specify that the definition of "inedible kitchen grease"
not include interceptor and trap grease.
Define "interceptor grease hauler" as a transporter of
interceptor and trap grease.
Authorize the state board to solicit and use expertise
from other state agencies, including the State Board of
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Equalization.
Specify that if the State Board of Equalization is
contracted to collect fees it be done pursuant to the Fee
Collection Procedures Law.
Require all persons transporting interceptor and trap
grease to register and possess valid registration issued by
the state board on or after January 1, 2012.
Authorize the state board to impose a registration fee
to cover the costs of implementation and enforcement to be
deposited in the Interceptor and Trap Grease Fund.
Specify that each registration expires each year on
December 31.
Require that transporters provide proof of insurance
policy or surety bond of $2 million, or $1 million for
vehicles under 10,000 pounds gross weight to cover damages
of transporting grease.
Specify that local ordinances that are more stringent
shall not be preempted.
Require that registrations include the applicant's name
and address, description of operations, vehicles used in
transportation, list of drivers' names and license number
that transport interceptor grease, other information
required by the state board.
Authorize the state board to suspend, deny, revoke, or
refuse to issue a registration at any time if the applicant
disposed of interceptor grease at an unapproved facility;
reintroduced grease into a sanitary sewer or storm drain
without authority; commingled interceptor grease with other
forms of liquid waste; failed to maintain and submit
required tracking reports; failed to fully pump all grease,
water, greasy liquid, and solids from the grease
interceptor or trap; took interceptor and trap grease from
an unregistered hauler; or violated or aided any violation
of statute, regulation, or order relating to interceptor
and trap grease.
Require that vehicles transporting interceptor and trap
grease display the name of the owner in letters not less
than two inches high.
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Require that registered interceptor and trap grease
haulers transport the interceptor grease only to registered
facilities.
Establish procedures for registrant appeals of
suspensions, revocations, or non-renewal decisions of the
state board.
Require that interceptor and trap grease haulers compile
a tracking document submitted to the state board quarterly,
which would be available on the state board website for
public access.
Require that the quarterly tracking document include at
a minimum: name and address of each location interceptor
and trap grease was obtained, quantity of interceptor
grease obtained from each location, location of final
disposition of interceptor grease, amount deposited, and
the end use of interceptor grease, if known.
Require that interceptor and trap grease haulers have
the tracking document in their possession while
transporting the grease and available for inspection upon
demand by any peace officer or any officer designated by
the state board.
Require that transporters notify local officials of the
termination or expiration of a transportation contract.
Authorize the state board to contract out portions of
the program to an unspecified entity.
COMMENTS
1.Proponents state that SB 1107 is needed to address the
pervasive problem of interceptor grease entering our sewers,
causing clogs resulting in sewage spills. In a May 2009
report, the state board reported that since 2006 19% of all
reported sanitary sewer overflows were caused by grease
deposition. Sewage spills can contaminate the public water
supply, endanger public health in water recreational areas,
and damage the environment. In 2004, the California District
Attorneys Association authored a report entitled "Grease: The
Prosecutors' Perspective," which concludes that a major cause
of sewer spills that contaminate drinking water supplies and
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pollute rivers, streams, and coastal waters is the improper
handling and disposing of grease from commercial
establishments. The improper management of fat, oil, and
grease wastes causes environmental and public health damage.
There is a need to develop a comprehensive statewide program
to prevent damage from improper management of these wastes and
to integrate this program with existing local efforts to keep
grease out of our sewer systems.
In the governor's veto message for AB 2633, he instructed CDFA
to review and upgrade its existing system to improve the
tracking and enforcement of laws governing disposal of
restaurant grease. It has been five years since the
governor's message, and the department has yet to implement
regulations on an improved tracking system.
2.Opponents state the problem of illegal dumping of interceptor
grease into the sewer system is currently illegal and a
violation of the Food and Agriculture Code, Vehicle Code,
Penal Code, and Water Code. Opponents state that if the
illegal dumping of interceptor grease is widespread the state
board would be able to cite those violators under current law.
Further, opponents feel that the current regulatory system
provides a comprehensive approach, regulating renderers, dead
animal haulers, and kitchen grease transporters including
interceptor grease haulers. Moving one element of this
program to the state board would create challenges, including
the need to train additional state employees with little
expertise in the grease hauling industry, increase in
regulatory costs, and potential reduction in effectiveness of
the existing program.
3.Currently, renderers and transporters of inedible kitchen
grease are licensed by CDFA. The licensed renderers are
required to keep records for inedible kitchen grease. SB 1107
would establish a new program under the state board for the
interceptor and trap grease transportation portion of the CDFA
program. With two programs monitoring the transport of
grease, the committee may wish to consider whether or not a
new program should be created to deal with interceptor grease
under a different agency instead of just expanding the current
program.
4.On page 8, line 27, there appears to be a technical error.
The committee may wish to consider amending the (b) to (c) to
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conform with the rest of the section.
5.SB 1107 establishes the "Interceptor and Trap Grease Penalty
Fund;" however, it authorizes the board to expend money from
the "Interceptor and Trap Grease Fund." This appears to be a
drafting error. The committee may wish to consider deleting
the word "Penalty" from the established fund for clarity.
6.The last provision of this bill authorizes the board to
contract out portions of the tracking program to an
unspecified entity. The committee may wish to consider if
this entity should be identified.
7.The Senate Rules Committee has doubled referred this bill to
the Senate Environmental Quality Committee as the second
committee of referral. Therefore, if this measure is approved
by this committee, the motion should include an action to
re-refer the bill to the Senate Committee on Environmental
Quality.
SUPPORT
California Coastkeeper Alliance
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation
Heal the Bay
Orange County Coastkeeper
Russian Riverkeeper
San Diego Coastkeeper
San Francisco Baykeeper
Sierra Club California
OPPOSITION
California Grain and Feed Association
Pacific Coast Rendering Association