BILL NUMBER: AB 2457 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Valadao
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
An act to amend Section 25143.6 of the Health and Safety
Code, relating to hazardous waste. An act to add and
repeal Section 42173 of the Public Resources Code, relating to solid
waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2457, as amended, Valadao. Hazardous waste: shredder
waste. Solid waste: vehicles: appliances.
The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 requires
materials that require special handling, as defined, to be removed
from major appliances and vehicles in which they are contained prior
to crushing for transport or transferring to a baler or shredder for
recycling. Recycling residue used as solid waste landfill daily cover
is required to meet certain performance standards and requirements
specified in the regulations adopted by the Department of Resources
Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) . The
hazardous waste control laws require specified California regional
water quality control boards to prepare, by February 15, 1988, a list
of class III landfills authorized to accept and dispose of shredder
waste.
This bill would delete and correct obsolete references in these
provisions.
This bill would require CalRecycle, by March 31, 2013, to conduct
a study of the logging of discarded vehicles and appliances, as
defined, and would require the Director of CalRecycle to submit the
report to the Legislature, by October 31, 2013, including
recommendations as necessary to ensure the sustainability of the
California auto shredding industry. The bill would make this report
requirement inoperative on October 31, 2017, and would repeal the
provision on January 1, 2018.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) Companies engaged in the shredding of end-of-life vehicles,
major appliances, and other recyclable metal products in California
provide an important service to the residents of the State of
California by ensuring that millions of vehicles and appliances, and
millions of tons of miscellaneous scrap metal, that are discarded
every year in the state are beneficially recycled in a manner that is
protective of human health and the environment.
(b) Scrap metal recycling operations conserve valuable landfill
space, prevent the landscape from becoming littered with abandoned
vehicles and appliances, and reduce the need to mine ore from the
ground in order to manufacture steel and other new metal products.
The scrap metal recycling industry is also a significant source of
jobs and a major contributor to the state's economy.
(c) In recent years, other companies have begun to purchase
end-of-life vehicles and appliances and use portable equipment to
compact them into "logs" without first having properly drained
automotive fluids from the vehicles and appliances, removed mercury
switches as required by law, or otherwise "de-polluted" these items.
The logs are placed in seagoing containers, along with all wastes
generated from the logging process, and are exported overseas for
shredding in other countries. These companies compete unfairly with
the California auto shredders for vehicles and appliances and pose a
serious threat to public health and the environment.
(d) The companies that engage in the "logging" operations
specified in subdivision (c) do not comply with California
environmental standards and enjoy a significant economic benefit by
avoiding environmental compliance costs. It is contrary to the policy
of the State of California to allow the export of vehicles and
appliances that have not been de-polluted, resulting in potential
exposure of individuals and the environment to harmful substances
when these items are logged and transported in California and
California waters.
SEC. 2. Section 42173 is added to the
Public Resources Code , to read:
42173. (a) For purposes of this section "logging"
means the purchase end-of-life vehicles and appliances and the use
of portable equipment to compact the end-of-life vehicles or
appliances into logs without draining automotive fluids from the
vehicles, or removing mercury switches and other materials that
require special handling from the vehicles and appliances, and
subsequently transporting those materials within the state, for
eventual export to a foreign county for the shredding and recovery of
metals.
(b) On or before March 31, 2013, the department shall conduct a
study of the logging of discarded vehicles and appliances. The study
shall address the environmental risks associated with the logging of
vehicles and appliances that have not been handled in accordance with
the requirements of Section 42175 prior to compaction, the effect
that logging and foreign export of these vehicles and appliances have
on the California auto shredding industry, and any other effects of
logging on commerce and waste management in California.
(c) On or before October 31, 2013, the director shall submit a
report to the Legislature on the findings of the study required by
subdivision (b) and shall present recommendations as necessary to
ensure the sustainability of the California auto shredding industry.
(d) The department shall perform the tasks specified in
subdivisions (b) and (c) using existing staff and resources.
(e) A report to the Legislature pursuant to this section shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(f) This section shall remain operative only until October 31,
2017, and as of January 1, 2018, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date.
SECTION 1. Section 25143.6 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
25143.6. The following California regional water quality control
boards shall prepare a list of class III landfills, as specified in
Article 2 (commencing with Section 20200) of Title 27 of the
California Code of Regulations, including at least one landfill in
each specified water quality control region that is authorized to
accept and dispose of shredder waste in accordance with State Water
Resources Control Board Resolution No. 87-22: San Francisco Bay
Region, Central Valley Region, Los Angeles Region, Santa Ana Region,
and San Diego Region.