BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1249
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Date of Hearing: June 17, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Luis Alejo, Chair
SB 1249 (Hill) - As Amended: June 10, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 23-12
SUBJECT : Hazardous waste: shredder waste.
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control
(DTSC) to adopt regulations establishing management standards
for hazardous waste management activities at metal shredding
facilities by January 1, 2017. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes legislative findings about the history of metal shredder
waste regulation and about infractions at shredder facilities.
2)Defines "metal shredding facility" as an operation that uses a
shredding technique to process end-of-life vehicles, waste
appliances, and other forms of scrap metal to facilitate the
separation and sorting of ferrous metals, nonferrous metals,
and other recyclable materials from nonrecyclable materials in
those objects.
3)Authorizes DTSC, in consultation with the Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), the State Water
Resources Control Board and local air quality management
districts to adopt regulations establishing management
standards for metal shredding facilities for hazardous waste
management activities as an alternative to current statutory
hazardous waste management requirements and regulations, if it
does all of the following:
a) Prepares a preliminary and final analysis of the
hazardous waste activities to which the alternative
management standards will apply;
b) Demonstrates at least one of four specified conclusions
(below) for each requirement that the alternative
management standards are intended to replace, using the
information developed in the analysis;
c) Imposes conditions and limitations that ensure that the
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hazardous waste management activity to which the
alternative management standards will not pose a
significant potential hazard to human health or safety or
to the environment.
4)Prohibits DTSC from adopting the management standards unless
it first demonstrates at least one of the following
conclusions for each requirement that the alternative
management standards are intended to replace:
a) The requirements that the alternative management
standards replace are not significant in either preventing
or mitigating potential hazards to human health or safety
or to the environment or to ensuring that the activity is
conducted in compliance with other statutory requirements
and regulations;
b) A requirement is imposed and enforced by another public
agency that provides protection of human health and safety
and the environment that is as effective as, and equivalent
to, the protection provided by the requirements that the
alternative management standards replace;
c) Conditions or limitations imposed as part of the
alternative management standards will provide protection of
human health and safety and the environment equivalent to
the requirements that the alternative management standards
replace; and,
d) Conditions or limitations imposed as part of the
alternative management standards accomplish the same
regulatory purpose as the requirements that the alternative
management standards replace, but at less cost or with
greater administrative convenience, and without increasing
potential risks to human health or safety or to the
environment.
5)Requires the DTSC analysis to include:
a) The types and estimated amounts of hazardous wastes that
are managed as part of the activity and the hazards to
human health or safety or to the environment posed by those
hazardous wastes;
b) The complexity of the activity, and the amount and
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complexity of operator training, equipment installation and
maintenance, and monitoring that are required to ensure
that the activity is conducted in a manner that safely and
effectively manages each hazardous waste;
c) The chemical or physical hazards that are associated
with the activity;
d) The types and likely consequences of accidents that
might occur as part of the activity, and the actual
accident history associated with the activity; and,
e) The types of locations where the activity may be carried
out, an estimate of the number of these locations, and the
types of hazards that may be posed, as specified.
6)Prohibits DTSC from adopting management standards that are
less stringent than applicable standards under federal law.
7)Requires the owner or operator of a metal shredding facility
that may be subject to the alternative management standards to
provide to DTSC all information and data determined by DTSC to
be relevant to the evaluation and preparation of the analysis.
8)Authorizes the alternative management standards to, to the
extent it is consistent with the standards that would
otherwise apply under the federal act, allow for treated metal
shredder waste to be classified and managed as nonhazardous
waste, as specified.
9)Specifies that treated metal shredder waste shall be disposed
of in either a class I hazardous waste landfill or, if the
management standards result in it being classified as a
nonhazardous waste, authorizes it be used as alternative daily
cover or for beneficial reuse.
10)Requires DTSC to complete the analysis and subsequent
regulatory action before January 1, 2017.
11)Makes all hazardous waste determinations related to metal
shredder waste issued by DTSC before January 1, 2014,
inoperative once DTSC has taken the required regulatory
action.
12)Sunsets DTSC's authority to adopt original regulations
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relating to metal shredder waste on January 1, 2017.
EXISTING LAW :
1) Pursuant to the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA) of 1976, governs the disposal of hazardous waste:
a) Sets, through regulation, standards for the treatment,
storage, transport, tracking, and disposal of hazardous
waste in the United States; and,
b) Authorizes states to carry out many of the functions of
the federal law through their own hazardous waste laws if
such programs have been approved by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency.
2) Pursuant to the California Hazardous Waste Control Act (HWCA)
of 1972:
a) Regulates the appropriate handling, processing, and
disposal of hazardous and extremely hazardous waste to
protect the public, livestock, and wildlife from hazards
to health and safety;
b) Authorizes DTSC to enforce federal law and regulations
under RCRA; and
c) Requires DTSC to grant and review permits and enforce
HWCA requirements for hazardous waste treatment, storage,
and disposal facilities.
