Bill Text: CA SB68 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Enrolled

California Senate Bill 68 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Hazardous waste: treated wood waste.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2020-09-29 - In Senate. Consideration of Governor's veto pending. [SB68 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB68-Enrolled.html

Enrolled September 03, 2020

Passed IN Senate August 31, 2020

Passed IN Assembly August 30, 2020

Amended IN Assembly August 25, 2020

Amended IN Assembly September 03, 2019

Amended IN Assembly July 03, 2019

Amended IN Assembly June 20, 2019

Amended IN Assembly June 10, 2019

Amended IN Assembly May 22, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 68

Introduced by Senator Galgiani

January 09, 2019

An act to amend Section 25150.7 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to hazardous waste.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 68, Galgiani. Hazardous waste: treated wood waste.

Existing law, as part of the hazardous waste control laws, requires treated wood waste to be disposed of in either a class I hazardous waste landfill or in a composite-lined portion of a solid waste landfill unit that meets specified requirements. Existing law requires each wholesaler and retailer of treated wood and treated wood-like products to conspicuously post information that contains a specified message, including a certain internet website address at which more information can be found, at or near the point of display or customer selection of treated wood and treated wood-like products, as provided. Existing law requires the wood preserving industry, as defined, to, jointly and in consultation with the Department of Toxic Substances Control, make information available to generators of treated wood waste that describes how to best handle, dispose of, and otherwise manage treated wood waste. Existing law repeals these requirements on January 1, 2021. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime.

This bill would extend the operation of those provisions, as recast by this bill, indefinitely. By extending a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the message to be posted at the point of sale, in addition to at the point of display or customer selection. The bill would update in the message the internet website address at which more information can be found and would require the message to include an additional specified statement relating to the internet website at which the list of approved landfills that accept treated wood waste can be found.

The bill would require the wood preserving industry to, in consultation with the department, maintain an internet website and prepare fact sheets and other outreach materials on the appropriate handling, disposal, and other management of treated wood waste for generators of treated wood waste and for facilities that may receive or handle treated wood waste. The bill would require the wood preserving industry to annually update and renew the outreach materials, disseminate the outreach materials, and provide a specified update to the department relating to that dissemination, as provided.

The bill would authorize treated wood waste to be reused only if certain conditions apply, including, among other conditions, that the reuse occurs onsite at the facility at which the treated wood waste was generated.

The bill would require the department, on or before March 31 of each year, to produce a list that includes the generators that generated more than 10,000 pounds of treated wood waste in the previous calendar year. The bill would require the department to provide the list to a unified program agency that has in its jurisdiction a generator that is on the list.

The bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2023, and on or before July 1 annually thereafter, to post on its internet website specified information on the generation, management, and disposal of treated wood waste in the state for the previous calendar year. The bill would require the department to perform regular inspections of representative treated wood waste generator sites and treated wood waste disposal facilities. The bill would require the department, no later than March 1, 2022, to develop, and submit to specified legislative committees, an inspection and compliance plan.

The bill would also delete outdated provisions and make other nonsubstantive changes.

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: YES

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

SECTION 1.

Section 25150.7 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

25150.7.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that this section is intended to address the unique circumstances associated with the generation and management of treated wood waste. The Legislature further declares that this section does not set a precedent applicable to the management, including disposal, of other hazardous wastes.

(b) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) “Treated wood” means wood that has been treated with a chemical preservative for purposes of protecting the wood against attacks from insects, microorganisms, fungi, and other environmental conditions that can lead to decay of the wood, and the chemical preservative is registered pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq.).

(2) “Wood preserving industry” means business concerns, other than retailers, that manufacture or sell treated wood products in the state.

(c) This section applies only to treated wood waste that, solely due to the presence of a preservative in the wood, is a hazardous waste and to which both of the following requirements apply:

(1) The treated wood waste is not subject to regulation as a hazardous waste under the federal act.

(2) Section 25143.1.5 does not apply to the treated wood waste.

(d) (1) Notwithstanding Sections 25189.5 and 25201, treated wood waste shall be disposed of in either a class I hazardous waste landfill, or in a composite-lined portion of a solid waste landfill unit that meets all requirements applicable to disposal of municipal solid waste in California after October 9, 1993, and that is regulated by waste discharge requirements issued pursuant to Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code for discharges of designated waste, as defined in Section 13173 of the Water Code, or treated wood waste.

(2) A solid waste landfill that accepts treated wood waste shall comply with all of the following requirements:

(A) Manage the treated wood waste to prevent scavenging.

