SB 612

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control to establish programs for and regulate hazardous waste source reduction. Existing law requires the department to prepare, adopt, and revise, when appropriate, a listing of the wastes that are determined to be hazardous, and a listing of the wastes that are determined to be extremely hazardous. Existing law requires the department to develop, and adopt by regulation, criteria and guidelines for the identification of hazardous wastes and extremely hazardous wastes and requires that any waste that conforms to the criteria be managed in accordance with permits, orders, and regulations issued by the department. Existing law requires the department to adopt, and revise when appropriate, standards and regulations for the management of hazardous wastes to protect against hazards to the public health, to domestic livestock, to wildlife, or to the environment. Pursuant to this authority, the department has adopted regulations establishing standards for generators of hazardous wastes and establishing standards for owners and operators of hazardous waste transfer, treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. This bill would require that a generator of hazardous waste include all hazardous waste that it has generated in any month, except for universal wastes, as defined, when computing whether it is required to comply with specified regulatory requirements. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations by December 1, 2016, incorporating instructions to hazardous waste generators implementing this requirement. (2) Existing law requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection to implement a unified hazardous waste and hazardous materials management regulatory program. Existing law requires every county to apply to the secretary to be certified to implement the unified program and allows a city or local agency to implement the unified program as a unified program agency, or UPA. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to adopt, after public hearing and consultation with the Office of the State Fire Marshal and other appropriate public entities, regulations for minimum standards for business plans and area plans, and requires all business plans and area plans to meet the standards adopted by the Office of Emergency Services. Existing law requires a business handling hazardous materials, as specified, to establish and implement a business plan for emergency response to a release or threatened release of a hazardous material in accordance with the standards prescribed in the regulations adopted by the Office of Emergency Services. The business plan is required to contain specified information, including a site map that contains north orientation, loading areas, internal roads, adjacent streets, storm and sewer drains, access and exit points, emergency shutoffs, evacuation staging areas, hazardous material handling and storage areas, and emergency response equipment. This bill would additionally require the site map to include additional map requirements required by the UPA pursuant to an ordinance. Existing law makes the knowing violation of the business plan requirements a crime. This bill, by expanding the requirements for a business plan, would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the application of a crime. This bill would make additional legislative findings and declarations relative to the unified program. (3) The Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act defines, for purposes of the act, an "aboveground storage tank" as a tank that has the capacity to store 55 gallons or more of petroleum and that is substantially or totally above the surface of the ground and a tank in an underground area, as defined, except for certain types of tanks and vessels, as specified. This bill would exclude from the definition of "aboveground storage tank" a tank or tank facility located on and operated by a farm that is exempt from specified federal spill prevention, control, and countermeasure requirements. The bill would revise the definition of a "tank in an underground area." This bill would provide that a tank in an underground area that is subject to aboveground tank regulation, as specified, is not subject to regulation pursuant to laws specific to underground storage tanks. Existing law requires the unified program agencies (UPAs) to implement the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act in accordance with regulations adopted by the Office of the State Fire Marshal and authorizes the Office of the State Fire Marshal to adopt these regulations. This bill would require the Office of the State Fire Marshal to adopt these regulations. Except for certain tank facilities located on farms, nurseries, logging sites, or construction sites, the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act requires each owner or operator of a storage tank at a tank facility to prepare a spill prevention control and countermeasure plan and to conduct periodic inspections of the storage tank. This bill would revise the above-described exception to the plan and inspection requirements to additionally require that the tank facility be operated by the farm, nursery, logging site, or construction site. The bill would require that the plan apply good engineering practices to prevent petroleum releases, as specified. (4) Existing law generally regulates the storage of hazardous substances in underground storage tanks and requires underground storage tanks that are used to store hazardous substances and that are installed after January 1, 1984, to meet certain requirements and obtain a permit from the UPA. This bill would revise the definition of "storage" and "store" for purposes of the regulation of the storage of hazardous substances in underground storage tanks, to exempt storage that is in compliance with specified alternative laws for the regulation of hazardous materials. This bill would make other changes to the hazardous materials laws. (5) The existing Medical Waste Management Act regulates the disposal of medical waste. Existing law authorizes a local agency to adopt a medical waste management program and be designated by the State Department of Public Health to, among other things, issue medical waste registrations and permits and inspect medical waste generators and treatment facilities, and requires the local agency, if it elects to adopt such a program, to notify that department. Under existing law, if the local agency chooses not to adopt a medical waste management program or if the State Department of Public Health withdraws its designation, the State Department of Public Health is the enforcement agency. Under existing law, whenever the enforcement agency determines that a violation or threatened violation of the act has resulted, or is likely to result, in a release of medical waste into the environment, the agency is authorized to issue an order to the responsible person specifying a schedule for compliance or imposing an administrative penalty of not more than $1,000 per violation. This bill would authorize the imposition of an administrative penalty of up to $5,000. The bill would also establish a process, not applicable to the State Department of Public Health, for the enforcement agency to set the amount of the administrative penalty and would establish a process for a person who is assessed the administrative penalty to challenge the facts of the order and the amount of the penalty, including a hearing and appeal. The bill would apply certain other procedures regarding the issuance of an order or the imposition of an administrative penalty if the State Department of Public Health is the enforcement agency. The bill would require that a provision of an order, except the imposition of an administrative penalty, take effect upon issuance by the enforcement agency if the enforcement agency finds that the violation or violations of law associated with that provision may pose an imminent and substantial danger to the public health or safety or the environment. (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.