Bill Text: CA SB763 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Environmental protection: California Performance Plus
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-31 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB763 Detail]
Download: California-2011-SB763-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 763 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 28, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Steinberg
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to add the heading of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section
57000) to, and to add Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 57030) to,
Division 37 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to the
environment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 763, as amended, Steinberg. Environmental protection:
California Performance Plus Program.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead
agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the
completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as
defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a
significant effect on the environment, or to adopt a negative
declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect.
CEQA requires the Office of Planning and Research to prepare and
develop proposed guidelines for the implementation of CEQA by public
agencies. CEQA requires that the guidelines contain various
objectives, criteria, and procedures.
This bill would authorize the Secretary for Environmental
Protection to establish programs to, among other things, recognize
facilities and persons that have demonstrated a commitment to
enhanced environmental performance, including , at a
minimum , developing or initiating implementation of an
environmental management system. The bill would define "environmental
management system" as a comprehensive, cohesive set of policies and
procedures adopted by a facility or person and used to establish
environmental goals, meet and maintain those goals, evaluate
environmental performance, and achieve measurable improvement in
environmental performance.
The bill would require the secretary to develop guidelines and
procedures for implementation of the program, including procedures
for submitting applications, guidelines for annual reports, and
procedures for reviewing program implementation. The bill would
require for Governor's Performance Plus Awards to
be awarded annually to recognize participants in the program that
have demonstrated innovation in the implementation of pollution
prevention practices and other efforts to reduce environmental
impacts.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The heading of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section
57000) is added to Division 37 of the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
CHAPTER 1. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION
SEC. 2. Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 57030) is added to
Division 37 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER 2. CALIFORNIA PERFORMANCE PLUS PROGRAM
57030. For the purposes of this chapter, the following
definitions shall apply:
(a) "BDOs" means the boards, departments, and offices of the
California Environmental Protection Agency.
(b) "Cal-EPA" means the California Environmental Protection
Agency.
(c) "Enhanced environmental performance evaluator" means an
individual or organization that is functionally and administratively
independent of the facility being evaluated and is responsible for
performing a sustainability assessment of the facility's practices
and performance according to criteria established by an independent
third-party sustainability index as adopted or certified by Cal-EPA.
(c)
(d) "Environmental management system" means a
comprehensive, cohesive set of policies and procedures adopted by a
facility and used to establish environmental goals, to meet and
maintain those goals, to evaluate environmental performance, and to
achieve measurable or noticeable improvements in environmental
performance, through planning, documented management and operational
practices, operational changes, self-assessments, and management
involvement and review. The term shall include, but not be limited
to, any such system developed in accordance with the International
Organization of for Standardization
(ISO) 14001 standards.
(d)
(e) "E2" means an environmental enterprise.
(e)
(f) "E3" means an exemplary environmental enterprise.
(f)
(g) "E4" means an extraordinarily exemplary
environmental enterprise.
(g)
(h) "Facility" means a manufacturing, business,
agricultural, or governmental site or installation involving one or
more contiguous buildings or structures under common ownership or
management.
(h)
(i) "Independent third-party sustainability index"
means a rating system or index that includes a qualitative and
quantitative point system that accumulates information on the
sustainable practices of a facility, such as, but not
limited to, Sustainability Competency and Opportunity Rating and
Evaluation (SCORE) or Underwriters Laboratory (UL) 880.
of a facility.
(i)
(j) "Penalty mitigation" means that monetary penalties
in an enforcement action may be reduced or waived, and an enforcement
agency may elect not to refer a violation for criminal prosecution.
(j)
(k) "Program" means the California Performance Plus
Program.
(k)
(l) "Record of sustained compliance" means that
facility meets all of the following:
(1) A judgment or conviction has not been entered against it, or
against any key personnel of the facility or any person with an
ownership interest in the facility, for a criminal violation of
environmental protection laws of the United States, the state, or any
other state in the previous five years.
(2) Has not been the cause of, nor liable for, more than two
significant environmental violations in the previous three years.
(3) Has no unresolved notices of violations or potential
violations of environmental requirements with Cal-EPA or one of the
BDOs.
