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SB-352 Schoolsites: sources of pollution.(2003-2004)

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SB352:v90#DOCUMENT

Senate Bill No. 352
CHAPTER 668

An act to amend Section 17213 of the Education Code, and to amend Section 21151.8 of the Public Resources Code, relating to public schools.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  October 03, 2003. Approved by Governor  October 02, 2003. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 352, Escutia. Schoolsites: sources of pollution.
Existing law sets forth various requirements regarding the siting, structural integrity, safety, and fitness-for-occupancy of school buildings, including, but not limited to, a prohibition of the approval by the governing board of a school district of the acquisition of a schoolsite by a school district, unless prescribed conditions relating to possible exposure to hazardous substances are satisfied, and a prohibition on the approval of a related environmental impact report or negative declaration.
This bill would, in addition, prohibit the approval by the governing board of a school district of a schoolsite that is within 500 feet from the edge of the closest traffic lane of a freeway or other busy traffic corridor, unless prescribed conditions are met and would make conforming and other technical, nonsubstantive changes.
Existing law requires the lead agency to consult with prescribed agencies to identify facilities that might reasonably be anticipated to emit hazardous materials, within 1/4 of a mile of the schoolsite.
This bill would define “facility” for this purpose and would require the lead agency to consult to identify freeways and other busy traffic corridors, as defined, large agricultural operations, and railyards, within 1/4 of a mile of the schoolsite, and would make conforming and other technical, nonsubstantive changes.

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Many studies have shown significantly increased levels of pollutants, particularly diesel particulates, in close proximity to freeways and other major diesel sources. A recent study of Los Angeles area freeways measured diesel particulate levels up to 25 times higher near freeways than those levels elsewhere. Much of the pollution from freeways is associated with acute health effects, exacerbating asthma and negatively impacting the ability of children to learn.
(b) Cars and trucks release at least forty different toxic air contaminants, including, but not limited to, diesel particulate, benzene, formaldehyde, 1,3-butadiene and acetaldehyde. Levels of these pollutants are generally concentrated within 500 feet of freeways and very busy roadways.
(c) Current state law governing the siting of schools does not specify whether busy freeways should be included in environmental impact reports of nearby “facilities.” Over 150 schools are already estimated to be within 500 feet of extremely high traffic roadways.
(d) A disproportionate number of economically disadvantaged pupils may be attending schools that are close to busy roads, putting them at an increased risk of developing bronchitis from elevated levels of several pollutants associated with traffic. Many studies have confirmed that increased wheezing and bronchitis occurs among children living in high traffic areas.
(e) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to protect school children from the health risks posed by pollution from heavy freeway traffic and other nonstationary sources in the same way that they are protected from industrial pollution.

SEC. 2.

 Section 17213 of the Education Code is amended to read:

