SB 1045: Composting facilities: zoning.

Session Year: 2023-2024
House: Senate

Current Status:

Failed

(2024-08-15: August 15 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.)

Introduced

First Committee Review

First Chamber

Second Committee Review

Second Chamber

Enacted

Version:

Existing law provides that the Office of Planning and Research serves the Governor and the Governors Cabinet as staff for long-range planning and research, and constitute the comprehensive state planning agency. In that capacity, existing law requires the office to, among other things, assist local governments in land use planning. Existing law, the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, establishes the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to administer an integrated waste management program. Existing law establishes a goal that statewide landfill disposal of organic waste be reduced from the 2014 level by 75% by 2025.

This bill, on or before June 1, 2026, would require the Office of Planning and Research, in consultation with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, to develop and post on the offices internet website, a technical advisory, as provided, reflecting best practices to facilitate the siting of composting facilities to meet the organic waste reduction goals. The bill would require the office to consult with specified entities throughout the development of the technical advisory.

The Planning and Zoning Law requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for its physical development, and the development of certain lands outside its boundaries, that includes, among other mandatory elements, a land use element that designates the proposed general distribution and general location and extent of the uses of the land for housing, business, solid and liquid waste disposal facilities, and other categories of public and private uses of land, as prescribed.

This bill, upon a substantive revision of the land use element, as specified, on or after January 1, 2028, would require a city, county, or city and county to consider, among other things, the best practices reflected in the technical advisory and to consider updating the land use element to identify areas where composting facilities may be appropriate as an allowable use. By increasing duties on a city, county, or city and county, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law vests air pollution control districts and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources, including from composting facilities. Existing law authorizes every district board to establish, by regulation, a permit system that requires, except as otherwise provided, before any person builds, erects, alters, replaces, operates, or uses any article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance that may cause the issuance of air contaminants, the person to obtain a permit to do so from the air pollution control officer of the district.Existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, designates the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards as the principal state agencies with authority over matters relating to water quality. Under existing law, the state board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards regulate water quality and prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with the federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program established by the federal Clean Water Act and the act.This bill would require, no later than 30 calendar days after a district or a regional board, as applicable, has received a permit application for a new or revised permit for a compost facility, the district or regional board to determine in writing whether the permit application is complete and correct and to immediately transmit the determination to the applicant for the permit. The bill would further require, no later than 60 calendar days after acceptance of a permit application for a new or revised permit for a compost facility as complete and correct, the district or regional board to conduct a review of the permit and accept or deny the permit. The bill would authorize the district or the regional board to charge each applicant a fee in an amount not to exceed the reasonable amount necessary to provide the services required by the bill. The bill would require the fee to be collected as part of the application fee charged for the permit. By imposing a higher level of service on air pollution control districts and air quality management districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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 a specified reason.

Discussed in Hearing