(4) Is in compliance with the terms of any order or decree,
executive compliance agreement, or related enforcement measure issued
by Cal-EPA, one of the BDOs, or the United States Environmental
Protection Agency.
(5) Has not demonstrated in any other way an unwillingness or
inability to comply with environmental protection requirements.
(l)
(m) "Secretary" means the Secretary for Environmental
Protection.
57031. Cal-EPA may establish programs to recognize a facility
that has demonstrated a commitment to enhanced environmental
performance and to encourage innovations in environmental protection.
57032. (a) The secretary shall establish different categories of
participation and the criteria and benefits for each category. The
categories shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following:
(1) An E2 facility.
(2) An E3 facility.
(3) An E4 facility.
(b) (1) In order to participate as an E2 facility, a facility
shall demonstrate all of the following:
(A) It is developing an environmental management system or has
initiated implementation of an environmental management system.
(B) It has a commitment to pollution prevention and a plan to
reduce environmental impacts from its operations.
(C) It has a record of sustained compliance with environmental
requirements.
(2) To apply to become an E2 facility, an applicant shall submit
all of the following information to Cal-EPA:
(A) A policy statement outlining the applicant's commitment to
improving environmental quality.
(B) An evaluation of the applicant's environmental impacts.
(C) The applicant's objectives and targets for addressing
significant environmental impacts.
(D) The An independent third-party
sustainability index rating for the facility.
(E) A description of the applicant's pollution prevention program.
(3) A facility may participate in this program for up to three
years, and may apply to renew its participation at the expiration of
each three-year period. Incentives for an E2 facility include, but
are not limited to, public recognition of facility performance,
including the ability to use for promotional purposes a logo to be
developed by Cal-EPA for E2 facilities , and reduced fees
.
(c) (1) In order to participate as an E3 facility, a facility
shall demonstrate all of the following:
(A) It has a fully implemented environmental management system.
(B) It has a pollution prevention program with documented
results.
(C) It has a record of sustained compliance with environmental
requirements.
(2) To apply to become an E3 facility, an applicant shall submit
all of the following information to Cal-EPA:
(A) The information required for an E2 facility.
(B) Identification of the applicant's environmental legal
requirements.
(C) A description of the applicant's environmental management
system that identifies roles, responsibilities, and authorities,
reporting and recordkeeping, emergency response procedures, staff
training, monitoring, and corrective action processes for
noncompliance with the environmental management system.
(D) Voluntary self-assessments or audits.
(E) Procedures for internal and external environmental
communications.
(3) A facility may participate in this program for up to three
years, and may apply to renew its participation at the expiration of
each three-year period. Incentives for an E3 facilities
facility may include, but are not limited to,
public recognition of facility performance, including the ability to
use for promotional purposes a logo to be developed by Cal-EPA for E3
facilities, reduced fees, reduced inspection priority, a
single point-of-contact a single point of contact
between the facility and Cal-EPA, streamlined
environmental reporting, reduced monitoring requirements, and
prioritized and expedited permit and permit
amendment review processing .
(d) (1) In order to participate as an E4 facility, a facility
shall meet the criteria for participation as an E3 facility, and
shall have done both of the following:
(A) Implemented and completed at least one full cycle of an
environmental management system as verified by an unrelated
third-party qualified to audit environmental management systems.
(B) Committed to measures for continuous and sustainable
environmental progress and community involvement.
(2) To apply to become an E4 facility, an applicant shall submit
all of the following:
(A) The information required to apply to become an E3 facility.
(B) Documentation evidencing implementation and completion of at
least one full cycle of an environmental management system and
evidencing review and verification by an unrelated third party.
(C) Documentation that the applicant has committed to measures
for continuous and sustainable environmental progress and community
involvement.
(3) A facility may participate in this program for up to three
years, and may apply to renew its participation at the expiration of
each three-year period. Incentives for a an
E4 facility may include all of the incentives available to an
E3 facility, including the ability to use for promotional purposes a
logo to be developed by Cal-EPA for E4 facilities, as well as
preferential contracting status with the state, penalty
mitigation, and the ability to implement alternative compliance
measures proposed by the person or facility and approved by the
appropriate board in accordance with Section 57035.
state.
