BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1107
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 30, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
SB 1107 (Kehoe) - As Amended: May 24, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 22-13
E.S. & T.M. 6-3
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|Ayes:|Chesbro, Davis, Feuer, | | |
| |Monning, Nava, Ruskin | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Blakeslee, Miller, Smyth | | |
| | | | |
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SUBJECT : Water quality: interceptor and trap grease.
SUMMARY : Requires the State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB) before January 1, 2012, to develop, adopt, and implement
regulations, that include specified requirements, for a manifest
system to track the transportation of interceptor and trap
grease; requires assessing fees to cover the cost of the
program, creates a new fund for those fees, and describes use of
those funds; defines interceptor and trap grease; adds
violations of new provisions or regulations adopted to carry out
those provision as suspension or revocation of registration.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Creates a new violation for suspension or revocation of a
registration by violating the Interceptor and Trap Grease
Transportation provisions of the Water Code that are being
added by this bill.
2)Adds to the definition of "grease waste hauler" to include
those subject to the Interceptor and Trap Grease
Transportation provisions of the Water Code that are being
added by this bill.
3)Creates the Interceptor and Trap Grease Transportation
provisions in the Water Code that apply only to a manifest
system for interceptor and trap grease.
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4)Makes legislative findings and declarations as follows:
a) The mismanagement of interceptor and trap grease causes
environmental, property, and public health damage, making
the need to develop a manifest system for its
transportation, and to integrate that program into existing
state and local efforts to keep grease out of sewer
systems, storm drains, and waters of the state.
b) SWRCB has determined that sewer overflows or spills
often contain high levels of suspended solids, pathogenic
organisms, toxic pollutants, nutrients, oxygen demanding
organic compounds, oil, grease, food waste, and other
pollutants. Sewer overflows may cause nuisance or
temporarily exceed water quality standards; if sewer
overflows into surface waters or ocean waters, they may
cause a threat to public health, affect aquatic life and
impair public recreational use and aesthetic enjoyment of
surface water.
c) SWRCB has adopted waste discharge requirements for
cities in an effort to reduce sewer overflows that include
the mandate that cities adopt a program to reduce fats,
oils, and grease (FOG) from entering their systems.
d) States that inappropriate transportation of interceptor
and trap grease has been detrimental to human health and
the environment, posing a threat to waters of the state;
that it is imperative to ensure that interceptor and trap
grease is delivered to an appropriate facility for
recycling, treatment, or disposal, in order to avoid
improper disposal to land, surface waters, and sewers.
5)Defines "Interceptor and trap grease" as that grease
principally derived from food preparation, processing or
waste, and that is removed from a grease trap or grease
interceptor, and it does not mean inedible kitchen grease as
defined in the Food and Agricultural Code.
6)Defines "interceptor and trap grease hauler" as a transporter
of interceptor and trap grease subject to this chapter.
7)Defines "Manifest system" as a system for documenting and
tracking the transportation of interceptor and trap grease
from pick-up to final destination.
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8)Requires SWRCB, on or before January 1, 2012, to develop,
adopt, and implement regulations for a manifest system to
track the transportation of interceptor and trap grease.
9)Requires SWRCB to impose fees on interceptor and trap grease
haulers to cover the cost of implementing this program.
10)Requires SWRCB, in developing required regulations, at a
minimum to do all of the following:
a) Requires transporters of interceptor and trap grease to
comply with SWRCB's tracking document and submit legible
copy(s) on a quarterly basis to SWRCB. Requires SWRCB to
post tracking documents on its internet site for public
access.
b) Requires the tracking document to have all of the
following:
i) Name and location of each location from which the
transporter obtained interceptor and trap grease;
ii) The quality of interceptor and trap grease obtained
at each location;
iii) The date on which the interceptor and trap grease is
obtained;
iv) The location and date of the final disposition of
the interceptor and trap grease; and,
v) The amount deposited and the end use of the
interceptor and trap grease.
c) Requires the tracking document be in the possession of
the transporter while transporting the interceptor and trap
grease and made available upon demand by any SWRCB
representative, California Highway Patrol Officer, peace
offer, or any local public officer designated by the SWRCB.
d) Authorizes public owned treatment facilities to accept
interceptor and trap grease.
