BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 515 (Corbett)
Hearing Date: 05/09/2011 Amended: 05/02/2011
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: EQ 5-2
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 515 requires producers of household batteries
to institute programs to manage used household batteries. The
bill requires battery producers to set up and finance programs
to recover used batteries and recycle or properly dispose of
them. The bill requires household battery producers to increase
the recovery rate by 5 percent per year, until a recovery rate
of 70 percent has been reached. Producers are required to
develop stewardship plans and annual reports, to be reviewed by
the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Development of $150 Special
*
regulations
Review of stewardship $150 $150 Special
*
plans and reports
Verifying plan compliance Likely between $500 and $1,000
per year Special *
by 2018
Enforcement activities Unknown Special
*
Permitting additional Potentially up to $200 for any new
facility Special **
hazardous waste facilities
* Household Battery Stewardship Account. Fully recovered by fees
and penalties.
** Hazardous Waste Control Account.
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill may meet the criteria for referral to
the Suspense File.
Current law prohibits the disposal of certain types of
"universal wastes", including non-rechargeable household
batteries, in landfills. (Rechargeable batteries are handled
separately and current law requires retailers to operate "take
back" programs.) Because household batteries may not be disposed
of in landfills, they are treated as hazardous waste and must be
handled with more stringent disposal requirements. Under current
practice, local governments accept universal wastes, including
household batteries, for disposal in hazardous waste sites.
Local governments have indicated that the collection and
disposal of household batteries is a costly activity for them to
undertake. In addition, the Department of Resources Recycling
and Reuse (the Department) indicates that a relatively small
portion of household batteries sold in the state are properly
disposed of. For example, in 2008-09, about 2,000 tons of
batteries were collected through local government hazardous
waste programs, whereas over 19,000 tons were improperly
disposed of in landfills.
SB 515 institutes a mandatory producer stewardship program for
household batteries. Under the bill, household battery producers
are required to develop and implement plans for the proper
collection and disposal of those batteries. Under the bill,
producers and retailers are prohibited from selling household
batteries in the state unless a producer has submitted a plan
and it has been deemed complete by the Department.
Under the bill, producers are required to develop a product
stewardship plan by April 1, 2013 to properly manage used
household batteries. These plans can be developed by individual
producers, groups of producers, or hazardous waste haulers
acting on behalf of one or more producers. The bill requires
producers determine the current household battery recovery rate
and subsequently to increase the recovery rate by 5 percent per
year, until the recovery rate equals 70 percent of household
batteries sold by a producer or members of a stewardship
organization. The bill requires stewardship plans to detail how
the producers will implement and finance their plans to achieve
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the target collection rate. The bill requires stewardship
organizations to establish collection points for household
batteries, such that there is one collection point per 10,000
people in each county by January 1, 2014 and one collection
point per 5,000 people in each county by January 1, 2018. In
addition, the bill requires stewardship organizations to
reimburse local government agencies for their costs to collect
household batteries or to arrange for the collection of all
household batteries collected by the local government.
The bill requires the Department to review the initial product
stewardship plans and determine whether they are complete within
30 days. Beginning in April 1, 2014, the bill requires producers
to submit annual reports to the Department, describing the
implementation of the stewardship plans, including information
on battery sales and recovery rates and the locations of
collection points.
The Department is required to review the annual reports,
including verifying that stewardship organizations are working
with local public agencies and that required collection points
have been established. The Department is also required to post
information on its website indicating whether a producer is in
compliance with the requirements of the bill.
Producers, wholesalers, and retailers of household batteries are
prohibited from selling batteries that are not in compliance
with the requirements of the bill.
The bill authorizes the Department to assess administrative
penalties of $1,000 per day against a wholesaler or retailer
that sells batteries for which a product stewardship plan has
not been deemed complete.
The bill requires producers to pay the Department a plan review
fee upon submission of a stewardship plan, in an amount set by
the Department that fully covers the Department's costs. The
bill also requires stewardship organizations to pay an annual
fee upon submission of their annual reports, in an amount set by
the Department that fully covers the Department's costs to
review the annual reports and enforce the provisions of the
bill.
The bill creates two new subaccounts within the Integrated Waste
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Management Fund, one for the deposit of fee revenues and one for
the deposit of penalty revenues. Monies in both of the new
subaccounts would be available, upon appropriation of the
Legislature, for the implementation of the bill.
The bill requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control,
when permitting a hazardous waste facility for the disposal of
household batteries, to provide an expedited permitting process
and to provide specified assistance to project applicants.
Staff estimates that the bill will impose costs of about
$150,000 per year for the initial adoption of regulations and
the review of stewardship plans and annual reports. In addition,
the Department will likely have costs from $500,000 to
$1,000,000 per year by 2018 to verify compliance with the
requirements of the bill. All costs incurred by the Department
will be covered by fees paid by stewardship organizations.
In addition, the Department of Toxic Substances Control
indicates that the costs to provide permitting assistance under
the bill, should a new hazardous waste facility for household
batteries be constructed in the state, would cost about
$100,000. Staff notes that under the current process for
permitting hazardous waste facilities, fees paid to the
Department of Toxic Substances Control do not fully cover their
costs for permit reviews. Thus, any new facilities permitted in
the state to handle recovered household batteries will impose
unreimbursed costs of about $100,000. The extent to which this
will occur is unknown.
Staff notes that over time, the bill is likely to reduce local
government costs for the deposal of household batteries. The
scope of these cost reductions is unknown. On the other hand, by
requiring producers to take responsibility for the collection
and disposal of used batteries, the bill is likely to increase
the retail cost of batteries in the state.
Staff recommends the bill be amended to remove the requirement
for expedited permitting by the Department of Toxic Substances
Control.
This bill is substantially similar to SB 1100 (Corbett, 2010).
That bill died in the Assembly.
SB 515 (Corbett)
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