Toxics Waste Legislation
SB 337 (Kelley-R) Illegal Drug Cleanup Account
Authorizes the State Department of Toxic Substances Control to use funds appropriated from the Illegal Drug Lab Cleanup Account to reimburse local agencies for any costs they incur in identifying chemicals found at the site of an illegal drug lab, determining their quantity, tagging them and setting them aside prior to their removal by the department clean-up contractor.
(Died in Senate Environmental Quality Committee)
SB 387 (Knight-R) Low-level radioactive waste: surcharge
Establishes the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Facility Public Education and Municipal Support Fund in the State Treasury for a 30-year period. Imposes a disposal surcharge of $12 per cubic foot on low-level radioactive waste disposed of at the Ward Valley site, and requires the surcharge revenues to be deposited in the fund.
(Died in Senate Environmental Quality Committee)
SB 442 (Brulte-R) Toxic chemicals: sensitive population subgroups
Requires the director of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to develop guidelines to evaluate the effects of toxic chemicals upon sensitive subgroups of the general population.
(Died in Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee)
SB 659 (Sher-D) Hazardous waste and materials: certification
Permits cities or districts until April 1, 1998, to reapply for certification under the California Environmental Protection Agency's Certified Unified Program Agency, if certain conditions are met.
(Died on Assembly Inactive File)
SB 775* (Johannessen-R) Gasoline: MTBE: study
Requires the State Air Resources Board to conduct a prescribed study, in conjunction with private industry, on the health effects of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), as specified.
(Died in Senate Environmental Quality Committee)
SB 803 (Mountjoy-R) Hazardous waste: search warrants
Requires the State Department of Toxic Substances Control to file charges within 60 days of executing a search warrant on a business that has no record of previous violation. Precludes the department from filing charges based on evidence collected under that search warrant if charges are not filed within that 60-day period.
(Died in Senate Environmental Quality Committee)
SB 869 (Lee-D) Removal action workplans: public comment
Requires a public comment period of at least two weeks before the State Department of Toxic Substances Control may approve a Removal Action Workplan for a cleanup project if there is significant community interest in the project. Requires the supervisor of the person who will approve the Removal Action Workplan to evaluate the public comments within five working days of the close of the public comment period.
(Died in Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee)
SB 906 (Lee-D) Hazardous waste management plans
Requires the county hazardous waste management plan to include specified information regarding the demographics of the community within a ten-mile radius of each hazardous waste stream and facility, and the consideration of specified environmental equity goals. Requires the State Department of Toxic Substances Control to adopt regulations defining the goals of environmental equity in the siting of hazardous waste facilities to provide for the equitable distribution of hazardous waste facilities throughout the county, region, and state. Requires the county hazardous waste management plan to serve as the household hazardous waste element of the integrated waste management plan prepared pursuant to the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989.
(Died in Senate Environmental Quality Committee)
SB 913* (Kelley-R) Underground storage tanks: upgrade compliance
Allows for extension of the deadline local agencies are required to meet in certifying that underground storage tanks are upgraded.
Chapter 774, Statutes of 1998
SB 1012 (Sher-D) Underground storage tanks: discharges
Requires the State Water Resources Control Board to (1) establish numerical standards for identifying sites where residual petroleum contamination exists, and (2) specify the sampling and analytical method that a responsible party for a site must use in order to demonstrate that a site is free of residual petroleum contamination.
(Died in Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee)
SB 1083 (Polanco-D) Toxic air contaminants: diesel exhaust emissions
Requires that individual substances within diesel fuel exhaust, rather than the mixture of substances, be evaluated for the purpose of being listed as a toxic air contaminant.
(Died in Assembly Rules Committee)
SB 1090 (Costa-D) Hazardous waste and substances: local fees and taxes
Eliminates certain fees paid by offsite hazardous waste disposal facilities. Provides that certain revenues from accounts receivable, if collected, be used to offset the cost of the bill.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)
SB 1521 (Alpert-D) Liability: lenders: fiduciaries
Makes two noncontroversial clarifications to the existing lender and fiduciary exemption from statutory liability from the release or threatened release of hazardous materials. Specifically:
- Expands the definition of "person," for the purposes of the immunity provisions governing lenders, to also include the federal government, or any department, subdivision, or agency thereof.
- Provides examples of the type of person who "acts as, or on behalf of, a lender" to include "a surety, escrow, or title company."