(B) Ensure that any management of the treated wood waste at the solid waste landfill before disposal, or in lieu of disposal, complies with the applicable requirements of this chapter, except as otherwise provided by regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (h).

(C) If monitoring at the composite-lined portion of a landfill unit at which treated wood waste has been disposed of indicates a verified release, then treated wood waste shall not be discharged to that landfill unit until corrective action results in cessation of the release.

(e) Treated wood waste may be reused only if all of the following apply:

(1) The reuse occurs onsite at the facility at which the treated wood waste was generated.

(2) At the time of reuse, the reuse is consistent with a use approved pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq.) for the preservative with which the treated wood waste was treated.

(3) Before reuse, the treated wood waste is handled in compliance with all applicable management standards in Chapter 34 (commencing with Section 67386.1) of Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, as that chapter may be amended.

(f) (1) Each wholesaler and retailer of treated wood and treated wood-like products in the state shall conspicuously post information at or near the point of display, sale, or customer selection of treated wood and treated wood-like products used for fencing, decking, retaining walls, landscaping, outdoor structures, and similar uses. The information shall be provided to wholesalers and retailers by the wood preserving industry in 22-point type, or larger, and contain the following message:

Warning—Potential Danger

These products are treated with wood preservatives registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and should only be used in compliance with the product labels.

This wood may contain chemicals classified by the State of California as hazardous and should be handled and disposed of with care. Check product label for specific preservative information and Proposition 65 warnings concerning presence of chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer or birth defects.

Anyone working with treated wood, and anyone removing old treated wood, needs to take precautions to minimize exposure to themselves, children, pets, or wildlife, including:

□Avoid contact with skin. Wear gloves and long sleeved shirts when working with treated wood. Wash exposed areas thoroughly with mild soap and water after working with treated wood.

□Wear a dust mask when machining any wood to reduce the inhalation of wood dusts. Avoid frequent or prolonged inhalation of sawdust from treated wood. Machining operations should be performed outdoors whenever possible to avoid indoor accumulations of airborne sawdust.

□Wear appropriate eye protection to reduce the potential for eye injury from wood particles and flying debris during machining.

□If preservative or sawdust accumulates on clothes, launder before reuse. Wash work clothes separately from other household clothing.

□Promptly clean up and remove all sawdust and scraps and dispose of appropriately.

□Do not use treated wood under circumstances where the preservative may become a component of food or animal feed.

□Only use treated wood that’s visibly clean and free from surface residue for patios, decks, or walkways.

□Do not use treated wood where it may come in direct or indirect contact with public drinking water, except for uses involving incidental contact such as docks and bridges.

□Do not use treated wood for mulch.

□Do not burn treated wood. Preserved wood should not be burned in open fires, stoves, or fireplaces.

For more information, go to wwpi.info/CAtreatedwoodwaste.

To find a list of approved landfills that accept treated wood waste, go to the internet website for the Department of Toxic Substances Control at https://www.dtsc.ca.gov.

In addition to the above listed precautions, treated wood waste shall be managed in compliance with applicable hazardous waste control laws.

(2) (A) The wood preserving industry shall, in consultation with the department, maintain an internet website and prepare fact sheets and other outreach materials on the appropriate handling, disposal, and other management of treated wood waste for generators of treated wood waste and for facilities that may receive or handle treated wood waste. The outreach materials shall include, but not be limited to, information on how to identify treated wood waste compared to other wood wastes, instructions for how to properly handle, store, and dispose of treated wood waste, instructions on the required documentation for treated wood waste disposal, information on the appropriate use of protective equipment for handling treated wood and for field treating, and other information on maintaining compliance with the treated wood waste requirements for generators of treated wood waste and for facilities that may receive or handle treated wood waste adopted by the department in Chapter 34 of Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.

(B) The wood preserving industry shall annually update and renew the outreach materials prepared pursuant to subparagraph (A), as appropriate.

(C) The wood preserving industry, in consultation with the department, shall disseminate, electronically or by mail, fact sheets and other outreach materials about the proper management and disposal of treated wood waste to generators, transporters, solid waste landfills, as defined in Section 40195.1 of the Public Resources Code, household hazardous waste collection facilities, as defined in Section 25218.1, and other facilities that may receive or handle treated wood waste, and shall also provide the materials with each shipment of treated wood products to a wholesaler or retailer of treated wood.

