BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1620
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1620 (Wieckowski)
As Amended June 27, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |70-0 |(April 12, |SENATE: |36-0 |(July 6, 2012) |
| | |2012) | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: E.S & T.M.
SUMMARY : Exempts certain hazardous waste management activities
from being regulated as treatment if the activity is conducted
onsite or at a facility that has obtained a hazardous waste
storage permit. Specifically, this bill exempts hazardous waste
activities from Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC)
treatment permits for exhaust gas, flue gas, or other vapor
stream, regardless of the source.
The Senate amendments :
1)Remove the provisions that exempted the practice of compacting
waste from the requirements for obtaining a treatment permit
from DTSC for the hazardous waste management.
2)Modify the exemptions for exhaust gas, flue gas, or other
vapor stream by removing the requirement for air district
permit as a condition for exempting waste from DTSC permitting
requirements.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal
facilities (TSDFs) to obtain a hazardous waste facilities
permit or other grant or authorization from the DTSC.
Generators of hazardous waste who do not treat or store the
wastes for longer than 90 days are exempt from obtaining a
permit, but requires them to comply with specified
requirements relating to labeling and container management, as
well as training and emergency response requirements.
2)Exempts certain hazardous waste management activities from
being regulated as "treatment" if the activity is conducted
onsite or at a facility that has obtained a hazardous waste
AB 1620
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storage permit. The exempted activities include sieving or
filtering, phase separation, and evaporation of hazardous
waste, and combining of compatible waste streams, under the
conditions specified. Air filtration activities are exempt
for facilities that are currently subject to air district
permits.
3)Exempts from hazardous waste permits exhaust gas, flue gas, or
other vapor stream, regardless of the source, that is abated
or controlled by an air pollution control device that is
permitted by an air pollution control district or air quality
management district, or which is specially exempted from those
permit requirements.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill exempted the following
hazardous waste activities from the DTSC requirement for a
hazardous waste treatment permits:
1)Separation of air and particulate matter by physical means;
and,
2)Compaction of compatible waste by physical means to reduce
volume if the process does not increase the risk of fire or
cause the release of hazardous gaseous emissions.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, this bill would result in negligible state costs, if
any.
COMMENTS :
Need for the bill . According to the sponsors of this bill, the
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators,
"AB 1620 deals with reducing the permitting requirements for
hazardous waste treatment for very low risk waste treatment.
Although technically treatment, an additional layer of
regulation is not required for these management practices to
make sure that removing air from dust is protective of the
environment or public safety."
According to the sponsors, "the proposed categories of low risk
waste management were developed by the Southern California
Technical Hazardous Waste Advisory Group to the Certified
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Unified Program Agency (CUPA) Forum Board dealing with
permitting as hazardous waste treatment. The goal of the
proposed statutory exemptions is to remove those activities
that, while technically meeting the definition of treatment, do
not really constitute waste treatment."
The sponsors of the legislation found that air filtration
devices collecting dust might need to have a permit from DTSC as
a hazardous waste treatment unit. This requirement raised the
concern because in many instances permits for dust collection
are not required by air districts, so a DTSC requirement could
actually discourage dust collection.
The original inclusion of the reference to a permit for and air
pollution control device was done to parallel the federal
hazardous waste standards, and was to ensure that it was clear
that there could never be any duplication of the air pollution
and hazardous waste laws.
State regulation of hazardous treatment, storage, and disposal
facilities . Any person who stores, treats or disposes of
hazardous waste as described in the Hazardous Waste Control Law
(Health and Safety Code, Division 20, Chapter 6.5) must obtain a
permit or a grant of authorization from the DTSC.
According the DTSC, hazardous waste treatment facilities use
various processes (such as incineration or oxidation) to alter
the character or composition of hazardous wastes. Some
treatment processes enable waste to be recovered and reused in
manufacturing settings, while other treatment processes reduce
the amount of hazardous waste.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
FN: 0004397