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Bills

SB 819: Geothermal waste: exemption from generation and handling fees: study.

  • Session Year: 2025-2026
  • House: Senate
  • Latest Version Date: 2025-03-26

Current Status:

Failed

(2026-02-02: Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56.)

Introduced

First Committee Review

First Chamber

Second Committee Review

Second Chamber

Enacted

Version:

The hazardous waste control laws require the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to regulate the handling and management of hazardous waste and hazardous materials. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime.

Existing law requires a generator of hazardous waste to pay to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration a generation and handling fee for each generator site that generates a specified amount of waste, as provided, and authorizes DTSC to adopt regulations necessary to implement generator fees.

Existing law exempts geothermal waste resulting from drilling for geothermal resources from the hazardous waste control laws for a specified reason. Existing law also exempts geothermal waste, excluding filter cake, that is generated from the exploration, development, or production of geothermal energy and that does not result from drilling for geothermal resources, from the hazardous waste control laws under specified circumstances.

This bill would require the DTSC to prepare and submit to the Legislature, no later than July 1, 2026, a study regarding the issues that would arise if geothermal waste that is not exempt from generation and handling fees pursuant to existing law is made exempt from those fees.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.CEQA makes various legislative findings and declarations regarding the maintenance of a quality environment for the people of this state and states the intent of the Legislature for state agencies to regulate activities so that major consideration is given to preventing environmental damage.This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those findings and declarations and to the statement of intent.

Discussed in Hearing

Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Quality3MIN
Apr 23, 2025

Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Quality

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News Coverage:

SB 819: Geothermal waste: exemption from generation and handling fees: study. | Digital Democracy