AB 1716: Hazardous wastes and materials: certified unified program agencies.

(1)Existing law, as part of the hazardous waste control laws, requires any waste identified by the Department of Toxic Substances Control as hazardous or extremely hazardous to be managed in accordance with permits, orders, and regulations issued or adopted by the department. Existing law authorizes the department to grant a variance from these requirements for certain wastes, including recyclable materials, as defined, under specified conditions. Existing law provides that a recyclable material shall be excluded from classification by the department as a waste only if the recyclable material is held in a container or tank that is labeled, marked, and placarded in accordance with department requirements, the owner or operator of the business location where the recyclable material is located has a business plan, as specified, and the recyclable material is stored and handled in accordance with all local ordinances and codes.

This bill would revise the requirements for the exclusion of a recyclable material from classification by the department as a waste by requiring, among other things, that the material be held in a container, tank, containment building, or waste pile that is labeled, marked, and placarded in accordance with the departments hazardous waste labeling, marking, and placarding requirements applicable to generators, as provided. The bill would also require that the material be managed in accordance with specified regulations.

Existing law requires a person who recycles more than 100 kilograms per month of recyclable material under a claim that the material qualifies for exclusion or exemption to provide specified information in writing every 2 years to the local officer or agency authorized to enforce those provisions. Existing law also authorizes the local officer or agency to exempt a person who operates an antifreeze recycling unit or solvent distillation unit, as specified, from that requirement or to require less information from that person than existing law requires pursuant to that provision.

The bill would require a person who generates more than 100 kilograms of a material in any month under the claim that the material qualifies for exemption or exclusion as a recyclable material to submit, in the first month that more than 100 kilograms of the material is generated, specified information to the statewide information management system, as provided. The bill would require a person who is not the generator, and who accumulates, manages, or recycles the recyclable material identified by the generator as exempt or excluded, to submit the information to that system. The bill would also require these persons to submit the information to the system within 60 days of the date when the generation, accumulation, management, or recycling of the material is permanently discontinued. The bill would require a person who generates, accumulates, manages, or recycles more than 100 kilograms of recyclable material in any month to resubmit the required information, as described, by July 1 of each even-numbered year. The bill would eliminate the authority of the local officer or agency to exempt a person who operates an antifreeze recycling unit or solvent distillation unit from some or all of these information requirements.

A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime. By expanding the scope of crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2)Existing law regulates the disposal of hazardous waste aerosol cans. Existing law defines an aerosol can to mean a container in which gas under pressure is used to aerate and dispense any material through a valve in the form of a spray or foam. Among other things, existing law requires that a container used to accumulate or transport universal waste aerosol cans, or the contents removed from a universal waste aerosol can or processing device, unless the contents have been determined to not be hazardous waste, to be, among other things, closed, structurally sound, and compatible with the contents of the universal waste aerosol can, and show no evidence of leakage, spillage, or damage that could cause leakage under reasonably foreseeable conditions. Existing law authorizes a universal waste handler to process a universal waste aerosol can to remove and collect the contents of the universal waste aerosol can if the handler meets certain requirements, including that the handler ensures that the processing operations are performed safely by developing and implementing a written operating procedure detailing the safe processing of universal waste aerosol cans.

This bill would revise the definition of an aerosol can to refer to a nonrefillable receptacle containing a gas compressed, liquefied, or dissolved under pressure, the sole purpose of which is to expel a liquid, paste, or powder and fitted with a self-closing release device allowing the contents to be ejected by the gas. The bill would require the container used to accumulate or transport universal waste aerosol cans or the contents removed from a universal waste aerosol can or processing device to additionally be protected from sources of heat. The bill would also require universal waste aerosol cans that show evidence of leakage be packaged in a separate closed container or overpacked with absorbents, or immediately punctured and drained, as specified. The bill would revise and expand the duties of a universal waste handler by requiring the written procedure to be maintained onsite at all times and the handler to maintain a copy of the manufacturers specifications and instructions for the device used to puncture and drain the aerosol cans. The bill would additionally require the procedure to include protocols to minimize, mitigate, prevent, control and clean up any unauthorized release, and would require the handler to recycle the empty punctured aerosol cans, as described.

Because the bill would expand the scope of existing crimes and impose a higher level of service on local public officers, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3)The Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act generally regulates aboveground storage tanks that contain petroleum and that meet certain requirements.

This bill would add specification regarding certain terms and would make a nonsubstantive change in the language of the act.

(4)Existing law requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection to implement a unified hazardous waste and hazardous materials management regulatory program, known as the unified program. Existing law requires every county to apply to the secretary to be certified to implement the unified program, and authorizes a city or local agency that meets specified requirements to apply to the secretary to be certified to implement the unified program, as a certified unified program agency, or CUPA. Existing law defines unified program agency, or UPA, to mean the CUPA or its participating agencies, as provided.

