BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
1107 (Kehoe)
Hearing Date: 05/03/2010 Amended: 04/26/2010
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: F&A 3-1, EQ 4-2
SB 1107 (Kehoe), Page 2
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 1107 requires haulers of interceptor and trap
grease to register with the State Water Resources Control Board.
The bill requires haulers to only transport interceptor and trap
grease to facilities that are legally authorized to accept it.
The bill requires haulers to maintain specified records for
three years. The bill requires haulers to pay fees to the Board.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
Water Board enforcement$390 $830 $2,130 Special
*
* New special fund - Interceptor and Trap Grease Fund. Fully
offset by fee revenues.
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STAFF COMMENTS:
Current law regulates the transport of "inedible kitchen grease"
which includes both "yellow grease" and "brown grease". The
regulation of inedible kitchen grease is overseen by the
Department of Food and Agriculture. Yellow grease is the
by-product of cooking oil and has value as a source for the
manufacture of biodiesel and other products. Brown grease is the
by-product of food scraps, oil, grease and other kitchen waste
that is collected from grease traps and interceptors. There is
no market for brown grease.
Because there is no market for brown grease, concerns have been
raised that some haulers are improperly dumping brown grease in
sanitary or storm sewer systems. Over time the buildup of grease
and other wastes can clog up sewer lines, resulting in
breakages, leaks, or overflows. In 2006, the State Water
Resources Control Board (Water Board) established a statewide
waste discharge requirement for sanitary sewer systems. The
discharge requirement puts additional regulatory requirements on
the operators of sanitary sewer systems to plan for and
implement plans to prevent overflows.
SB 1107 defines "interceptor and trap grease" separately from
SB 1107 (Kehoe), Page 2
inedible kitchen grease and places the code sections dealing
with interceptor and trap grease in the Water Code.
The bill requires haulers of interceptor and trap grease to
register with the Water Board annually and requires haulers to
demonstrate that they have insurance or a surety bond in place.
The bill specifies information that must be provided to the
Water Board as part of the registration process. The bill
directs the Waste Board to assess a fee on waste haulers
sufficient to pay for the Water Board's costs to enforce the
provisions of the bill. If the Water Board finds that a hauler
has not complied with the requirements of the bill, the Water
Board is authorized to deny, suspend or revoke a permit.
The bill requires haulers to only transport interceptor and trap
grease to facilities that are authorized to accept such wastes.
The bill requires haulers to maintain specified records of
collections and depositions of interceptor and trap grease for
three years. Whenever a contract for hauling interceptor and
trap grease expires, the bill requires the hauler to notify any
local program dedicated to preventing sanitary sewer overflows
related to fats and oils.
The bill creates a new special fund for the deposit of fees
collected under the bill and makes those funds available, upon
appropriation of the Legislature, for the implementation of the
bill.
The Water Board estimates that its ongoing costs to implement
the program, including auditing haulers and enforcing the bills
provisions, will be over $2 million per year, once the program
is fully operational. Under the bill, those costs would be paid
for with fees charged to waste haulers. The Water Board
estimates that there are about 350 haulers that would be subject
to the requirements of the bill. Annual fees are estimated to be
about $6,000 per year.