BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1224
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
SB 1224 (Wright) - As Amended: May 10, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 29-2
SUBJECT : Air discharges
SUMMARY : Authorizes an air district to adopt a rule or
regulation that ensures district staff and resources are not
used to investigate complaints alleging a nuisance odor
violation that are determined to be repeated and
unsubstantiated.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Under the California Constitution, authorizes a city or county
to "make and enforce within its limits all local, police,
sanitary, and other ordinances and regulations not in conflict
with general law."
2)Under Nuisance Law:
a) Defines "nuisance" to be anything injurious to health,
including, but not limited to, the illegal sale of
controlled substances, or is indecent or offensive to the
senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so
as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or
property, or unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use,
in the customary manner, of any navigable lake, river, bay
stream canal or basin, or any public park, square, street,
or highway.
b) Provides that an agricultural or agricultural processing
facility cannot become a nuisance due to any changed
condition in or about the locality after it has been in
operation for more than three years if it was not a
nuisance at the time it began, and certain conditions are
met.
3)Provides that air pollution control districts (APCDs) and air
quality management districts (AQMDs) have primary
responsibility for controlling air pollution from all sources,
SB 1224
Page 2
other than emissions from mobile sources.
4)Under Nonvehicular Air Pollution Control Law:
a) Prohibits discharging from any source quantities of air
contaminants or other material that causes injury,
detriment, nuisance, or annoyance to any considerable
number of persons or to the public, or that endanger the
comfort, repose, health, or safety of any of those persons
or the public, or that cause or have a natural tendency to
cause injury or damage to business or property.
b) Exempts odors emanating from certain agricultural and
compost operations.
c) Authorizes an APCD or AQMD board, after notice and
hearing, to issue an order for abatement whenever it finds
that any person is constructing or operating any article,
machine, equipment, or other contrivance without a permit
required by the law or of any order, rule, or regulation
prohibiting or limiting the discharge of air contaminants
into the air.
THIS BILL :
1)Authorizes an APCD or AQMD to adopt a rule or regulation, as
specified, that ensures district staff and resources are not
used to investigate complaints alleging a nuisance odor
violation that are determined to be repeated and
unsubstantiated.
2)If an APCD or AWMD adopts such a rule, requires it be
submitted to the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources and
the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality within 30 days.
3)Sunsets on January 1, 2014.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is nonfiscal.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "SB 1224 seeks to find the
best use of air district resources, as well as company
resources, to handle complaints that are found to be repeated
and unsubstantiated. In today's economy where government and
company resources are diminishing, time and resources to handle
SB 1224
Page 3
air contaminant issues must be organized and efficient. SB 1224
allows each air district to analyze how they handle repeated,
unconfirmed odor complaints and come up with a solution that
best utilizes finite resources."
In response to the author's concerns, this bill authorizes APCDs
and AQMDs to adopt a rule or regulation ensuring that staff and
resources are not used to investigate repeated and
unsubstantiated complaints, or complaints made in bad faith,
alleging a violation of the prohibition on discharging air
contaminant or other materials, under specified conditions.
The author and supporters of the bill note two examples of "the
most serious cases where odor complaints are repeated and
unsubstantiated." In Oakland, the Bay Area Air Quality
Management District (BAAQMD) has received over 80 complaints
since 2007 relating to the CASS facility. BAAQMD has not issued
a notice of violations for odors. The author states that for
each complaint, CASS staff spent 2-4 hours meeting with BAAQMD
staff and reviewing the operations. This adds up to "hundreds
of hours spent by employees without a problem."
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) has
received 200 complaints since 2000, alleging one or both of
Griswold Castings Division facilities (Costa Mesa) as the source
of air contaminants. SCAQMD issued one notice to comply at one
facility - the equivalent to a California Highway Patrol "fix
it" ticket and no notices of violation.
SB 1224
Page 4
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
AB&I Foundry
American Foundry Society, Southern California
Atlas Pacific Corporation
California Chamber of Commerce
California Forestry Association
California League of Food Processors
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
California Metals Coalition
CASS, Inc.
Crenshaw Die and Manufacturing Corporation
Dameron Alloy Foundries Inc.
De La Fuente, Ignacio, City of Oakland Councilmember, District 5
Edelbrock Corporation
Globe Iron Foundry, Inc.
Griswold Industries
Helfrich Tool & Die Corporation
Hyatt Die Cast & Engineering Corp.
Industrial Environmental Association
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, California Chapter
KenWalt Die Casting Corporation
Lodi Iron Works, Inc.
Magnesium Alloy Products Company, Inc.
Nathan A. Miley, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, District 4
North American Die Casting Association, Chapter 30
Northern California Coaters Association
Pacific Steel Casting Company
Otten, Daren, Manufacturing Technology Coordinator, California
State University, Chico
Rangers Die Casting Co.
Small Business California
Strategic Materials Corporation
Thorock Metals, Inc.
TST, Inc.
United States Pipe and Foundry Company, LLC
Ward, Michael, Dean College of Engineering, Computer Science,
and
Construction Management, California State University, Chico
Opposition
None on file
SB 1224
Page 5
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092