Southern Los Angeles Ocean Chemical Waste Community Oversight Council.

Existing law establishes the California Environmental Protection Agency, under the supervision of the Secretary for Environmental Protection, consisting of various departments, boards, and offices, and vests the agency with authority over various environmental matters. This bill would establish, until January 1, 2027, the Southern Los Angeles Ocean Chemical Waste Community Oversight Council as a state agency within the California Environmental Protection Agency to oversee the study and mitigation of the negative impacts of anthropogenic chemical waste deposits at or from the waters of the San Pedro Basin, off the coast of Los Angeles, where chemical waste, including, but not limited to, DDT, as defined, has been detected, defined as "Dumpsite-2." The bill would prescribe requirements relating to the composition and administration of the council and would require that the council consist of 11 voting members and no more than 9 nonvoting members. The bill would require the voting members of the council to establish and elect officers, as provided, and would require the Secretary for Environmental Protection to select an executive director of the council, as provided. This bill would require the council to hold at least one public meeting every 6 months, with the first meeting occurring on or before September 1, 2023, to review and provide feedback on proposed scientific studies and mitigation strategies related to Dumpsite-2, review completed scientific studies related to Dumpsite-2 to assess the implications of the studies on current and future mitigation efforts, and review and assess the implications of existing laws, regulations, and policies related to DDT on current and future mitigation efforts. The bill would require the council, on or before June 20, 2024, and on or before June 30 of each year thereafter, to report to the Governor and the Legislature with recommendations on how to further mitigate the negative impacts of anthropogenic chemical waste deposits at or from Dumpsite-2, considering the impacts of proposed mitigation efforts on the environment, local communities, Indigenous cultures, and public health, and the impacts of no action, as provided.