3) Pursuant to the Integrated Waste Management Act, requires
materials that require special handling, as defined, to be
removed from major appliances and vehicles in which they are
contained before crushing for transport or transferring to a
baler or shredder for recycling.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS :
Need for the bill : According to the author, "Shredder
facilities are operating under hazardous waste exemptions from
the Department of Health Services dating back to the 1980s.
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Over the last decade DTSC has concluded that shredder waste
exceeded state regulatory thresholds for lead, zinc and cadmium
- they also found that the exemptions were 'outdated and legally
incorrect.' But DTSC hasn't followed through with the proper
action - this bill requires them to take action."
The author also states that six fires have broken out at metal
shredding and recycling facilities in the San Francisco Bay area
since 2007, five of them at facilities owned by Sims Metal
Management LTD. Three occurred at the company's facility in
Redwood City, causing plumes of smoke to billow over the city,
impacting the health of the residents of Redwood City. The
Counties of San Mateo, Alameda, and Santa Clara had to issue
health advisories because of the smoke, and school districts
were forced to keep students inside because of the poor air
quality. The author believes that these and other incidents
provide clear evidence that this industry is not currently
adequately regulated.
What is shredder waste ? According to DTSC's "Draft Report:
California's Automobile Waste Initiative, November 2002," the
shredding of automobiles and major household appliances produces
a waste consisting primarily of non-metallic materials, such as
glass, fiber, rubber, automobile fluids, dirt, and plastics,
that remain after the recyclable metals have been removed. The
waste produced at metal shredding facilities large enough to
shred an automobile is referred to as "automobile shredder
waste," "automobile shredder residue," "shredder waste" (these
facilities shred a variety of recyclable metals) or simply as
"fluff." In California, shredder waste has been found to
contain lead, cadmium, copper, zinc, and polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs) at levels above the state's regulatory
thresholds. According to DTSC's draft report, shredder waste is
both a hazardous waste and a recyclable material subject to
California's Hazardous Waste Control Law and the regulations
that apply to hazardous wastes.
According to DTSC, approximately 440,000 tons of metal shredder
residue are generated per year, making it the second largest
hazardous waste generated in California by volume (used oil is
the largest). According to CalRecycle records, 6,056,026 tons
of shredder waste was disposed of in California landfills
between 1998 and 2007.
State management of shredder waste : Prior to 1984, shredder
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waste was not considered hazardous and was either disposed of or
used as daily cover in municipal solid waste landfills.
However, on March 9, 1984, California's Department of Health
Services (DHS) Toxic Substances Control Division (the
predecessor to DTSC) determined that shredder waste was a
non-Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (non-RCRA) hazardous
waste in California due to the presence of lead, cadmium,
copper, and zinc at levels above the state's regulatory
thresholds for those metals. Shredder waste has also been found
to contain PCBs at concentrations that exceed the federal and
state regulatory threshold.
Between 1986 and 1992, DHS issued conditional nonhazardous waste
classifications (also referred to as "f letters") to seven
shredder facilities in California that had treated their
shredder waste to nonhazardous levels using metals fixation
treatment technologies, often by coating it with cement to
prevent the heavy metals from seeping or leaching. Once the
facility operator received a nonhazardous waste classification
from DHS, the treated shredder waste was no longer regulated as
a hazardous waste and could be disposed of in a landfill.
California's regulation of shredder waste and shredder
facilities was formalized in 1988 in the DHS Policy and
Procedure 88-6.
In early 2000, DTSC initiated a comprehensive review of its past
policies to ensure that the policies conformed to current laws
and regulations and were still valid, considering advances in
scientific understanding and changes in the composition of
shredder residue; to affirm the regulatory status of automobile
shredders; and, to ensure compliance with existing statutes and
regulations. One of the policies that came under review was
Policy and Procedure 88-6.
As part of reviewing the policy, DTSC selected three facilities
for sampling both untreated and treated shredder waste.
According to its draft report, DTSC found that all samples of
untreated shredder waste exceeded the state regulatory
thresholds for total lead, copper, and zinc, and soluble lead,
cadmium, and zinc. Additionally, treated shredder waste from
each facility exceeded the state regulatory thresholds for total
lead and zinc, and some samples exceeded the state's soluble
regulatory threshold for PCBs, zinc, and cadmium, thereby
disqualifying the treated wastes from classification as
nonhazardous. DTSC contends that treated shredder waste that
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fails to meet the conditions of its nonhazardous waste
classification is subject to all applicable hazardous waste
management requirements, including the payment of hazardous
waste generation fees. As a result of the findings of their
investigation and other research, DTSC recommended:
1) Rescinding Policy and Procedure 88-6;
2) Requiring facilities that wish to continue treating
their shredder waste on-site to obtain the appropriate
authorization within a specified period of time; and,
3) Rescinding all previously issued nonhazardous waste
classifications for treated shredder waste.
