BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1249
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 13, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 1249 (Hill) - As Amended: August 4, 2014
Policy Committee: Environmental
Safety and Toxic Materials Vote: 6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill allows the Department of Toxic Substance Control
(DTSC), in consultation with CalRecycle, the State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and local air quality management
districts, to adopt regulations by January 1, 2017 establishing
management standards for hazardous waste at metal shredding
facilities. If adopted, these standards would serve as an
alternative to current statutory hazardous waste management laws
and regulations.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Increased one-time costs to DTSC of approximately $200,000
(Hazardous Waste Control Account) to perform fee rulemaking
and the treatability study.
2)Increased ongoing costs to DTSC of approximately $450,000
(Hazardous Waste Control Account) for rulemaking, compliance
and ongoing administration.
This bill provides fee authority to cover costs.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. According to the author, shredder facilities are
operating under hazardous waste exemptions from the Department
of Health Services dating back to the 1980s. Over the last
decade DTSC has concluded that shredder waste exceeds state
regulatory thresholds for lead, zinc and cadmium and the
exemptions are outdated and legally incorrect. This bill
requires DTSC to follow through on its own recommendations.
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2)Background. The California Hazardous Waste Control Act of 1972
(HWCA/act) directs DTSC to regulate the handling, processing,
and disposal of hazardous and extremely hazardous waste to
protect the public, livestock, and wildlife from hazards to
health and safety. Under the 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. The act also implements federal
tracking requirements for the handling and transportation of
hazardous waste from generation to ultimate disposition. DTSC
activities under this act are funded by fees.
The Integrated Waste Management Act requires materials that
require special handling 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.
The federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of
1976, governs the disposal of hazardous waste and sets
standards for the treatment, storage, transport, tracking,
and disposal of hazardous waste in the United States. RCRA
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.
3) Shredder Waste. According to DTSC, 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.
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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.
4) Regulating Shredder Waste. Prior to 1984, shredder waste
was not considered hazardous and was either disposed of or
used as daily cover in municipal solid waste landfills. In
1984, the 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 scientific advances changes in the composition of
shredder residue. 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
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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 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 rescinding all previously issued
nonhazardous waste classifications for treated shredder
waste.
Despite making recommendations, DTSC has taken no action.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081