11)Requires every transporter of interceptor and trap grease to
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record and maintain for three years, documentation of
compliance with this chapter.
12)Requires transporters of interceptor and trap grease, upon
the termination of the hauling contract, to notify local
officials overseeing the applicable program for FOG, for the
county in which the product was collected.
13)Prohibits, on or after January 1, 2012, a person or entity
from engaging in the transportation of interceptor and trap
grease unless that person or entity is in compliance with the
provisions of this chapter.
14)This chapter shall not preempt a local ordinance or rule that
is more stringent that this chapter.
15)Creates the Interceptor and Trap Grease Manifest Fund (Fund)
and requires the SWRCB to deposit all fees collected under
this chapter into that Fund, and limits their use to the
implementation of this chapter, upon appropriation by the
Legislature.
16)Permits SWRCB to consult with the California Department of
Food & Agriculture (CDFA) and any other state agencies, as
appropriate, to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
EXISTING LAW requires transporters of inedible kitchen grease
(IKG) to register with CDFA and pay specified fees; registrants
are required to provide, among other requirements, all driver's
names and license numbers; permits CDFA to refuse to issue
registration to any applicant, to suspend or revoke a
registration based upon a violation of this chapter or if they
have engaged, added, or abetted another person in a violation of
this chapter or of the federal Water Pollution Act, the
Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, Fish and Game Code,
commercial weight limits, or commercial vehicles hours of
service. (Food and Agricultural Code (FAC) Sections 19312 and
19314)
Establishes SWRCB and regional water quality control boards in
the California Environmental Protection Agency as "the principal
state agencies with primary responsibility for the coordination
and control of water quality." Makes it unlawful for any
person to knowingly or negligently introduce into a sewer system
or into a publicly-owned treatment works any pollutant or
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hazardous substance that the person knew, or reasonably should
have known, could cause personal injury or property damage, or
to introduce any pollutant or hazardous substance into a sewer
system or into a publicly-owned treatment works, except in
accordance with any applicable pretreatment requirements, which
pollutant or hazardous substance causes the treatment works to
violate waste discharge requirements. Provides that any person
who knowingly introduces a hazardous substance into a sewer, as
specified, and who knows that it thereby places another person
in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury, faces
specified fines of up to $2 million and incarceration. (Water
Code Sections 13100 et. seq.)
Defines IKG as any fat or used cooking greases and oils obtained
from any source. Requires, as a condition of registration, that
applicants demonstrate the ability to respond to damages
resulting from hauling of IKG, cover public liability and
provide proof of insurance or surety bond of not less than $2
million, unless operating only one vehicle, then not less than
$1 million, when the vehicle gross weight rating is not more
than 10,000 pounds. Requires renderers and transporters of IKG
to maintain records for two years of all IKG, its source, date
purchased and who handled it, and for one year the name,
address, quality and date of each location from which the
transporter obtained the IKG. (FAC Sections 19310 and 19303)
Makes it a crime for any person to cause or maliciously
discharge, dump, release, place, drop, pour, or otherwise
deposit, any substance capable of causing substantial damage or
harm to the operation of a public sewer sanitary facility, or to
deposit in commercial quantities any other substance, into a
manhole, cleanout, or other sanitary sewer facility, not
intended for use as a point of deposit for sewage, which is
connected to a public sanitary sewer system, without possessing
a written authorization. Provides that any violations of this
section shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for
not more than one year, or by a fine of up to $25,000, or by
both a fine and imprisonment. If the conviction is for a second
or subsequent violation, the punishment shall be imprisonment in
the county jail for not more than one year, or imprisonment in
the state prison for 16, 20, or 24 months, and by a fine of not
less than $5,000 or more than $25,000. (Penal Code Section
374.2)
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FISCAL EFFECT : Legislative Counsel has keyed this bill
"fiscal."
