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AB-1036 Organic waste: composting.(2017-2018)

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Date Published: 06/20/2017 09:00 PM
AB1036:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  June 20, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1036

Introduced by Assembly Member McCarty

February 16, 2017

An act to add Sections 40723.5 and 40723.6 to the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Section 42649.87 of the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1036, as amended, McCarty. Organic waste: composting.
Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the State Water Resources Control Board, the State Air Resources Board, and the Department of Food and Agriculture, to develop and implement policies to aid in diverting organic waste from landfills by promoting the composting of specified organic waste and by promoting the appropriate use of that compost throughout the state. Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Food and Agriculture, with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the State Air Resources Board, to, among other things, assess the state’s progress toward developing the organic waste processing and recycling infrastructure necessary to meet the state goals specified in certain state laws and documents.
This bill would require those entities to assess the state’s progress towards developing the organic waste processing and recycling infrastructure necessary to meet the state goals specified in an additional state law, as provided, and would make other changes in these provisions.
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.
This bill would require an air pollution control district or an air quality management district, for the purposes of permits and long-term emissions reductions relating to a composting facility, to include in calculations for baseline emissions of criteria air pollutants and greenhouse gases the reduction in emissions resulting from not sending those organic materials to a landfill or directly applying them to land. Because the bill would impose new duties on districts, it would impose a state-mandated local program.
Various air pollution control district and air quality management district rules define an “essential public service” for their purposes.
This bill would specify facilities that are “essential public services” for purposes of the statutes that govern air pollution control districts and air quality management districts and the regulations adopted pursuant to those statutes before or after the enactment of this bill, including composting facilities.
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.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NOYES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 40723.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

40723.5.
 For the purposes of permits and long-term emissions reductions relating to a composting facility, a district shall include in calculations for baseline emissions of criteria air pollutants and greenhouse gases the reduction in emissions resulting from not sending those organic materials to a landfill or directly applying them to land.

SEC. 2.

 Section 40723.6 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

40723.6.
 For purposes of this part, including any regulations adopted pursuant to this part before or after the enactment of this section, “essential public service” includes, but is not limited to, a prison, detention facility, police or firefighting facility, school, health care facility, landfill gas control or processing facility, sewage treatment works, composting facility, or water delivery operation, if owned and operated by a public agency.

SECTION 1.SEC. 3.

 Section 42649.87 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

42649.87.
 (a) The California Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with the department, the State Water Resources Control Board, the State Air Resources Board, and the Department of Food and Agriculture, shall develop and implement policies to aid in diverting organic waste from landfills by promoting the use of agricultural, forestry, and urban organic waste as a feedstock for compost and by promoting the appropriate use of that compost throughout the state.
(b) In developing policies pursuant to subdivision (a), the California Environmental Protection Agency shall promote a goal of reducing at least five million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year through the development and application of compost on working lands, which include, but are not limited to, agricultural land, land used for forestry, and rangeland. The California Environmental Protection Agency shall work with the Department of Food and Agriculture to achieve this goal.
(c) The Secretary for Environmental Protection and the Secretary of Food and Agriculture shall ensure proper alignment of agency regulations and internal policy goals to implement this section. The California Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Food and Agriculture, with the department, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the State Air Resources Board, shall do all of the following:
(1) Assess the state’s progress towards developing the organic waste processing and recycling infrastructure necessary to meet the state goals specified in Assembly Bill 341 (Chapter 476 of the Statutes of 2011), Assembly Bill 1826 (Chapter 727 of the Statutes of 2014), Senate Bill 1383 (Chapter 395 of the Statutes of 2016), the State Air Resources Board’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy, and the Department of Food and Agriculture’s Healthy Soils Initiative.
(2) Meet at least quarterly to consult with interested stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the compost industry, local governments, and environmental organizations, to encourage the continued viability of the state’s organic waste processing and recycling infrastructure.
(3) Hold at least one public workshop annually to inform the public of actions taken to implement this section and to receive public comment.
(4) Develop recommendations for promoting organic waste processing and recycling infrastructure statewide, which shall be posted on the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Internet Web site no later than January 1, 2017, and updated annually thereafter.
(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 4.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.