Existing law, the California Ocean Resources Stewardship Act of 2000, finds that it is the policy of the state to, among other things, ensure adequate coordination of ocean resources management science among state, regional, and federal agencies and marine science institutions, as provided. Existing law requires every manufacturer of, importer of, or dealer in any pesticide, except as specified, to obtain a certificate of registration from the Department of Pesticide Regulation before the pesticide is offered for sale. Existing law requires the Director of Pesticide Regulation to endeavor to eliminate from use in the state pesticides that endanger the agricultural or nonagricultural environment, among other things, and in carrying out this responsibility, to develop an orderly program for the continuous evaluation of all pesticides actually registered, as specified. This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2029, the Department of Pesticide Regulation to complete a reevaluation of copper-based antifouling boat paint products, and to make the determination to retain, modify, or suspend its standards or to place new appropriate standards on the chemical composition or use of copper-based antifouling paints. The bill would require, on or before June 1, 2028, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the State Water Resources Control Board, regional water control boards, and the Department of Pesticide Regulation to collaborate on active studies related to the effectiveness of low-leach-rate paint and elevated copper concentrations in saltwater harbors, bays, and marinas that are primarily a result of the use of copper-based antifouling paint, and would require the Department of Pesticide Regulation to finish and release these studies. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2029, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the State Resources Control Board, and the Department of Pesticide Regulation to collaborate to determine the best methods to address elevated copper concentrations in saltwater harbors, bays, and marinas that are primarily a result of the use of this paint in the state. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2029, the California Environmental Protection Agency to post on its internet website these best methods.
(1) Under existing law, as part of the hazardous waste control laws, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) generally regulates the management and handling of hazardous waste and hazardous materials. Existing law authorizes a public agency, as defined, to operate a household hazardous waste collection facility under permit from DTSC. The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) , requires a city and a county to prepare and submit to CalRecycle a countywide integrated waste management plan. The act requires the plan to include a household hazardous waste element that identifies a program in each city and county for the safe collection, recycling, treatment, and disposal of hazardous wastes that are generated by households. The California Oil Recycling Enhancement Act, administered by CalRecycle, establishes a used oil recycling program to promote and develop alternatives to illegal disposal of used oil. The act imposes a charge for every gallon of lubricating oil sold or transferred in the state, or imported into the state for use in the state, as specified. This bill would create a producer responsibility program for lubricants waste that is not covered by the act, and packaging associated with lubricant products, and would require a producer responsibility organization (PRO) to provide a convenient collection and management system for covered products at no cost to residents. The bill would create 2 categories of covered product, covered liquid product and covered packaging product. The bill would define "covered liquid product" to mean a petroleum-based automotive product and other related products, as specified. The bill would define "covered packaging product" to mean primary packaging and containers designed and intended to hold a covered liquid product and other similar packaging, as specified. The bill would require a producer of a covered product to register with the PRO, which would be required to develop and implement a producer responsibility plan for the collection and the safe and proper management of covered products. The bill would require CalRecycle, in coordination with DTSC, to adopt regulations to implement the program with an effective date no earlier than January 1, 2029. This bill would require the PRO, within 12 months of the effective date of the regulations, to submit a product responsibility plan to CalRecycle. The bill would require the plan to include specified elements, including a funding mechanism that provides sufficient funding to carry out the plan. The bill would require, within 6 months of receipt of the plan, CalRecycle, in collaboration with DTSC, to approve, approve in part, or disapprove the plan, as specified. The bill would require CalRecycle to notify the PRO of its decision. If CalRecycle does not approve the plan in full, then the bill would require CalRecycle to specify the reasons for disapproval or identify the portions of the partially approved plan that do not comply with the program, as applicable. The bill would require the PRO to submit a revised plan if its plan is not fully approved. This bill would require the PRO to implement its plan within 90 days of approval. The bill would require the plan to be fully funded in a manner that equitably distributes the plan's costs among participant producers, as specified. The bill would require the plan to describe how the producer responsibility organization will consult with and mutually agree upon terms and amounts to reimburse local jurisdictions for the proportional costs associated with collecting and managing covered products pursuant to these provisions. The bill would also require the plan to include a description of how the producer responsibility organization will contract with haulers to transport covered products from the collection facilities to recycling facilities or disposal, and how the producer responsibility organization will contract with recyclers. This bill would require the PRO to prepare and submit to CalRecycle an annual report describing the activities carried out pursuant to the plan. The bill would require the PRO to retain specified documents, annually audit its accounting books, and make documents available to CalRecycle for review, as specified. The bill would require all reports and records provided to CalRecycle pursuant to the program to be provided under the penalty of perjury. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require a participant producer, through the PRO, to pay CalRecycle, on an unspecified schedule, an annual administrative charge, as determined by CalRecycle and DTSC. The bill would require the charge be set at an amount that is adequate to cover CalRecycle's and DTSC's actual and reasonable costs of administering and enforcing the program. The bill would provide for the imposition of administrative civil penalties on producers and other specified persons who violate the program. The bill would establish the Lubricant Waste and Packaging Producer Responsibility Fund in the State Treasury and would require the administrative charges collected by CalRecycle to be deposited into that fund for expenditure by CalRecycle, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to cover CalRecycle's cost to implement and enforce the program. The bill would also establish the Lubricant Waste and Packaging Penalty Account in the Lubricant Waste and Packaging Producer Responsibility Fund and would require that the civil penalties collected by CalRecycle pursuant to the program be deposited into that account, for expenditure by CalRecycle, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for activities related to the collection and recycling of covered products, grants for related purposes, and the administration and enforcement of the program. (2) Existing law, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, establishes a producer responsibility program designed to ensure that producers of single-use packaging and food service ware covered by that program take responsibility for the costs associated with the end-of-life management of that material and ensure that the material is recyclable or compostable. The act requires producers, either individually or through participation in a producer responsibility organization, to have an approved plan that, among other things, describe how the producer or organization will comply with the act. This bill would exempt a covered packaging product from the act. (3) 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. (4) 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.
Under existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards are the principal state agencies with authority over matters relating to water quality. The act requires the state board to formulate and adopt state policies for water quality control and requires the regional boards to adopt regional water quality control plans in compliance with the state policies. Under the act, the state board and the regional boards prescribe waste discharge requirements for the discharge of waste that could affect the quality of the waters of the state. This bill would require the State Water Resources Control Board to require the regional boards to update the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program in order to reduce nitrogen waste discharges from commercial irrigated agricultural areas, as provided. The bill would require the regional boards to adopt revised orders with waste discharge requirements on or before January 1, 2028, that are sufficient to meet certain reductions in nitrogen waste discharges. The bill would require the state board to, on or before July 1, 2027, publish both a list of standardized crop names and categories, and a statewide methodology for calculating, and field-level reporting of, nitrogen balances for croplands, including nitrogen fertilizer applications and nitrogen discharges, that account for available soil nitrogen, to be used by the regional boards and incorporated into the revised orders. The bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2031, and in coordination with the regional boards, to submit a report to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature on progress achieved in implementing these requirements, including data on the extent of progress made toward reducing nitrogen waste discharges, as provided.
The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act requires a California regional water quality control board to prescribe waste discharge requirements for the discharge of pollutants into state waters and authorizes the regional board to prescribe general waste discharge requirements for a category of discharges if the regional board finds or determines that certain criteria apply to the discharges in that category. This bill would require, for a regional board that has adopted general waste discharge requirements for timber harvesting, the regional board to approve, deny, or otherwise act on a request for coverage for timber harvesting operations performed consistent with an approved timber harvesting plan subject to those general waste discharge requirements.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , in consultation with the specified entities, to adopt a biennial integrated energy policy report containing certain information in a specified format. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission and the Independent System Operator, to adopt a goal for load shifting to reduce net peak electrical demand and adjust this target in each biennial integrated energy policy report thereafter. This bill would require the Energy Commission, in consultation with specified entities, to analyze the cost-effectiveness of specific load flexibility programs and other types of load-shifting interventions and identify both the approximate amount of load shifting and the cost-effectiveness of each type of load-shifting intervention in the next update to the biennial integrated energy policy report after January 1, 2027, as provided. The bill would require the Energy Commission, as part of each integrated energy policy report, to estimate each retail supplier's load-shifting potential, giving consideration to certain factors, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission, on or before July 1, 2028, and biennially thereafter, to analyze and publish the amount of load shifting that each retail supplier achieved in the prior calendar year.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to establish the Equitable Building Decarbonization Program that includes the direct install program and the statewide incentive program for low-carbon building technologies, as provided. This bill would require the Energy Commission to establish a mechanism to notify applicants to the Equitable Building Decarbonization Program that they may also be eligible for building energy efficiency and decarbonization incentives authorized by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) . Existing law vests the PUC with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law establishes an 11-member Low-Income Oversight Board to advise the PUC on low-income electrical, gas, and water customer issues, as specified. This bill would add to the Low-Income Oversight Board a member to be selected by the Executive Director of the Energy Commission.
Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution, and air pollution control districts and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law authorizes air districts to adopt and implement regulations to reduce or mitigate emissions from indirect sources of air pollution. Existing law provides for the creation of the South Coast Air Quality Management District in those portions of the Counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino included within the area of the South Coast Air Basin, as specified. Existing law requires the district to adopt rules and regulations to carry out the south coast district air quality management plan that are not in conflict with state and federal laws and requires those rules and regulations to provide for indirect source controls under certain circumstances. In the event the board of the district takes an action to amend or adopt a rule or regulation that imposes new or additional emissions reduction requirements on sources of air pollution associated with an operation at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, this bill would require the action to, among other things, require those ports to prepare assessments of energy demand and supply, cost estimates, and funding source, workforce, and environmental impacts associated with the action and create a process by which those ports can request extensions to the timelines developed to achieve the action's targets. The bill would also prohibit the action from, among other things, imposing a cap on cargo throughput or cruise ship passengers at the ports. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2031. By imposing additional duties on the district and the ports, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The act requires all state agencies to consider and implement strategies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. This bill would additionally require state agencies to prioritize strategies to reduce methane emissions, including emissions from imported petroleum and natural gas, where feasible and cost effective. The bill would require the state board to encourage natural gas procurement on behalf of the state to shift to certified natural gas producing low methane emissions. The bill would also authorize the state board, the Public Utilities Commission, and other relevant agencies to apply approved protocols that measure, monitor, report, and verify methane emissions to existing programs to reduce methane emissions, including emissions from imported petroleum and natural gas procured by utilities and other large gas users, as provided. The bill would also authorize the state board, the Public Utilities Commission, and other relevant agencies to use all relevant sources and standards, including, but not limited to, emissions data, models, or protocols from existing or new regulations.
Existing law establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. Existing law requires the state board to establish a Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program, as provided, to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and viability of carbon capture, utilization, or storage technologies and carbon dioxide removal technologies and facilitate the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide from those technologies, where appropriate. Existing law requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with the state board, to publish a framework for governing agreements regarding 2 or more tracts of land overlying the same geologic storage reservoir or reservoirs for purposes of managing, developing, and operating a carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration project, as provided. This bill would require the state board to establish and administer the Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Program as a competitive grant process for eligible carbon dioxide removal projects, as specified. The bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, to conduct and publish on its internet website a survey of carbon dioxide removal projects existing or in development within the state, and, on or before December 31, 2027, and annually thereafter, until December 31, 2035, to publish on its internet website a report describing Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Program activities completed and carbon dioxide removal projects to date, as specified. The bill would require the state board, on or after July 1, 2026, but on or before December 31, 2035, to fund carbon dioxide removal projects in an amount totaling $50,000,000. The bill would authorize up to 10% of that amount to be used to supplement necessary administrative costs in establishing the program. The bill would prohibit carbon dioxide removal projects from exceeding $25,000,000 of grants toward qualified carbon dioxide removals in any one of specified project categories or $12,500,000 of grants towards any one individual carbon dioxide removal project sponsor, except as specified. The bill would require that eligible carbon dioxide removal projects permanently retire the contracted tons of removed carbon dioxide from any future carbon dioxide removals credit issuance. The bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2028, to adopt guidelines, including the definition of an eligible carbon dioxide removal project, for the program, which the bill would require to be consistent with certain provisions governing carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration projects, as specified. The bill would make implementation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature for purposes of the program. The bill would require all funds to be available for encumbrance or expenditure until June 30, 2035, and to be available for liquidation until June 30, 2035.