COMMENTS : Interceptor and trap grease, also referred to as
"brown grease," is a by-product of food preparation and can be
generated by restaurants, caterers, food processors, and
homeowners. Brown grease, coming from food and kitchen waste,
is commonly washed down sinks, dishwashers or floor drains; it
consists of FOG and can be collected in grease traps along with
water and solids. These products are collected by registered
haulers and disposed through a variety of methods - rendering
plants, recycling or biofuel centers, landfills and publicly
owned treatment works (POTW). Brown grease differs from "yellow
grease," which is inedible and unadulterated spent FOG removed
from a food service establishments. The major source of yellow
grease comes from deep frying. Yellow grease is a marketable
commodity and is typically recycled as an animal feed additive;
for fatty acids and glycerol to create surfactants, plastics,
resins, textiles and cosmetics; to make soap and lubricants;
and, to create biodiesel fuel for vehicles. Brown grease has no
such marketability.
According to the Author, because this material is often hauled
across multiple jurisdictions with little or no oversight, it
has become increasingly difficult to track how and where it is
disposed. Further, because of inadequate tracking and
enforcement, grease trap haulers may be illegally dumping it
back into our sewer systems. This threatens our bays, beaches
and waterways. California communities are continuously
threatened by sewage system overflows caused by grease.
According to a May 2009 SWRCB report, since 2006, 19% of all
sanitation overflows were caused by grease deposition. Further,
the California District Attorneys Association issued a report in
2004 that states between 2001 and the issuance of the report, 15
counties reported prosecuting 27 grease hauler's and that brown
grease is a major problem because it threatens our natural
resources, our health, and the cost of its remediation
dissipates precious tax dollars. Since those prosecutions, few
others have followed.
According to the California Association of Sanitation Districts,
while 19% of sanitary sewer overflows are caused by grease, very
few are the results of illegal grease dumping. Almost all of
the overflows are caused by FOGs coming from residences. The
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association members find that the increased legal action taken
by city and district attorneys has reduced illegal dumping and
the occurrences are infrequent. They state that "grease haulers
are not the cause of spills."
The Sponsors state that CDFA's primary focus is on yellow grease
and they do not currently have a tracking process for the final
disposition of brown grease, which contains mostly wastewater
and is typically disposed of at wastewater treatment facilities.
Further, that SWRCB oversees the sanitary sewer overflow
program and wastewater treatment facilities, it is the
appropriate agency for tracking the disposal of brown grease.
SB 1107 provides a narrow authority to SWRCB to track brown
grease, while CDFA's authority to regulate both brown and yellow
grease remains in statute.
Other supporters state that according to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, the Office of Water recently reported that
FOG caused 80% of sewer spills throughout the United States.
They state that SB 1107 provides for "sound policy" by mandating
a public tracking system from cradle to grave. This will
enforce the clear directive of Governor Schwarzenegger's 2004
veto message of AB 1333 (Frommer).
AB 1333 (Formmer), of 2004, required a manifest system be
developed by CDFA. This bill was vetoed by the Governor and in
his veto message he directed CDFA to develop a manifest system,
under their existing authority. CDFA proceeded through the
regulatory process, which ended when POTW would not agree to the
requirement of validating what was disposed of in their plants.
CDFA recently released a new rule-making package relating to the
management and tracking of FOG, which is currently undergoing
public comment. CDFA's proposal for the tracking and management
of FOG, effective January 1, 2012, requires vehicles used to
transport the contents of any FOG to have a Global Positioning
System (GPS) installed, and turned on at all times the vehicle
is in operation, and fully functioning. The GPS device must
record and save the location of the hauler not less than every
two minutes and record the distance between stopping points.