(D) The wood preserving industry shall provide an annual update to the department, which shall include, but is not limited to, a list of the names and addresses of the generators, solid waste landfills, household hazardous waste collection facilities, and other facilities that may receive or handle treated wood waste that were provided outreach materials in the prior year.

(E) The wood preserving industry shall provide the outreach materials prepared pursuant to subparagraph (A) to the Contractors’ State License Board for distribution to contractors, and shall send the outreach materials to fencing, decking, and landscape contractors, by electronic mail or mail, using the Contractors’ State License Board’s available listings and license application packages.

(g) On or before March 31 of each year, the department shall produce a list using data received pursuant to Section 67386.9 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, or any successor regulation, that includes the generators that generated more than 10,000 pounds of treated wood waste in the previous calendar year. The department shall provide the list to a unified program agency that has in its jurisdiction a generator that is on the list.

(h) (1) The department, in consultation with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and after consideration of any known health hazards associated with treated wood waste, shall adopt and may subsequently revise as necessary, regulations establishing management standards for treated wood waste as an alternative to the requirements specified in this chapter and the regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.

(2) The regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall, at a minimum, ensure all of the following:

(A) Treated wood waste is properly stored, treated, transported, tracked, disposed of, and otherwise managed to prevent, to the extent practical, releases of hazardous constituents to the environment, prevent scavenging, and prevent harmful exposure of people, including workers and children, aquatic life, and animals to hazardous chemical constituents of the treated wood waste.

(B) Treated wood waste is not reused, with or without treatment, except for a purpose that is consistent with the approved use of the preservative with which the wood has been treated. For purposes of this subparagraph, “approved uses” means a use approved at the time the treated wood waste is reused.

(D) Any size reduction of treated wood waste is conducted in a manner that prevents the uncontrolled release of hazardous constituents to the environment, and that conforms to applicable worker health and safety requirements.

(E) All sawdust and other particles generated during size reduction are captured and managed as treated wood waste.

(F) All employees involved in the acceptance, storage, transport, and other management of treated wood waste are trained in the safe and legal management of treated wood waste, including, but not limited to, procedures for identifying and segregating treated wood waste.

(i) (1) A person managing treated wood waste who is subject to a requirement of this chapter, including a regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter, shall comply with either the alternative standard specified in the regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (h) or with the requirements of this chapter.

(2) A person who is in compliance with the alternative standard specified in the regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (h) is deemed to be in compliance with the requirement of this chapter for which the regulation is identified as being an alternative, and the department and any other entity authorized to enforce this chapter shall consider that person to be in compliance with that requirement of this chapter.

(j) All variances granted by the department before January 1, 2005, governing the management of treated wood waste are inoperative and have no further effect.

(k) This section does not limit the authority or responsibility of the department to adopt regulations under any other law.

(l) On or before July 1, 2023, and on or before July 1 annually thereafter, the department shall post on its internet website information on the generation, management, and disposal of treated wood waste in the state. This information shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(1) The total amount of treated wood waste generated in the previous calendar year.

(2) The amount of treated wood waste generated in the previous calendar year in each of the following categories:

(A) Treated wood waste discovered during load checking operations.

(B) Treated wood waste generated by households.

(D) Treated wood waste generated, separated by industry sector.

(E) Treated wood waste generated, separated by county.

(F) Treated wood waste manifested as hazardous waste.

(3) The number of generators in the previous calendar year that generated more than 10,000 pounds of treated wood waste and the number of generators in the previous calendar year that generated less than 10,000 pounds of treated wood waste.

(4) A list of landfills in the state that are authorized to receive treated wood waste and the amount of treated wood waste disposed at each of those landfills in the previous calendar year.

(5) The number of complaints received in the previous calendar year in the California Environmental Protection Agency’s environmental complaint system that are related to alleged mismanagement of treated wood waste.

(6) The number of investigations conducted and enforcement cases pursued in the previous calendar year related to the handling, management, or disposal of treated wood waste by the department, by any of the boards, offices, or departments in the California Environmental Protection Agency, or by a unified program agency.

(m) (1) The department shall perform regular inspections of representative treated wood waste generator sites and treated wood waste disposal facilities.

(2) No later than March 1, 2022, the department shall develop an inspection and compliance plan and submit it to the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, the Assembly Committee on Budget, the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, and the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. When developing the plan, the department may consider the current treated wood waste inspection checklist, referenced in the department’s March 2019 report titled “Treated Wood Waste, Implementation of Senate Bill 162 (2015).”

SEC. 2.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.