Chapter 382, Statutes of 1998
SB 1577 (Sher-D) California Environmental Protection Agency
A budget trailer bill which creates the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) Sunset Review and Regulatory Accountability Act of 1998. Specifically:
- Repeals the provisions, effective January 1, 2000, establishing the agency and the Office of Secretary for Environmental Protection.
- Establishes the Joint Legislative Sunset Review Committee for the CalEPA.
- Requires CalEPA to prepare and submit reports, and the Legislative Analyst to provide analyses of those reports and make recommendations to the Legislature concerning a process for terminating CalEPA.
Vetoed by the Governor
SB 1644 (Thompson-D) Oil spills: nontank vessels
Requires each nontanker vessel entering California marine waters to have an approved statewide contingency plan for the cleanup of any oil spill from the vessel. Authorizes a vessel owner or operator to meet this requirement by contracting with a nonprofit maritime association to provide contingency plan services. Grants certain liability protections to the maritime association providing the service.
Chapter 964, Statutes of 1998
SB 1824 (Calderon-D) Used oil: recycling
Allows a used oil recycler to mix the used oil with specified petroleum waste if the latter can be re-refined into recycled oil under two specified circumstances.
Chapter 675, Statutes of 1998
SB 1898 (Polanco-D) Hazardous substances: remediation
Authorizes a redevelopment agency to undertake cleanup or compel a reasonable party to clean up property contaminated with hazardous waste. Specifies that, if conducted pursuant to state agency guidelines and oversight, the redevelopment agency receives liability immunity with respect to the subject hazardous substance releases caused by the responsible party.
Chapter 438, Statutes of 1998
SB 1916 (Sher-D) Hazardous waste source reduction: toxic chemical releases
Creates a set of programs and activities administered by the State Department of Toxic Substances Control to provide hazardous waste generators with technical information they can use to voluntarily reduce the amounts of hazardous waste generated.
Chapter 881, Statutes of 1998
SB 1924 (McPherson-R) Hazardous waste: dry cell batteries
Excludes certain spent dry cell batteries containing zinc electrodes from hazardous waste regulation and general dry cell battery handling requirements if certain conditions are met.
Chapter 281, Statutes of 1998
SB 1926 (Mountjoy-R) Water contamination: liability: motor vehicle fuel additives
Provides that a manufacturer of MTBE, or a product containing MTBE, is jointly liable along with the operator of a facility which releases MTBE into the groundwater or surface waters of the state. Among others, prohibits the State Air Resources Board from adopting any regulation requiring the addition of any particular substance to gasoline for the purposes of meeting emissions standards. Also requires each county public health officer in the state to determine the number of private domestic water wells in the county, and, upon the request of an owner of private domestic water well, to oversee the testing of the well, to ensure that water samples are properly collected and transported to a department-certified laboratory. Requires discharges of MTBE which pose a threat to drinking water, groundwater, or surface water, including any coastal waters, to be cleaned up to a level which protects human health, safety, and the environment and which is consistent with applicable state and regional board permits and policies.
(Failed passage in Senate Environmental Quality Committee)
SB 1943 (Sher-D) Fertilizer materials: hazardous waste recycling
Requires the State Department of Toxic Substances Control to report on the distribution and sale in California of fertilizers that are manufactured from recycled hazardous wastes.
(Failed passage on Senate Floor)
SB 2014 (Schiff-D) Hazardous waste generator fees: recycled materials
Provides that a generator of hazardous waste who pays a hazardous waste generator inspection fee to a certified unified program agency pursuant to the single fee system is eligible for a refund of the generator fee under specified conditions, including when there is a surplus of funds in the Hazardous Waste Control Account. Provides that a generator who transfers hazardous materials to an offsite recycling facility of another offsite facility is also eligible for a refund of the generator fee, under specified conditions. Requires the State Department of Toxic Substances Control to determine, by June 30 of each year, if there are surplus funds in the Hazardous Waste Control Account and to allocate those surplus funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to pay refunds to those generators.
Chapter 737, Statutes of 1998
SB 2057 (Greene-D) Asbestos
Permits a contractor to remove flooring material containing asbestos without registering as an asbestos abatement contractor with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA).
(Failed passage in Assembly Labor and Employment Committee)
SB 2111 (Costa-D) Non-RCRA hazardous waste: silver
Requires the State Department of Toxic Substances Control to regulate hazardous wastes containing silver in the same manner as regulated under the federal hazardous waste program.
Chapter 309, Statutes of 1998
SB 2170 (Sher-D) Hazardous substance account act
Repeals a series of definitions in the state Superfund law that were once part of a now obsolete method for calculating the State Department of Toxic Substances Control's oversight costs at cleanup sites.