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) , in consultation with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the State Water Resources Control Board, and affected local air quality management districts, to adopt regulations to establish management standards for metal shredding facilities for hazardous waste management activities within the DTSC's jurisdiction, as provided. Existing law provides that treated metal shredder waste that is managed in accordance with those regulations is deemed to be solid waste, and not hazardous waste, as provided. This bill would repeal those provisions. The bill would establish a comprehensive scheme for the regulation of metal shredding facilities that would be administered by the DTSC pursuant to authority separate from laws governing the control of hazardous waste. The bill would prohibit an owner or operator from operating a metal shredding facility, as defined, in the state unless they have a permit from the DTSC or are deemed to have a permit. The bill would prescribe the requirements for obtaining a permit, for being deemed to have a permit, for operating a metal shredding facility, and for transporting certain materials related to metal shredding, as specified. The bill would require, before a decision is made to approve or deny the application, the DTSC to hold a public meeting, as provided. The bill would require the department to take final action on a permit application by an existing facility within 3 years, as provided. The bill would require the department to post on its internet website general information about each metal shredding facility that has applied for or obtained a permit, and to conduct at least one site visit to the applicant's facility after receipt of the permit application. The bill would provide that certain materials related to metal shredding are not hazardous waste if they meet specified requirements. The bill would require any report required to be submitted by a metal shredding facility pursuant to a permit issued to be signed by the owner or operator and certified under penalty of law, including criminal penalties, as specified. The bill would require the DTSC to have primary responsibility for enforcing these provisions, would require the DTSC to conduct an annual compliance evaluation inspection of each metal shredding facility, and would authorize the DTSC to refer violations to a district attorney or the Attorney General for prosecution. The bill would also require the DTSC to inform the local health officer and the director of environmental health of a county, city, or district within 15 days after the DTSC becomes aware of any unlawful disposal of materials, as provided, and of any enforcement action against a metal shredding facility as a result of that unlawful disposal. Because the bill would expand the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require an owner or operator of a metal shredding facility to report to the DTSC certain emergency situations, as specified. The bill would require an owner or operator of a metal shredding facility to submit to the DTSC a closure plan and a cost estimate for closing the metal shredding facility, as specified. The bill would also require the owner or operator of a metal shredding facility to provide written notice to the department at least 60 days before transferring ownership or operation of the facility. The bill would authorize the DTSC to enforce these provisions by revoking permits and by other specified means. The bill would authorize the DTSC to adopt regulations for the operation of metal shredding facilities as necessary to implement the requirements of the bill. The bill would require the DTSC to post information provided by owners and operators regarding a metal shredding facility on the department's internet website in a manner that is readily accessible to the public, except as otherwise required pursuant to existing law. Existing law authorizes the DTSC to collect an annual fee from all metal shredding facilities subject to the requirements of hazardous waste control laws or the DTSC's management standards for metal shredding facilities, as provided. Existing law requires the DTSC to adopt regulations necessary to administer the fee and authorizes the DTSC to adopt those regulations using emergency procedures, as provided. Existing law requires the Controller to establish a separate subaccount in the Hazardous Waste Control Account and for all fees collected to be placed into that subaccount, to be available for expenditure by the DTSC upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would instead require the DTSC to impose an annual fee on all metal shredding facilities subject to the provisions of this bill, as specified. The bill would require, beginning in the 2026–27 fiscal year, the rates established by the DTSC to be reviewed and increased or decreased annually, as provided. The bill would require the DTSC to adopt regulations necessary to administer the fee and would authorize the DTSC to adopt the regulations using emergency procedures, as specified. The bill would require a person who applies for a metal shredding facility permit to enter into a written agreement with the department pursuant to which that person would be required to reimburse the department for the direct costs reasonably incurred by the department in processing the application, as provided. The bill would require the Controller to establish a new and separate Metal Shredding Facility subaccount to be administered by the Director of Toxic Substances Control and would require all fees collected to be placed into that subaccount and made available for expenditure by the DTSC solely for the purpose of implementation and administration of these provisions, upon appropriation by the Legislature. Existing law requires the DTSC to require metal shredding facilities to monitor hazardous waste constituents requested by the DTSC and to report the results of that monitoring to the DTSC. Existing law also requires the DTSC to collect and analyze light fibrous material at the fence lines to determine the potential for release of hazardous waste. Existing law requires, on or before July 1, 2027, the DTSC to develop a procedure for community notification of the public for the area in which the metal shredding facility is located if that monitoring indicates any release of light fibrous material. In addition, existing law requires, on or before January 1, 2027, an air pollution control district or an air quality management district the jurisdiction of which includes metal shredding facilities, in consultation with the DTSC and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) , to develop requirements for facilitywide fence-line air quality monitoring at metal shredding facilities. Existing law authorizes any reasonable regulatory costs incurred by the DTSC in implementing, and requires that the OEHHA's costs to implement, the above-described duties be reimbursed from a subaccount established in the Hazardous Waste Control Account for the deposit of fees from metal shredding facilities. This bill would limit the scope of those provisions to metal shredding facilities that are subject to the other provisions of the bill and would provide for the reimbursement of those costs from the Metal Shredding Facility Subaccount. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. 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.
