California Oil Recycling Enhancement Act: rerefined oil.

(1) The California Oil Recycling Enhancement Act, administered by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, among other things, defines terms and establishes the used oil recycling program, consisting of a recycling incentive system, grants or loans to local governments and nonprofit entities for specified purposes related to used lubricating oil collection and recycling and stormwater pollution from used oil and oil byproducts, development and implementation of an information and education program to promote alternatives to the illegal disposal of used oil, and a reporting, monitoring, and enforcement program to ensure that laws relating to used oil are properly carried out. A violation of the act is a crime. This bill would define the term "rerefined oil" and revise the definition of "used oil hauler" for purposes of the act, and would revise and recast the used oil recycling program, so that, among other things, it would no longer provide for loans, and it would provide for the development and implementation of an information and education program to promote methods to reduce the amounts of used oil generated and to promote the use of rerefined oil in automotive and industrial lubricants. The bill would revise the purposes for which grants under the program may be made and would authorize contracts additionally to be made with private entities. (2) The act generally requires every oil manufacturer to pay to the board an amount equal to $0.04 for every quart, or $0.16 for every gallon, of lubricating oil sold or transferred in the state, or imported into the state for use in the state. This bill would exempt from the payment of the fee oil sold as finished lubricant containing at least 70% rerefined base lubricant. (3) The act requires the board to pay a recycling incentive to every industrial generator, curbside collection program, and certified used oil collection center, for used lubricating oil if certain conditions apply, and to an electric utility, as defined, for certain used lubricating oil. This bill would revise the conditions applicable to used lubricating oil that must be met before the board is required to pay the recycling incentive, and would delete the requirement that the board pay the recycling incentive to an electric utility for certain used lubricating oil. The bill additionally would require the board to pay a rerefining incentive to certain recycling facilities that produce rerefined base lubricant meeting specified requirements. The bill would require the board, on or before January 1, 2012, to consider whether to implement additional incentives that prioritize the highest and most beneficial uses of used lubricating oil. The bill would require the board to set the rerefining incentive at not less than $0.02 per gallon, and would authorize the board to increase those amounts if it determines that a higher amount is necessary to promote the collection and recycling of used lubricating oil or the rerefining of used lubricating oil, as applicable, and sufficient funds are available in the California Used Oil Recycling Fund. (4) The act requires the board to deposit the charges described in (2) above, civil penalties and fines paid pursuant to the act, and all other revenues received pursuant to the act, in the California Used Oil Recycling Fund, part of which is continuously appropriated to the board to pay recycling incentives, to provide a reserve for contingencies, to make specified payments for implementation of certain local used oil collection programs in a total amount equal to $10,000,000 or one-half the amount remaining in the fund after specified expenditures are made, whichever is, greater for certain grants and loans and for reimbursement for certain disposal costs of contaminated used oil. The bill would recast the method by which payments for the implementation of the local used oil collection programs are determined. The bill would provide the total annual amounts for these payments would equal $10,000,000 subject to certain conditions. (5) The act prohibits a used oil collection center from being eligible for the payment of recycling incentives until the board has certified the center. Certification eligibility includes compliance with public notice and operational requirements. The act requires a center to reapply for certification every 2 years. This bill instead would require a center to reapply for certification every 4 years and would revise the certification eligibility requirements. (6) Under the act, if the board finds that a shipment of used oil from a certified used oil collection center or a curbside collection program is contaminated by hazardous material and other specified requirements are met, the board, upon application of the center or program, is required to reimburse the center or program for the additional disposal cost of the used oil, subject to eligibility requirements and payment limitations. This bill would include uncertified publicly funded used oil collection centers in small rural counties in those entities eligible to receive that reimbursement, and would modify the eligibility requirements and payment limitations. (7) The act imposes certification requirements for used oil recycling facilities. This bill also would impose certification requirements on rerefiners of used oil. The bill would require certain out-of-state recycling facilities to make specified certifications of compliance with certain federal and state laws, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program, by creating a new crime. (8) The act imposes reporting requirements on industrial generators of used lubricating oil, used oil collection centers, and curbside collection programs, to be eligible for payment of a recycling incentive. This bill would revise those reporting requirements. (9) This bill would make other related changes to the act. (10) Because a violation of the act is a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by, among other things, bringing rerefiners of used lubricating oil within the ambit of the act. (11) 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.