BILL NUMBER: AB 2457 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Valadao
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
An act to add and repeal Section 42173
Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 42180) of Chapter 3.5 of Part 3
of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, relating to solid
waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2457, as amended, Valadao. 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).
This bill would require CalRecycle, by March 31, 2013, to
establish a working group to conduct a study of the
logging of whether 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
that are compacted and exported for the purposes of recycling
are being managed in compliance with law. The bill would require the
working group, by October 31, 2014, to prepare and submit to the
director a report of its findings and make recommendations to address
the findings. The bill would require CalRecycle to post the report
on its Internet Web site . 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. Article 3.5 (commencing with Section
42180) of Chapter 3.5 of Part 3 of Division 30 of the
Public Resources Code is repealed.
Article 3.5. Report on Disposal of End of Life Vehicles and
Appliances
42180. (a) On or before March 31, 2013, the department shall
convene an interagency working group consisting of staff of the
department, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, and other
appropriate departments within the California Environmental
Protection Agency or the Natural Resources Agency to determine
whether the disposal of end-of-life vehicles and appliances regulated
pursuant to this chapter that are being compacted and exported for
purposes of recycling is being managed in the state in compliance
with law.
(b) On or before October 31, 2014, the working group shall prepare
and submit to the director a report of its findings. The report
shall include specific findings on all of the following:
(1) The manner in which the discarded end-of-life vehicles and
appliances are being managed in accordance with state and federal law
prior to export.
(2) The risks to public health and the environment posed by the
mismanagement of the end-of-life vehicles and appliances in the state
prior to export.
(3) The economic impacts of improper management of the end-of-life
vehicles and appliances on the state's scrap metal recycling
infrastructure.
(4) Any other issues the working group deems appropriate regarding
the disposal of the end-of-life vehicles and appliances.
(c) The report shall include recommendations, as necessary, to
address the findings.
(d) The department shall post the report on its Internet Web site.
This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2018,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date.
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.