Amended  IN  Senate  April 09, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  March 21, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1046

Introduced by Senator Laird

February 07, 2024

An act to add Section 42656 to the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1046, as amended, Laird. Organic waste reduction: program environmental impact report: green material composting small and medium compostable material handling facilities or operations.
Existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, to adopt regulations to achieve certain reduction targets in the organic waste disposed in landfills and to analyze the progress that the waste sector, state government, and local governments have made in achieving those reduction targets, as provided. Existing law authorizes the department to provide incentives to facilitate progress towards the reduction targets if the department determines that sufficient progress has not been made.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project 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, as provided. Existing regulations describe the advantages and uses of a program environmental impact report.
This bill would require the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to prepare and certify, by January 1, 2027, a program environmental impact report that streamlines the process with which jurisdictions can develop and site green material composting small and medium compostable material handling facilities or operations, as defined, for processing organic waste, as specified.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 42656 is added to the Public Resources Code, immediately following Section 42655, to read:

42656.
 (a) By January 1, 2027, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery shall develop and certify a program environmental impact report pursuant to Section 15168 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations to streamline the permitting process for a green material composting operation small and medium compostable material handling facilities or operations in the state. state that accept agricultural, food, and green materials that are source separated or commingled. The program environmental impact report shall streamline the process with which jurisdictions can develop and site green material composting operations those facilities or operations to ensure organic material in the state is processed to its highest and best use.
(b) For the purposes of this section, “green material composting operation” means a composting operation that has no more than 12,500 cubic yards of feedstock, chipped and ground material, amendments, additives, active compost, and stabilized compost onsite at any one time, and that complies with the enforcement agency notification requirements set forth in Article 3.0 (commencing with Section 18100) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations and with the applicable requirements specified in Chapter 3.1 (commencing with Section 17850) of Division 7 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. all of the following definitions apply:
(1) “Agricultural material” has the same meaning as defined in Section 17852 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(2) “Compostable material handling facility or operation” has the same meaning as defined in Section 17852 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(3) “Food material” has the same meaning as defined in Section 17852 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(4) “Green material” has the same meaning as defined in Section 17852 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(5) “Medium compostable material handling facility or operation” means a facility or operation that handles more than 5,000 and not more than 12,500 cubic yards of material, including feedstock, compost material, additives, amendments, and finished compost at any one time.
(6) “Small compostable material handling facility or operation” means a facility or operation that handles not more than 5,000 cubic yards of material, including feedstock, compost material, additives, amendments, and finished compost at any one time.