(Died in Conference Committee)
SB 2172 (Sher-D) Hazardous waste: management activities
Alters the procedure the State Department of Toxic Substances Control must follow when it adopts a regulation that exempts a hazardous waste management activity from a statutory requirement.
Chapter 676, Statutes of 1998
SB 2240 (Senate Environmental Quality Committee) Hazardous waste: fees
Makes technical and clarifying changes to the hazardous waste fee laws, makes funding changes to various oversight and pollution prevention programs, and simplifies the hazardous waste manifest system.
Chapter 882, Statutes of 1998
AB 182 (Battin-R) Hazardous materials: local agencies
Requires a city or county that adopts, amends, or repeals an ordinance related to the regulation of regulated substances to do so at a public meeting for which notice has been given and to state the reasons for the ordinance. In addition, permits a city or county to submit a notice to the California Environmental Protection Agency which would be required to post that notice on the agency's Internet website at a location established for notices that may be posted pursuant to the bill.
Vetoed by the Governor
AB 681 (Machado-D) Environmental cleanup: notice to property owners
Requires owners of contaminated property to be kept apprised of the clean-up process on their property, and requires clean-up oversight agencies to consider the property owners' recommendations concerning the clean-up.
Chapter 255, Statutes of 1998
AB 763 (Aroner-D) Hazardous materials: accidental releases
Requires owners or operators of facilities which handle substances regulated under the state and federal accidental chemical release prevention program to use structures, methods or equipment that will contain the escape of those substances from pressure relief valves whenever a local air district makes specified determinations.
Revises the definition of "school" to require that risk management plans give consideration to the proximity of any school which is used to educate more than six children in grades one through 12.
(Died in Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee)
AB 851 (Wayne-D) Hazardous substance account
Reauthorizes the state Superfund law that will otherwise sunset at the end of this year. Makes numerous changes to the state Superfund program that simplify and clarify the procedures that apply to toxic waste cleanups, and establish a special fund to reimburse responsible parties for the "orphan share" of a cleanup.
(Failed passage on Senate Floor)
AB 871 (Wayne-D) Redevelopment: hazardous substances cleanup
Makes a number of changes to hazardous substance cleanup laws designed to encourage redevelopment of contaminated "brownfields."
Chapter 430, Statutes of 1998
AB 966 (Wayne-D) Hazardous waste treatment: laboratory hazardous waste
Excludes from the definition of hazardous waste treatment specified activities that change the physical or chemical character of hazardous wastes. Enacts a special set of rules that apply to the accumulation and treatment of hazardous wastes produced in education, research and industrial laboratories.
Chapter 506, Statutes of 1998
AB 983 (Wayne-D) Hazardous waste: enforcement
Authorizes local agencies administering hazardous waste law enforcement programs on behalf of the state certified unified program agencies to refer enforcement actions for injunctive relief to the Attorney General.
Chapter 357, Statutes of 1998
AB 1146 (Brewer-R) Hazardous substances: occupational safety & health violation
Repeals the requirement that a copy of a material safety data sheet be provided to the State Department of Industrial Relations. Authorizes the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to respond to a complaint of a nonserious violation by mailing a correction notice to the employer.
(Died in Assembly Labor and Employment Committee)
AB 1739 (Scott-D) Hazardous waste: recyclable materials: used oil
Defines a third set of circumstances under which an oil refinery may recycle used oil without managing it as a hazardous waste. These circumstances are as follows:
- The used oil is generated by equipment, vehicles and engines used primarily at the refinery.
- It is used to make a fuel or other refined petroleum product.
- It may contain hazardous constituents other than the constituents for which it is being recycled.
- It is stored prior to recycling in accordance with applicable federal regulations.
Chapter 244, Statutes of 1998
AB 1862 (Migden-D) Water quality
Establishes mandatory minimum fines for violations of water quality laws, and requires the assessment of civil administrative penalties at a level that recovers the economic benefits denied from the acts constituting the violation.
(Died in Senate Judiciary Committee)
AB 1909 (Wayne-D) Pollution control: financing authority
Expands the types of projects and activities that can be financed through the California Pollution Control Financing Authority (Authority), including projects to clean up and develop contaminated real property.
Requires the Authority to prepare, and submit to the Legislature not later than July 1, 1999, an analysis of factors related to the financing of projects to clean up and develop contaminated real property.
Chapter 1008, Statutes of 1998
AB 2067 (Cunneen-R) Hazardous waste: state agency procurement
An omnibus measure that amends a variety of provisions of the hazardous waste laws, most of which directly or indirectly affect the recycling of hazardous wastes. Also amends the state purchasing laws to expand the market for specified recycled products.