The regulation requires the owner/operator of the vehicle to
keep all records generated by the GPS for at least one year and
to make the records available immediately to CDFA personnel,
upon request.
There remains disagreement over the benefits of a GPS versus a
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manifest system. Supporters of SB 1107 don't believe tracking a
vehicle will provide enforcement agencies with the information
of the volumes of FOG that has been picked up, transported and
disposed of, in order to know if all of it has been properly
disposed of or if some have been put back into an interceptor or
grease trap, or illegally dumped. CDFA believes the GPS will
provide evidence of illegal disposal by tracking the movement of
the vehicles. The GPS device must record and save the location
of the hauler not less than every two minutes and record the
distance between stopping points. The regulation requires the
owner/operator of the vehicle to keep all records generated by
the GPS for at least one year and to make the records available
immediately to CDFA personnel upon request. The committee may
wish to consider if a manifest system should be required?
Currently, there is no communication between POTW and CDFA when
a grease spill occurs. The committee may wish to consider if a
Memorandum of Understanding or Agreement should be developed
between CDFA and POTWs to notify CDFA of any sewer spillages
caused by grease? This may assist CDFA in its enforcement
effort.
PENDING LEGISLATION :
AB 2612 (Agriculture), among other things, will expand the
definition of a "collection center" to include a "pet food
processor," will change the license expiration date from a year
of issuance to December 31 of each year, and will exempt a
"collection center" from registration as a transporter of IKG if
they are licensed as a collection center in accordance with this
chapter.
SB 25 (Padilla) will specify that "renderer" and "rendering" do
not include facilities or activities that are already licensed
by the Department of Resources Recovery and Recycling.
SB 1138 (Cedillo) will create a Rendering Industry Advisory
Board with the authority to advise CDFA regarding its rendering
program.
RELATED LEGISLATION :
AB 2981 (Agriculture), Chapter 535, Statutes of 2002. Omnibus
language cleanup that dealt with various agricultural issues,
including, expanding the definition of a transporter for
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inedible kitchen grease and rendering to include those engaged
in similar activities.
AB 1071 (Matthews), Chapter 929, Statutes of 2004. Expanded the
use of commercial feed inspection funds to include research and
education until 2010; extended the sunsets to 2011 for the
licensing of renderers and collection centers and the
registration of transporters of inedible kitchen grease and
collection centers; permitted the use of rendered products in
accordance with the United States Food and Drug Administration
rules and regulations; and, required a registrant to notify a
county health officer when a contract is terminated or expires.
AB 1065 (Matthews), Chapter 533, Statutes of 2005. Authorized
CDFA to establish a method for tracking inedible kitchen grease;
defined "interceptor grease;" separated requirements for
licensed renderers and transporters; required transporters to be
insured; changed the suspension or revocation of a license or
registration; expanded the conditions that may lead to a
suspension or revocation of a license or registration; and, made
related technical changes.
AB 2823 (Strom-Martin), Chapter 533, Statutes of 2002. Rewrote
the California Organic Food Act to conform to NOP. Broadened
the regulatory authority for CDFA and the Department of Health
Services to use of the word "organic" on a label and for
enforcement of processed food, pet food, nonfood plants and
cosmetics. Additionally, changed the fee structure and
registration requirements for organic producers and processors,
including retailers.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
San Diego Coastkeeper (sponsor)
Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA)
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
California Coastkeeper Alliance
City of San Jose
Clean Water Action
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation
East Bay Municipal Utility District
El Dorado Irrigation District
Heal the Bay
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Liquid Environmental Solutions
Orange County Coastkeeper
Russian Riverkeeper
San Diego Audubon Society
San Francisco Baykeeper
Sierra Club California
Opposition
California Grain and Feed Association
City of Camarillo
Department of Finance
Pacific Coast Rendering Association
Analysis Prepared by : Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084