17213.
 The governing board of a school district may not approve a project involving the acquisition of a schoolsite by a school district, unless all of the following occur:
(a) The school district, as the lead agency, as defined in Section 21067 of the Public Resources Code, determines that the property purchased or to be built upon is not any of the following:
(1) The site of a current or former hazardous waste disposal site or solid waste disposal site, unless if the site was a former solid waste disposal site, the governing board of the school district concludes that the wastes have been removed.
(2) A hazardous substance release site identified by the Department of Toxic Substances Control in a current list adopted pursuant to Section 25356 of the Health and Safety Code for removal or remedial action pursuant to Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 25300) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) A site that contains one or more pipelines, situated underground or aboveground, that carries hazardous substances, acutely hazardous materials, or hazardous wastes, unless the pipeline is a natural gas line that is used only to supply natural gas to that school or neighborhood.
(b) The school district, as the lead agency, as defined in Section 21067 of the Public Resources Code, in preparing the environmental impact report or negative declaration has consulted with the administering agency in which the proposed schoolsite is located, pursuant to Section 2735.3 of Title 19 of the California Code of Regulations, and with any air pollution control district or air quality management district having jurisdiction in the area, to identify both permitted and nonpermitted facilities within that district’s authority, including, but not limited to, freeways and other busy traffic corridors, large agricultural operations, and railyards, within one-fourth of a mile of the proposed schoolsite, that might reasonably be anticipated to emit hazardous air emissions, or to handle hazardous or acutely hazardous materials, substances, or waste. The school district, as the lead agency, shall include a list of the locations for which information is sought.
(c) The governing board of the school district makes one of the following written findings:
(1) Consultation identified none of the facilities or significant pollution sources specified in subdivision (b).
(2) The facilities or other pollution sources specified in subdivision (b) exist, but one of the following conditions applies:
(A) The health risks from the facilities or other pollution sources do not and will not constitute an actual or potential endangerment of public health to persons who would attend or be employed at the school.
(B) The governing board finds that corrective measures required under an existing order by another governmental entity that has jurisdiction over the facilities or other pollution sources will, before the school is occupied, result in the mitigation of all chronic or accidental hazardous air emissions to levels that do not constitute an actual or potential endangerment of public health to persons who would attend or be employed at the proposed school. If the governing board makes this finding, the governing board shall also make a subsequent finding, prior to the occupancy of the school, that the emissions have been mitigated to these levels.
(C) For a schoolsite with a boundary that is within 500 feet of the edge of the closest traffic lane of a freeway or other busy traffic corridor, the governing board of the school district determines, through analysis pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 44360 of the Health and Safety Code, based on appropriate air dispersion modeling, and after considering any potential mitigation measures, that the air quality at the proposed site is such that neither short-term nor long-term exposure poses significant health risks to pupils.
(D) The governing board finds that neither of the conditions set forth in subparagraph (B) or (C) can be met, and the school district is unable to locate an alternative site that is suitable due to a severe shortage of sites that meet the requirements in subdivision (a) of Section 17213. If the governing board makes this finding, the governing board shall adopt a statement of Overriding Considerations pursuant to Section 15093 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(d) As used in this section:
(1) “Hazardous air emissions” means emissions into the ambient air of air contaminants that have been identified as a toxic air contaminant by the State Air Resources Board or by the air pollution control officer for the jurisdiction in which the project is located. As determined by the air pollution control officer, hazardous air emissions also means emissions into the ambient air from any substance identified in subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, of Section 44321 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) “Hazardous substance” means any substance defined in Section 25316 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) “Acutely hazardous material” means any material defined pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 25532 of the Health and Safety Code.
(4) “Hazardous waste” means any waste defined in Section 25117 of the Health and Safety Code.
(5) “Hazardous waste disposal site” means any site defined in Section 25114 of the Health and Safety Code.
(6) “Administering agency” means any agency designated pursuant to Section 25502 of the Health and Safety Code.
(7) “Handle” means handle as defined in Article 1 (commencing with Section 25500) of Chapter 6.95 of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code.
(8) “Facilities” means any source with a potential to use, generate, emit or discharge hazardous air pollutants, including, but not limited to, pollutants that meet the definition of a hazardous substance, and whose process or operation is identified as an emission source pursuant to the most recent list of source categories published by the California Air Resources Board.
(9) “Freeway or other busy traffic corridors” means those roadways that, on an average day, have traffic in excess of 50,000 vehicles in a rural area as defined in Section 50101 of the Health and Safety Code, and 100,000 vehicles in an urban area, as defined in Section 50104.7 of the Health and Safety Code.

SEC. 3.

