Hazardous waste: treated wood waste: management standards.

Existing law, as part of the hazardous waste control laws, requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control to regulate the management and handling of hazardous waste. Under existing law, certain wood waste that is exempt from regulation under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended, is exempt from the hazardous waste control laws, if the wood waste is disposed of in a municipal landfill that meets certain requirements imposed pursuant to the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act for the classification of disposal sites, and the landfill meets other specified requirements. A violation of the state's hazardous waste control laws, including a regulation adopted pursuant to those laws, is a crime. This bill would require a person managing treated wood waste to comply with the hazardous waste control laws or the management standards established in the bill, including standards for the reuse, storage, treatment, transportation, tracking, identification, and disposal of treated wood waste, as provided. The bill would limit those standards to treated wood waste that is hazardous only because of a preservative present in or on the wood, and that is not subject to the existing exemption for certain wood waste or to regulation as a hazardous waste under federal law. The bill would require the department to update the Legislature, upon request, regarding those management standards and changes to the treated wood waste program. The bill would make inoperative all variances granted by the department before the enactment of the bill. Since a violation of the requirements of the bill would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the wood preserving industry, as defined, to update the department, upon request, on trends within the wood preserving industry regarding the use of treated wood preservatives and the generation of treated wood waste. 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 require the department, no later than July 1, 2028, to provide notification to the Legislature if the department is prepared, as determined by the Director of Toxic Substances Control, to ensure the safe management of treated wood waste in accordance with the hazardous waste control laws if the provisions of the bill are repealed. If, as of July 1, 2028, the department has provided that notification, the bill would repeal its provisions as of January 1, 2030. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.