BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 868
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Date of Hearing: May 10, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Bob Wieckowski, Chair
AB 868 (Davis) - As Introduced: February 17, 2011
SUBJECT : Transporting hazardous waste.
SUMMARY : Revises the condition for exempting manifest and
transporter requirements of hazardous waste to a maximum weight
of 10,000 pounds of hazardous waste (an increase from the
currently allowable 2,500 pounds or 275 gallons). Increases the
1,600 gallon hazardous wastewater exception from manifesting for
utility generators to a maximum of 5,000 gallons.
EXISTING LAW :
1. Requires that shipments of hazardous waste be
accompanied by a hazardous waste manifest and be
transported by a hazardous waste hauler registered with the
State Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).
2. Exempts shipments of hazardous waste from the manifest
and registered hauler requirements if the waste is
transported from a "remote site" to a "consolidation site,"
both of which are owned by the generator, the transport of
the waste is not federally regulated, and the generator
meets specified requirements relating to personnel,
training, transport vehicles, liability, shipping papers,
and packaging. Requires an exempted shipment not exceed
275 gallons in volume or 2500 pounds in weight, except that
public utilities, local publicly owned utilities and
municipal utility districts may transport up to 1600
gallons of hazardous wastewater pumped from utility vaults
and up to 500 gallons of other liquid hazardous wastes.
FISCAL EFFECT: Not known.
COMMENTS :
Need for the bill . According to the author of this bill,
existing law provides that a person who initially collects
hazardous waste at a remote site and transports it to a
consolidation site operated by a generator is exempt from
specified manifest and transporter registration requirements
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with regard to the hazardous waste if specified conditions are
met. One of those conditions is that not more than 275 gallons
or 2,500 pounds, whichever is greater, of hazardous waste is
transported in a single shipment, except that a generator who is
a public utility, local publicly owned utility, or municipal
utility district is authorized to transport a greater amount,
including in a single shipment up to 1,600 gallons of hazardous
wastewater from the dewatering of one or more utility vaults.
According the DTSC, certain generators (i.e. utility companies,
city public works departments) generate small amounts of
hazardous waste in the course of conducting routine field
maintenance operations. These field operations typically take
place in remote locations where it is not feasible or practical
to establish a generator accumulation area. The hazardous waste
generated during these field operations is transported less
frequently than on a daily basis by the generator's employees or
by trained contractors under the control of the generator, in
vehicles which are under control of the generator, or by
registered hazardous waste transporters to a "consolidation
site" owned or operated by the generator. Hazardous waste
generated during remote field operations and taken to a
"consolidation site" owned/operated by the generator for
accumulation prior to treatment or disposal is deemed to be
generated at the "consolidation site." Such waste may be
accumulated as onsite hazardous waste at the "consolidation
site" under the "90-day accumulation rules." Examples of remote
locations include utility companies generating waste at
substations and city public works departments generating waste
paint from public fixture maintenance.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported that, on
average a utility vault is evacuated and pumped every 4 days;
95% of these vaults only have rainbow sheen on the water
surface. Most of the cases were utility vaults which are
pumped, are done so under the current statutory volume limits on
hazardous waste materials. Quantities larger than the current
limit of 1600 gallons per shipment may be needed on average once
per month.
Support: According to the California Municipal Utilities
Association, AB 868 would, " increase the allowable volume of
contaminated water that can be transported from underground
substructures and an increased limit for non-RCRA hazardous
waste solids would benefit utilities through decreased fuel
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consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from hauling multiple
loads with a smaller tank truck; decreased response time to
evacuate water from vaults reducing lane closure times and
street traffic during routine work and emergencies; and
decreased restoration times for emergency utility operation."
Opposition : Writing in opposition to the bill, the Sierra Club
California contends, "Transportation is one of the riskiest
activities conducted with hazardous wastes. Spills can pollute
neighborhoods - - most at risk are low-income communities and
communities of color where waste generators seem to concentrate.
Also at risk are natural resources - - it only takes moments
from a hazardous waste transportation vehicle accident's waste
to flow through a storm drain into a creek. Expanding this
exemption as proposed (increasing the solid waste volume by a
factor of 4, and the hazardous wastewater by more than a factor
of 3) would greatly increase the harm that could be caused by
it. Therefore, we oppose the expansion of this loophole, which
should never have been enacted in the first place."
Prior Legislation:
SB 466 (Oropeza) 2010. Revised the condition for exempting
manifest and transporter requirements pertaining to hazardous
waste to an increased maximum weight of 10,000 pounds and
increases the maximum 1,600 gallon hazardous wastewater
exception for certain generators to a maximum of 5,000 gallons.
Held in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.
SB 1922 (Romero) Chapter 327, Statutes of 2002, exempts a public
utility, local publicly owned utility or municipal utility that
transports a single shipment of up to 5,000 gallons of mineral
oil from those manifest and registration requirements, if the
oil does not meet a toxicity test under specified regulations.
SB 470 (Sher) Chapter 605, Statutes of 2001, authorizes a higher
load limit (1600 gallons) for remote site shipments but only for
hazardous wastewater pumped from utility vaults.
AB 1448 (Rainey) Chapter 1194, Statutes of 1994, provides an
exemption from the hazardous waste manifest/registered hauler
requirements for shipments of certain hazardous wastes from
remote sites to a consolidation site. Imposes the 500
gallon/load limit on utilities that now applies to mineral oil
shipments.
AB 868
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Double-referral : This bill was previously heard in the Assembly
Transportation Committee and approved on a 13 to 0 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance
(sponsor)
California Municipal Utilities Association
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Opposition
Sierra Club California
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965