BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 712 (Lara) - Hazardous waste facility: permitting: interim
status.
Amended: January 16, 2014 Policy Vote: EQ 8-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: January 21, 2014 Consultant:
Marie Liu
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 712 would establish deadlines for the
Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to take final
action on permit applications from hazardous waste facilities
operating under an interim status grant.
Fiscal Impact:
No costs in 2014-15 and 2015-16 for permitting one facility
operating on an interim status grant.
Unknown, but likely insignificant, costs from the Hazardous
Waste Control Account (special), for permitting facilities on
an interim status grant in the long-term future.
Background: Under the California Hazardous Waste Control Act,
facilities that treat, store, handle, and/or dispose of
hazardous waste are required to be permitted by the DTSC. The
hazardous waste facility permit specifies specific requirements
for the facility to ensure safe operation. There are currently
117 facilities permitted by DTSC. While these permits expire
after 10-years, the facility is allowed to continue to operate
past this date while DTSC considers their permit renewal
application. There are currently 24 facilities operating under
these so-called "continued permits."
One permit of the 117 is an interim permit for a facility owned
by Exide Technologies in Vernon, California. The interim permit
was first issued in 1981. Over the next 30 years, while there
have been some steps taken to get the facility under a regular
permit, regular permit has not yet been issued. There are no
other facilities in California that are currently operating
under an interim permit.
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Proposed Law: This bill would DTSC to take final action on a
permit application for a facility operating under an interim
status grant according to the following schedule:
By December 31, 2015 for any interim status granted
before January 1, 1986,
By January 1, 2020 for any interim status granted after
January 1, 1986 but before January 1, 2015, and
Within five years for any interim status granted after
January 1, 2015.
This bill would also allow DTSC to temporarily suspend the
operation of a facility operating under a continued permit or an
interim status grant in order to protect public health or safety
or the environment. DTSC would have specified timelines to
notify the owner and operator of the facility, set a hearing to
consider the suspension, and to make a final determination. The
temporary suspension would be lifted if DTSC failed to meet
these time limits.
Related Legislation: SB 812 (De Le�n) would establish deadlines
for DTSC to take action on applications for permit renewals for
hazardous waste facility permits. SB 812 is to be heard by this
committee on January 21, 2014.
Staff Comments: There is only once facility currently operating
under an interim status grant in the state. DTSC intends on
taking final action on that facility's permit application within
the timeframes outlined in this bill and with their existing
staffing levels. Therefore, there are no costs related to the
provisions of the bill requiring action on facilities issued an
interim status grant prior to January 1, 2015.
DTSC does not anticipate issuing any future interim status
grants. In the past, broad expansions of the hazardous waste
laws prompted the use of interim status grants as it allowed the
agency to better understand the newly regulated industries and
fine tune permit conditions before they were finalized. Should
there be another broad expansion of the hazardous waste laws in
the future, there is a small possibility that interim status
grants could be used again. Staff notes that even in the event
that interim status grants were to be used again, the cost
impacts of this bill would be mixed with the impacts of a large
number of changes underway and anticipated to DTSC's permitting
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process. Compared to the other changes to the permitting
process, staff believes the cost impact of a three-year limit on
interim status grants would be minimal.