BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2205
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2205
AUTHOR: V. M. Pérez
AMENDED: June 6, 2012
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: June 18, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Peter Cowan
SUBJECT : HAZARDOUS WASTE: ORES AND MINERALS:
GEOTHERMAL WASTE
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB)
and Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs) to
regulate geothermal waste. (Water Code §13000 et seq.).
2) Authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control
(DTSC) to regulate waste generated during geothermal energy
production, and requires DTSC to establish standards and
regulations for the management of hazardous wastes to
protect against the hazards to public health, domestic
livestock, wildlife and the environment. (Health and
Safety Code §25100 et seq.).
3) Exempts from regulation by DTSC, geothermal wastes from
the exploration, development, and production of geothermal
energy, if such wastes are contained within the operating
system of that same facility. (§25143.1).
4) Requires the wastes to be "contained" on site at an
operating geothermal production facility and requires the
removal of geothermal waste that is relocated for drying
within 30 days. (§25143.1).
5) Exempts wastes from the extraction, beneficiation, and
processing of ores and minerals that are not subject to
regulation under the federal Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act from regulation by DTSC, except the
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Carpenter-Presley-Tanner Hazardous Substance Account Act
(§25300 et seq.) and the Toxic Pits Cleanup Act of 1984
(§25208 et seq.).
6) Defines "wastes from the extraction, beneficiation, and
processing of ores and minerals" as soil, waste rock,
overburden, and other solid, semisolid, or liquid natural
materials that are removed, unearthed, or otherwise
displaced as a result of excavating or recovering an ore or
a mineral, or the residuals of those ores after treatment
or processing. (§25143.1).
This bill :
1) Clarifies that "Wastes from the extraction, beneficiation,
and processing of ores and minerals" includes spent brine
solutions that are used to produce geothermal energy and
that are transferred, via a closed piping system, to an
adjacent facility for reclamation, beneficiation, or
processing to recover minerals or other commercial
substances, if the spent brine solutions, and any liquid
residuals derived from the solutions are:
a) Managed in accordance with specified provisions of
the Code of Federal Regulations.
b) Returned after processing, via closed piping, and
subsequently managed in accordance with the exemption
under existing law.
c) Not solid or semisolid hazardous residuals.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose . According to the author AB 2205 "seeks to clarify
that existing regulations and exemptions that apply to
geothermal plants also apply to new processes that extract
materials from geothermal waste in connection with that
plant in a closed-loop system. The proposed amendment is
intended to provide certainty to both geothermal developers
and extraction companies, ensuring that neither party's
geothermal exemption will be imperiled due to the
extraction of beneficial commercial substances."
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2) Geothermal power plant operations . Geothermal powerplants
use super-heated geothermal brine pumped from below the
earth's surface to heat boilers that drive steam turbines,
generating renewable electricity. After being used to heat
the boilers, the cooled brine is injected back underground
to recharge the geothermal resource, creating a closed-loop
system. Geothermal plants, particularly those near the
Salton Sea, often filter materials out of the brine to
avoid fouling their equipment and to enable the brine to be
pumped back into the resource more easily.
Flash geothermal steam plants, the kind found in the
Imperial Valley, bring up hot water brines with levels of
toxic and radioactive substances that are often
sufficiently high to be considered hazardous. When the
resulting steam is then condensed to brine, it may contain
up to 30% of its weight as dissolved solids. This hot
brine is then treated to separate out the solids, known as
filter cake. At a temperature of about 200 degrees
Fahrenheit, the resulting brine is then sent to outdoor
pools where still more solids precipitate out. Finally,
the remaining fluids are re-injected into the underground
reservoir. The solid residues are tested on site and any
hazardous filter cake is managed as solid or hazardous
waste.
3) Regulation of geothermal brine . According to documents
filed by the SWRCB relative to geothermal permits, the
United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
proposed hazardous waste management standards that included
reduced requirements for several types of large volume
wastes including geothermal waste. Subsequently, Congress
exempted these wastes from the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA), Subtitle C hazardous waste
regulations. Among the wastes covered by the 1978 proposal
were "gas and oil drilling muds and oil production brines."
The oil and gas exemption was expanded in 1980 to include
drilling fluids and produced water, from crude oil, natural
gas and geothermal wells. The extended list of exempt
wastes includes "hydrogen sulfide abatement wastes from
geothermal energy production" and "well completion,
treatment and stimulation fluids."
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In California, DTSC has been granted primary enforcement
authority for hazardous waste regulation by US EPA.
Geothermal wastes, however, are exempt from regulation as
hazardous waste by the California Code of Regulations Title
22, and the Health and Safety Code including Section
25143.1(a) which provides: "Any geothermal waste resulting
from drilling for geothermal resources is exempt from the
requirements of this chapter because the disposal of these
geothermal wastes is regulated by the California Regional
Water Quality Control Boards."
In 2006, questions raised about DTSC's jurisdiction over
geothermal plants led to the current language for the
exemption. To avoid duplicative regulation by RWQCBs and
DTSC, Assembly Bill 1294 (Ducheny) Chapter 143, Statutes of
2006, clarified that any waste from the operation of a
geothermal energy plant was also exempt from DTSC
regulation, in addition to the existing exemption for waste
from drilling.
4) Most Recent Amendments . The introduced version of AB 2205
was intended to clarify that wastes from geothermal energy
production are exempt from DTSC jurisdiction while they are
contained within the production system (e.g., pipes,
nonearthen trench) used in connection with the beneficial
extraction of commercial substances. The June 6, 2012,
amendments instead clarify that spent brine solutions that
are used to produce geothermal energy are included in the
definition of "wastes from the extraction, beneficiation,
and processing of ores and minerals," provided specified
conditions are satisfied.
5) Related legislation . AB 1620 (Wieckowski) provides for an
exemption from DTSC hazardous waste treatment permitting
for low-risk waste management practices including
separation of air and particulate matter by physical means
and compaction of compatible waste by physical means to
reduce volume. AB 1620 was approved by the Senate
Environmental Quality Committee on May 15, 2012 (6-0) and
is in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
SOURCE : Simbol Materials
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SUPPORT : Brawley Chamber of Commerce, CleanTECH San
Diego, EnergySource, Geothermal Energy
Association, Imperial County Board of
Supervisors, Imperial Irrigation District,
Imperial Valley Economic Development
Corporation, Marine Group Boat Works
OPPOSITION : None on file.