 Section 21151.8 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

21151.8.
 (a) An environmental impact report or negative declaration may not be approved for any project involving the purchase of a schoolsite or the construction of a new elementary or secondary school by a school district unless all of the following occur:
(1) The environmental impact report or negative declaration includes information that is needed to determine if the property proposed to be purchased, or to be constructed upon, is any of the following:
(A) The site of a current or former hazardous waste disposal site or solid waste disposal site and, if so, whether the wastes have been removed.
(B) A hazardous substance release site identified by the Department of Toxic Substances Control in a current list adopted pursuant to Section 25356 of the Health and Safety Code for removal or remedial action pursuant to Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 25300) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C) A site that contains one or more pipelines, situated underground or aboveground, that carries hazardous substances, acutely hazardous materials, or hazardous wastes, unless the pipeline is a natural gas line that is used only to supply natural gas to that school or neighborhood, or other nearby schools.
(D) A site that is within 500 feet of the edge of the closest traffic lane of a freeway or other busy traffic corridor.
(2) The school district, as the lead agency, in preparing the environmental impact report or negative declaration has notified in writing and consulted with the administering agency in which the proposed schoolsite is located, pursuant to Section 2735.3 of Title 19 of the California Code of Regulations, and with any air pollution control district or air quality management district having jurisdiction in the area, to identify both permitted and nonpermitted facilities within that district’s authority, including, but not limited to, freeways and busy traffic corridors, large agricultural operations, and railyards, within one-fourth of a mile of the proposed schoolsite, that might reasonably be anticipated to emit hazardous emissions or handle hazardous or acutely hazardous materials, substances, or waste. The notification by the school district, as the lead agency, shall include a list of the locations for which information is sought.
(3) The governing board of the school district makes one of the following written findings:
(A) Consultation identified no facilities of this type or other significant pollution sources specified in paragraph (2).
(B) The facilities or other pollution sources specified in paragraph (2) exist, but one of the following conditions applies:
(i) The health risks from the facilities or other pollution sources do not and will not constitute an actual or potential endangerment of public health to persons who would attend or be employed at the proposed school.
(ii) Corrective measures required under an existing order by another agency having jurisdiction over the facilities or other pollution sources will, before the school is occupied, result in the mitigation of all chronic or accidental hazardous air emissions to levels that do not constitute an actual or potential endangerment of public health to persons who would attend or be employed at the proposed school. If the governing board makes a finding pursuant to this clause, it shall also make a subsequent finding, prior to occupancy of the school, that the emissions have been so mitigated.
(iii) For a schoolsite with a boundary that is within 500 feet of the edge of the closest traffic lane of a freeway or other busy traffic corridor, the governing board of the school district determines, through analysis pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 44360 of the Health and Safety Code, based on appropriate air dispersion modeling, and after considering any potential mitigation measures, that the air quality at the proposed site is such that neither short-term nor long-term exposure poses significant health risks to pupils.
(C) The facilities or other pollution sources specified in paragraph (2) exist, but conditions in clause (i), (ii) or (iii) of subparagraph (B) cannot be met, and the school district is unable to locate an alternative site that is suitable due to a severe shortage of sites that meet the requirements in subdivision (a) of Section 17213 of the Education Code. If the governing board makes this finding, the governing board shall adopt a statement of Overriding Considerations pursuant to Section 15093 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(4) Each administering agency, air pollution control district, or air quality management district receiving written notification from a lead agency to identify facilities pursuant to paragraph (2) shall provide the requested information and provide a written response to the lead agency within 30 days of receiving the notification. The environmental impact report or negative declaration shall be conclusively presumed to comply with this section as to the area of responsibility of any agency that does not respond within 30 days.
(b) If a school district, as a lead agency, has carried out the consultation required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), the environmental impact report or the negative declaration shall be conclusively presumed to comply with this section, notwithstanding any failure of the consultation to identify an existing facility or other pollution source specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
(c) As used in this section and Section 21151.4, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) “Hazardous substance” means any substance defined in Section 25316 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) “Acutely hazardous material” means any material defined pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 25532 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) “Hazardous waste” means any waste defined in Section 25117 of the Health and Safety Code.
(4) “Hazardous waste disposal site” means any site defined in Section 25114 of the Health and Safety Code.
(5) “Hazardous air emissions” means emissions into the ambient air of air contaminants that have been identified as a toxic air contaminant by the State Air Resources Board or by the air pollution control officer for the jurisdiction in which the project is located. As determined by the air pollution control officer, hazardous air emissions also means emissions into the ambient air from any substances identified in subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, of Section 44321 of the Health and Safety Code.
(6) “Administering agency” means an agency designated pursuant to Section 25502 of the Health and Safety Code.
(7) “Handle” means handle as defined in Article 1 (commencing with Section 25500) of Chapter 6.95 of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code.
(8) “Facilities” means any source with a potential to use, generate, emit or discharge hazardous air pollutants, including, but not limited to, pollutants that meet the definition of a hazardous substance, and whose process or operation is identified as an emission source pursuant to the most recent list of source categories published by the California Air Resources Board.
(9) “Freeway or other busy traffic corridors” means those roadways that, on an average day, have traffic in excess of 50,000 vehicles in a rural area, as defined in Section 50101 of the Health and Safety Code, and 100,000 vehicles in an urban area, as defined in Section 50104.7 of the Health and Safety Code.