Despite making recommendations, DTSC took no action at the time.
The last time a bill on this subject was heard in this Committee
(SB 524, Correa, 2009), DTSC had sent letters to shredders the
year prior expressing the department's intent to rescind Policy
and Procedure 88-6 and repeal the conditional authorization that
allows shredder waste to be classified as non-hazardous waste.
However, after extensive meetings with both the auto shredder
industry and disposal facilities, DTSC delayed the action and to
date has not taken action on the conditional waste
classifications.
Current DTSC action on shredder waste : DTSC is currently
reviewing technical data about current and potential chemical
treatments of metal shredder residue in order to reevaluate its
prior waste classification decisions. DTSC states that its
goals in this effort are to ensure that waste treatment,
disposal practices, and management practices at metal shredding
facilities are fully protective of public health and the
environment; have environmental standards and regulatory
requirements that can be fairly applied to all metal shredders;
and, can be effectively enforced.
As part of the reevaluation, DTSC asked the seven active and
primary metal-shredding facilities in California to provide a
study plan that includes updated information about the
composition and characteristics of metal shredder residue
currently being generated. DTSC states that it also will
require the facilities to evaluate the long-term effectiveness
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of current chemical treatments; it ordered facilities to explore
whether better treatment options are available; and, it plans to
assess the operations of the metal shredders, including
processes related to actual shredding, materials separation, and
waste treatment, to identify risks associated with those
processes, and to identify whether control technologies or
additional regulatory controls are necessary. DTSC asserts that
it will develop a work plan and timeline to implement
recommendations by November 2014.
While the analysis being conducted by DTSC will shed light on
the shredder industry, it appears that DTSC currently only has
two regulatory options for shredder waste, either to continue to
grant conditional nonhazardous waste classifications to shredder
facilities or to regulate shredder facilities as a hazardous
waste facility. This bill will give DTSC a third regulatory
option by authorizing them, after conducting an analysis of
shredder practices, to adopt regulations establishing management
standards for shredder waste.
Arguments in support : A coalition of environmental and public
health groups argues in a support letter, "Metal shredding and
recycling facilities have been inadequately regulated over the
last 30 years. The lack of oversight of this industry has led
to numerous incidents that have polluted California waters and
air jeopardizing the health and safety of Californians and their
environment." The coalition letter describes numerous releases
from shredder facilities and statements from regulatory agencies
indicating that auto shredder waste treatment is not effective,
the material should be considered hazardous, and auto shredder
waste should be required to be disposed of in Class I hazardous
waste landfills. The letter concludes, "SB 1249 is necessary to
put a strong regulatory structure in place to ensure the proper
regulation of the metal shredding and recycling industry." The
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
asserts, "Shredder waste from vehicles and large appliances
contains heavy metals like lead, copper, zinc and cadmium and
other hazardous chemicals like chlorine and PCBs. Over the past
two decades there have been a number of disturbing releases of
toxic materials into the environment from these facilities
across the state that have put human health and the environment
at risk."
Arguments in opposition : The California Chapters of the
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) writes in
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opposition, "The bill contains 15 new legislative 'findings' all
of which are inaccurate, misleading, and reveal an unwarranted
and extraordinary bias against the industry and its individual
members? The bill contains new language that can be interpreted
to direct DTSC to regulate metal separation and processing
operations conducted at metal shredding facilities. These
operations lie outside the jurisdiction of the Department, and
are not properly the subject of alternative management
standards? The bill contains new language that imposes an
extremely onerous standard on the Department for adoption of
alternative management standards, greatly reducing the
likelihood that a workable alternative regulatory framework for
metal shredder residue will ever be adopted? The bill now
provides that even where the Department determines that treated
metal shredder residue may properly be classified as a
nonhazardous waste, the Department may still disallow its
beneficial use as alternative daily landfill cover? Despite the
development of consensus language on? addressing the significant
environmental problems posed by illicit scrap metal recycling
operations in the state, SB 1249 continues to ignore this real
problem and instead heaps more unnecessary and unwarranted
regulation on lawful shredding operations."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support:
Breathe California
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
California League of Conservation Voters
Coalition for Clean Air
Environmental Working Group
Natural Resources Defense Council
Opposition:
California Chapters of the Institute of Scrap Recycling
Industries
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries
International Trade Education Programs, Inc.
Laborers Local 886
Modesto Junk Company, Inc.
Mujeres de la Tierra (Women of the Earth)
Republic Services
SA Recycling
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San Pedro Chamber of Commerce
Schnitzer Steel Industries
Sims Metal Management
Waste Management
Wilmington Boat Owners Association
Analysis Prepared by : Shannon McKinney / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965