BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 812
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB 812 (De León)
As Amended August 22, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :27-7
ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 5-1APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Alejo, Bloom, Gomez, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Lowenthal, Ting | |Bradford, |
| | | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Holden, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Donnelly |Nays:|Bigelow, Donnelly, Jones, |
| | | |Linder, Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Revises the Department of Toxic Substance Control's
(DTSC) permitting process and public participation requirements
for hazardous waste facilities. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires DTSC to adopt regulations by January 1, 2017, to
specify conditions for new permits and the renewal of existing
permits as specified. Establishes deadlines for the
submission and processing of facility applications as
specified.
2)Establishes the DTSC Community Oversight Committee to receive
and review allegations of misconduct from the public, and
establishes the Bureau of Internal Affairs to oversee DTSC and
investigate department conduct.
3)Requires the Community Oversight Committee to be comprised of
thirteen members appointed by California Environmental
Protection Agency (five members), Senate Rules Committee (four
members) and Speaker of the Assembly (four members). Members
of the Community Oversight Committee receive per diem and
serve at the pleasure of the respective appointing
authorities.
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4)Specifies that the Community Oversight Committee is providing
input to the Director of DTSC on improving outreach and
communications with communities and stakeholders to increase
public participation and transparency.
5)Provides that financial assurance requirements for hazardous
waste facilities contaminated with hazardous waste may be set
by DTSC at an early stage in the corrective action process
rather than only at the time that a full remediation plan has
been approved.
6)Provides that DTSC may increase the penalty for late hazardous
waste cleanup cost recovery payments from the current rate
linked to the State's Pooled Money Investment Fund to the
penalty interest rate established by the State Board of
Equalization for delinquent tax payments.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill would result in the following costs:
1)Increased costs to DTSC from the Hazardous Waste Control
Account (HWCA) of approximately $1.2 million to administer and
staff the Citizens Oversight Committee. This bill requires
the Committee to operate independently from DTSC.
2)Increased costs to DTSC from the HWCA of approximately $1.1
million to meet permit renewal processing deadlines.
3)Increased costs to DTSC from the HWCA of approximately
$600,000 to implement financial assurance provisions.
4)Increased costs to DTSC from the HWCA of approximately
$450,000 to post expanded information on the website (English)
and provide pre-permit public notice and comment periods.
COMMENTS :
Need for the bill: According to the author, "SB 814 will
strengthen the hazardous waste regulatory system, beginning with
addressing when final permit decisions must be made by the
Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). We are not going
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to let hazardous waste facilities continue to pollute vulnerable
neighborhoods anymore. Some facilities are emitting toxic
hazardous waste, including lead, mercury, and arsenic. Many of
them have been operating under expired permits for decades.
Facilities not in compliance with public health and
environmental standards will be shut down."
Permitting hazardous waste storage, treatment, and disposal
facilities: DTSC is responsible for the review of Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and non-RCRA hazardous
waste permit applications to ensure safe design and operation;
issuance/denial of operating permits; issuance of post-closure
permits; approval/denial of permit modifications;
issuance/denial of emergency permits; review and approval of
closure plans; provide closure oversight of approved closure
plans; issuance/denial of variances; provide assistance to
regulated industry on permitting matters; and provide for public
involvement. There are currently 118 DTSC permitted hazardous
waste facilities in California. These facilities include: 44
storage sites, 43 treatment facilities, three disposal sites,
and 28 post-closure sites.
Criticism of the DTSC hazardous waste facility permitting
process: A report entitled Golden Wasteland, prepared by a
consumer advocacy organization, issued in February of 2013, was
critical of DTSC hazardous waste permitting and enforcement
process. According the report, DTSC settled cases out of court
with facility operators, levies ineffective fines, and fails to
develop and refer cases for prosecution. It was asserted that
the DTSC often awards permits without environmental review, and
it has not revoked the permit of a serial violator of
environmental laws in more than 15 years, the report found.
DTSC has undertaken a review of permitting and enforcement
processes for hazardous waste facilities. To do this, DTSC has
contracted for an outside program evaluation by CPS HR
Consulting that provided a review of the DTSC permit process to
develop a standardized process with decision criteria and
corresponding standards of performance. The DTSC process will
review and assess the current timeliness of decisions, and
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evaluate the adequacy of program staffing. It will make
recommendations for process improvement. DTSC is currently
taking action on the specific recommendations through the review
process for permit process changes. The program changes have
been included with the Governor's budget for fiscal year
2014-2015.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
FN: 0005360