AB 737

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, requires each city, county, and regional agency, if any, to develop a source reduction and recycling element of an integrated waste management plan containing specified components, including a source reduction component, a recycling component, and a composting component. With certain exceptions, the source reduction and recycling element of that plan is required to divert 50% of all solid waste from landfill disposal or transformation by January 1, 2000, through source reduction, recycling, and composting activities. Existing law requires the department to review, at least once every 2 years, a jurisdiction's source reduction and recycling element and household hazardous waste element. The department is required to issue an order of compliance if the department finds that a jurisdiction has failed to implement its source reduction and recycling element or its household hazardous waste element, pursuant to a specified procedure. If, after issuing an order of compliance, the department finds the city, county, or regional agency has failed to make a good faith effort to implement those elements, the department is authorized to impose administrative civil penalties upon the city, county, or regional agency. The bill would require the department, by January 1, 2013, to report to the Legislature on the current diversion rate in the state and provide strategies to increase the diversion rate to 75% by 2020. The bill would repeal this requirement on January 1, 2017. (2) Existing law requires a local agency to impose certain requirements on an operator of a large venue or event to facilitate solid waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. This bill would require the owner or operator of a business that contracts for solid waste services and generates more than 4 cubic yards of total solid waste and recyclable materials per week to take specified action. The bill would require a jurisdiction to implement a commercial recycling program meeting specified elements but would not require the jurisdiction to revise its source reduction and recycling element if the jurisdiction adds or expands a commercial recycling program to meet this requirement. The bill would authorize a local agency to charge and collect a fee from a commercial waste generator to recover the local agency's estimated costs incurred in complying with the commercial recycling program requirements. By requiring a jurisdiction to implement a commercial recycling program, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to review a jurisdiction's compliance with the above requirement as a part of the department's review of a jurisdiction's compliance with the 50% solid waste diversion requirement. (3) Existing law requires a city, county, and city and county to incorporate the nondisposal facility element and any amendment to the element into the revised source reduction and recycling element at the time of the 5-year revision of the source reduction and recycling element. Existing law requires the department to review an amendment to a nondisposal facility element. Existing law requires a local task force to review and comment on amendments to a nondisposal facility element. This bill would repeal those requirements. The bill would instead require a city, county, city and county, or regional agency to update all information required to be included in the nondisposal facility element. The bill would provide that the update is not subject to approval by the department or comment and review by a local task force. (4) Existing law requires each state agency to submit an annual report to the department summarizing its progress in reducing solid waste that is due on September 1 of each year starting in 2009. This bill would change the due date to May 1 of each year. (5) Existing law requires an operator of a solid waste facility that wants to change the design or operation of the solid waste facility in a manner not authorized by the current permit to apply for a revised permit. Within 60 days of receipt of the application for the revised permit, the enforcement agency is required to inform the operator, and in some circumstances the department, of its determination to allow the change without revision of the permit, disallow the change, require a revision of the permit to allow the change, or require review under the California Environmental Quality Act before a decision is made. This bill would also require the enforcement agency to give notice of its determination to allow certain changes without a revision to the permit through a modification to the permit allowed by regulations developed by the department. (6) 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.