Existing law authorizes a unified program agency to issue an administrative order requiring that a violation of any law, regulation, permit, information request, order, variance, or other requirement that a unified program agency is authorized to enforce or implement be corrected and imposing various administrative penalties for certain types of violations. Existing law prescribes the procedures applicable to this process, including an appeal by a unified program facility of the issuance of an administrative order. Existing law authorizes a UPA to suspend or revoke the permit, or an element of a permit, of a unified program facility for not paying the fee or a fine or penalty associated with the permit in accordance with specified procedures. Existing law requires the unified program facility, in the event of suspension or revocation, to immediately discontinue operating that facility or function of the facility to which the permit element applies until the permit is reinstated or reissued.

This bill would specify that a person who violates the unified program laws shall be liable for a civil or administrative penalty of not more than $5,000 for each day on which the violation continues. The bill would authorize a unified program agency, in addition to suspending or revoking a permit or permit element, to withhold a permit or permit element if a unified program facility fails to pay a permit fee or a fine or penalty in accordance with specified procedures, or fails to comply with an administrative order issued by a unified program agency. The bill would additionally require a unified program facility that does not have a valid permit or permit element to immediately discontinue operating that facility or function of the facility to which the permit element applies until the unified program agency issues, reinstates, or reissues the permit. By making changes to provisions enforced by unified program agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(5)Existing law requires a unified program agency, for any stationary source with one or more covered processes, as defined, to make a preliminary determination as to whether there is a significant likelihood that the use of regulated substances by a stationary source may pose a regulated substances accident risk.

If the unified program agency determines that there is a significant likelihood of a regulated substances accident risk, as provided, it must require the stationary source to prepare and submit a risk management plan, or it may reclassify the covered process. If the unified program agency determines that there is not a significant likelihood of a regulated substances accident risk, existing law authorizes it to require the stationary source to prepare and submit a risk management plan, but provides that it need not impose that requirement if it determines that the likelihood of a regulated substances accident risk is remote, unless otherwise required by federal law, or, in the alternative, authorizes it to reclassify the covered process.

This bill would authorize a unified program agency to make a determination, rather than require it to make a preliminary determination, as to whether there is a significant likelihood that the use of a regulated substance by a stationary source may pose a regulated substances accident risk. The bill would require, if a unified program agency determines that there is a significant likelihood of a regulated substances accident risk and reclassifies a covered process to a higher program level, a stationary source to comply with the requirements applicable to the higher level program within 12 months of reclassification. The bill would, if the unified program agency determines that there is not a significant likelihood of a regulated substances accident risk, authorize the unified program to exempt a stationary source from certain requirements. The bill would authorize a unified program agency to revoke the exemption, as provided, and would require, in that event, a unified program facility to comply with specified requirements.

Existing law requires a stationary source that is required by a unified program agency to prepare and submit a risk management plan to submit the plan in accordance with the schedule established by the unified program agency, and prohibits a unified program agency from requiring the risk management plan to be submitted except within a certain period. Existing law provides that a knowing violation of these requirements after reasonable notice of the violation is a crime.

This bill would instead require a stationary source to submit a risk management plan to the unified program agency before the date on which the regulated substance is first present in a process above a listed threshold quantity.

By expanding the scope of a crime, and by making changes to provisions enforced by unified program agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated program.

(6)Existing law declares that, in order to protect the public health and safety and the environment, it is necessary to establish business and area plans relating to the handling and release or threatened release of hazardous materials. Existing law requires a business to establish and implement a business plan, containing certain elements, for emergency response to a release or threatened release of a hazardous material if the business meets specified conditions at any unified program facility, including that the business handles a hazardous material or a mixture containing a hazardous material in a quantity at any one time during the reporting year that exceeds specified thresholds. Existing law exempts from this requirement certain hazardous materials, including propane that is for on-premises use or storage, as specified.

This bill would revise the scope of the requirement, including by adding to the list of hazardous materials exempt from the requirement a liquid or gaseous fuel in fuel tanks on vehicles or motorized equipment, if the fuel tank is integral to the operation of the vehicle or motorized equipment, and treated wood and treated wood waste, as specified. The bill would also revise the content requirements for business plans by requiring some of the elements of a business plan to be included on the site map only if they are present on the site.

By making changes to provisions enforced by unified program agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(7)Existing law defines, for purposes of laws related to the underground storage of hazardous substances, an emergency generator tank system as an underground storage tank system that provides power supply in the event of a commercial power failure, stores diesel fuel or kerosene, and is used solely in connection with an emergency system, legally required standby system, or optional standby system, as defined.

This bill would recast the defined term as emergency tank system, redefine the term to mean an underground storage tank system that stores diesel fuel or kerosene solely for use by one or more stationary emergency devices, and add to the emergency devices already covered certain fire suppression systems and steam generation pressure tanks.

(8)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.