57033. (a) The secretary shall develop guidelines and procedures
for implementation of the program, including procedures for
submitting applications, which shall include a reliance upon an
independent third-party sustainability index; guidelines for annual
reports from participating persons or facilities; and procedures for
reviewing program implementation.
(b) Upon review of an application, the secretary may approve or
deny the facility's participation in the appropriate category within
the program. The denial of a facility's participation in the program
shall not be with prejudice or otherwise prevent reapplication by the
facility. If a participant fails to maintain a record of sustained
compliance, fails to resolve an alleged environmental violation
within 180 days, or fails to meet the requirements or criteria for
participation in the program or any category within the program, the
secretary may revoke or suspend their participation in the program or
revoke participation in a higher level and approve its participation
in a lower level of the program. The secretary shall provide
reasonable notice of the reasons for the suspension or revocation and
allow the participant to respond prior to making a decision.
(c) The secretary's decision to approve, deny, revoke, or suspend
a facility's participation in any category of the program is
discretionary and shall be exempt from judicial review.
57034. (a) A participant shall submit an annual report in a
format and schedule prescribed by the secretary, which shall include
information on environmental performance relevant to the program.
(b) Cal-EPA shall submit a report to the Governor and to the
members of the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic
Materials and the members of the Senate Committee on Environmental
Quality by December 1 of every even-numbered year. The report shall
include the information from the participants' reports as well as
information on the incentives that have been provided and the
innovations that have been developed by the agency and participants.
(c) (1) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
subdivision (b) is inoperative on December 1, 2016, pursuant to
Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
(2) A report submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
57035. (a) (1) To the extent consistent with federal law and
notwithstanding any other law, any of the BDOs may grant alternative
compliance measures to the regulations adopted pursuant to their
authorities, respectively, under Section 57033, for a facility that
has been accepted by Cal-EPA as meeting the criteria an for E4
facility under subdivision (d) of Section 57032, including, but not
limited to, all of the following:
(A) Changes to monitoring and reporting requirements and
schedules.
(B) Streamlined submission requirements for permit renewals.
(C) The ability to make certain operational changes without prior
approval.
(D) Other changes that would not increase a facility's impact on
the environment.
(2) These alternative compliance measures may allow alternative
methods for achieving compliance with prescribed regulatory standards
if the facility requesting the alternative compliance method
demonstrates that the method will do all of the following:
(A) Meet the purpose of the applicable regulatory standard.
(B) Promote achievement of those purposes through increased
reliability, efficiency, or cost-effectiveness.
(C) Afford environmental protection equal to or greater than that
provided by the applicable regulatory standard.
(3) An alternative compliance measure shall not be approved that
would alter an ambient air quality standard, groundwater protection
standard, or water quality standard, and an alternative compliance
measure shall not be approved that would increase the pollutants
released to the environment, increase impacts to state waters, or
otherwise result in a loss of wetland acreage.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, an alternate compliance method
may be approved under this section after at least 30 days' public
notice and opportunity for comment and a determination that the
alternative compliance measure meets the requirements of this
section.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted or applied in a
manner inconsistent with the applicable federal law or other
requirement necessary for the state to obtain or retain federal
delegation or approval of any regulatory program. Before approving an
alternative compliance measure affecting that regulatory program,
each BDO may obtain the approval of the federal agency responsible
for that delegation or approval of the regulatory program. Any one of
the BDOs may withdraw approval of the alternative compliance measure
at any time if any conditions under which the alternative compliance
measure was originally approved change, or if the recipient has
failed to comply with any of the alternative compliance measure
requirements.
(d) Upon approval of an alternative compliance measure under this
section, the alternative compliance measure shall be incorporated
into the relevant permits as a minor permit modification with no
associated fee. The permits shall also contain any provisions that
shall go into effect if the participant fails to fulfill its
obligations under the variance or is removed from the program for
reasons specified by the director under subdivision (b) of Section
57033.
57036. 57035. The Governor's
Performance Plus Awards shall be awarded each year to recognize
participants in the program that have demonstrated extraordinary
leadership, innovation, and commitment to implementation of pollution
prevention practices and other efforts to reduce environmental
impacts and improve California's natural environment.