Chapter 880, Statutes of 1998
AB 2192 (Kuehl-D) High-level radioactive materials and spent nuclear fuel
Establishes a specialized set of requirements that apply to the transport of spent nuclear fuel and high level radioactive waste in California. The requirements cover such matters as emergency response in the event of accidents, trip planning, transportation safety, safety testing of shipping containers, and mandatory insurance for carriers.
Vetoed by the Governor
AB 2306 (Richter-R) Underground storage tanks
Clarifies that the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund is a state entity, thereby requiring lawsuits against it to be filed in state court. Limits the amount reimbursable for technical assistance on a fund claim and clarifies who may reopen a claim. Clarifies that California's definition of a "hazardous substance" includes both state and federal definitions and corrects drafting errors made in prior legislation.
(Died in Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee)
AB 2392 (Margett-R) Groundwater and surface water study
Appropriates $100,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Health Services to conduct a study of the effect of perchlorate contamination on existing and potential drinking water supplies.
(Died in Senate Environmental Quality Committee)
AB 2424 (Ackerman-R) Hazardous waste: treatment
Allows the accumulation of up to 55 gallons of hazardous waste or one quart of acutely hazardous waste generated in a laboratory if certain conditions are met. Exempts from waste facilities permit or authorization requirements the treatment of laboratory hazardous waste generated onsite, if certain requirements are met.
(Died in Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee)
AB 2439 (Bowen-D) Water supplies: discharges
Bans on and after January 1, 2002, the retail sale of any new two-stroke marine engine that discharges unburned fuel or oil as a function of its design.
(Died on Assembly Inactive File)
AB 2487 (Oller-R) Hazardous waste treatment: used fuel filters
States that the act of draining residual fuels from filters removed from fuel pumps is not "treatment" for purposes of the hazardous waste laws if:
- The person draining the fuel filter complies with applicable air quality and water quality requirements.
- The drained fuel, filter housing and filter element are properly managed.
Chapter 532, Statutes of 1998
AB 2614 (Olberg-R) Toxic chemicals: enforcement
Increases the amount of time before a person may commence a private action to enforce the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Proposition 65) from 60 days to 120 days after giving notice of the violation.
(Died in Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee)
AB 2651 (Davis-D) Employment: hazardous materials safety data filing
Provides for the electronic filing of hazardous material data safety sheets with the State Department of Industrial Relations.
Vetoed by the Governor
AB 2698 (Ducheny-D) Hazardous waste: wastewater treatment units
Requires the State Department of Toxic Substances Control to report to the Legislature, by June 1, 1999, on the appropriate level of regulation for treatment of hazardous waste in onsite wastewater treatment units.
(Died in Senate Environmental Quality Committee)
AB 2754 (Lempert-D) Oil spill prevention
Extends the civil and criminal penalties for knowingly, intentionally, or negligently discharging or spilling oil into oceans and other marine waters to discharges or spills of more than 42 gallons of oil into "the waters of the state" such as rivers, lakes, surface and ground waters. Does not apply to spills or discharges of oil or petroleum products by agricultural operations. Applies to violations which occur on or after January 1, 1999.
(Died in Senate Rules Committee)
AB 2784* (Strom-Martin-D) Toxic substances: Budget trailer bill
Prohibits the State Department of Toxic Substances Control from adopting the pending regulation to restructure the management and declassification of hazardous wastes (RSU) until the completion of an independent, scientific peer review, the California Environmental Quality Act, analysis, and the Administrative Procedures Act. Appropriates $617,000 for the implementation of the RSU.
Chapter 326, Statutes of 1998 - Item Veto
Governor item vetoed the appropriation from the bill.
AB 2794* (Assembly Budget Committee) Toxics: State Budget augmentation
Appropriates $750,000 to the State Department of Toxic Substances Control for clean-up of the Nipomo Oil Waste Site and $20,000 for removal of hazardous electrical transformer from the playground at the Cogswell Elementary School, Mountain View School District.
Chapter 1050, Statutes of 1998 - Item veto
Governor item vetoed the appropriation from the bill.
ACR 126 (Wayne-D) Toxic Awareness Week
Establishes the week of May 10 to May 16, 1998, as Toxic Awareness Week.
Resolution Chapter 39, Statutes of 1998
AJR 50 (Kuehl-D) Spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste
Memorializes Congress and the President of the United States to oppose legislation to establish a spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste interim storage site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.