Bill Text: CA AB1075 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Hazardous waste: enforcement.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-10-02 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 460, Statutes of 2015. [AB1075 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB1075-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1075 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 460
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 2, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 2, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 8, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 2, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 18, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 13, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Alejo
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to amend Sections 25186 and 25186.2 of, and to add Sections
25186.05 and 25189.4 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to
hazardous waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1075, Alejo. Hazardous waste: enforcement.
(1) The Hazardous Waste Control Law regulates the use and
disposal of hazardous waste and authorizes the Department of Toxic
Substances Control to deny, suspend, or revoke any permit,
registration, or certificate applied for, or issued to, a person or
entity if that person or entity engaged in specified activities in
violation of the Hazardous Waste Control Law or other laws.
This bill would require the department to consider, except under
specified circumstances, 3 or more violations of, or noncompliance
with, specified provisions for which a person or entity has been
found liable or has been convicted, with respect to a single
hazardous waste facility within a 5-year period, as compelling cause
to deny, suspend, or revoke a permit, registration, or certificate
applied for by, or issued to, that person or entity.
(2) Existing law authorizes the department to temporarily suspend
any permit, registration, or certificate prior to a hearing if the
department determines that action is necessary to prevent or mitigate
an imminent and substantial danger to the public health or safety or
the environment. Existing law requires the department, upon receipt
of a notice of defense to the accusation from the holder of the
permit, registration, or certificate, to set the matter for hearing
within 15 days and to hold the hearing as soon as possible, but not
later than 30 days after receipt of the notice. Existing law requires
the hearing to be held without delay and completed as soon as
possible.
This bill would instead authorize the department to temporarily
suspend any permit, registration, or certificate prior to a hearing
if the department determines that conditions may present an imminent
and substantial endangerment to the public health or safety or the
environment. The bill would repeal the requirement that the hearing
be held without delay and completed as soon as possible.
(3) Existing law provides for the imposition of civil and criminal
penalties upon persons who violate the requirements of the hazardous
waste control law or take other actions with regard to the handling
of hazardous waste.
This bill would impose, upon a person who is subject to the
imposition of those civil or criminal penalties, an additional civil
penalty of not less than $5,000 or more than $50,000 for each day of
each violation, if the person has been found liable for, or been
convicted of, 2 or more previous violations of certain of these
hazardous waste-related provisions within any consecutive 60 months.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 25186 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
25186. The department may deny, suspend, or revoke any permit,
registration, or certificate applied for, or issued, pursuant to this
chapter in accordance with the procedures specified in Sections
25186.1 and 25186.2, where the applicant or holder of the permit,
registration, or certificate, or in the case of a business concern,
any trustee, officer, director, partner, or any person holding more
than 5 percent of the equity in, or debt liability of, that business
concern, has engaged in any of the following:
(a) Any violation of, or noncompliance with, this chapter, Chapter
6.7 (commencing with Section 25280), Chapter 6.8 (commencing with
Section 25300), the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act
(Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code), the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended, (42
U.S.C. Sec. 6901 et seq.), the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act
(49 U.S.C. Sec. 5101 et seq.), the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
9601 et seq.), the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 2601
et seq.), or any other equivalent federal or state statute or any
requirement or regulation adopted pursuant thereto relating to the
generation, transportation, treatment, storage, recycling, disposal,
or handling of a hazardous waste, as defined in Section 25117, a
hazardous substance, as defined in Section 25316, or a hazardous
material, as defined in Section 353 of the Vehicle Code, if the
violation or noncompliance shows a repeating or recurring pattern or
may pose a threat to public health or safety or the environment.
(b) The aiding, abetting, or permitting of any violation of, or
noncompliance with, this chapter, Chapter 6.7 (commencing with
Section 25280), Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 25300), the
Porter-Cologne Water Quality Act (Division 7 (commencing with Section
13000) of the Water Code), the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act of 1976, as amended, (42 U.S.C. Sec. 6901 et seq.), the Hazardous
Materials Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. Sec. 5101 et seq.), the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
of 1980 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 9601 et seq.), the Toxic Substances Control
Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 2601 et seq.), or any other equivalent federal or
state statute or any requirement or regulation adopted pursuant
thereto relating to the generation, transportation, treatment,
storage, recycling, disposal, or handling of a hazardous waste, as
defined in Section 25117, a hazardous substance, as defined in
Section 25316, or a hazardous material, as defined in Section 353 of
the Vehicle Code, if the violation or noncompliance shows a repeating
or recurring pattern or may pose a threat to public health or safety
or the environment.
(c) Any violation of, or noncompliance with, any order issued by a
state or local agency or by a hearing officer or a court relating to
the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, recycling,
disposal, or handling of a hazardous waste, as defined in Section
25117, a hazardous substance, as defined in Section 25316, or a
hazardous material, as defined in Section 353 of the Vehicle Code.
(d) Any misrepresentation or omission of a significant fact or
other required information in the application for the permit,
registration, or certificate, or in information subsequently reported
to the department or to a local officer or agency authorized to
enforce this chapter pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 25180.
(e) (1) Activities resulting in any federal or state conviction
that are significantly related to the fitness of the applicant or
holder of the permit, registration, or certificate to perform the
applicant's duties or activities under the permit, registration, or
certificate.
(2) For the purposes of this paragraph, "conviction" means a plea
or verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo
contendere.
(3) An action that the department may take pursuant to this
paragraph relating to the denial, suspension, or revocation of a
permit, registration, or certificate may be based upon a conviction
for which any of the following has occurred:
(A) The time for appeal has elapsed.
(B) The judgment of conviction has been affirmed on appeal.
(C) Any order granting probation is made suspending the imposition
of sentence, notwithstanding a subsequent order pursuant to Section
1203.4 of the Penal Code permitting that person to withdraw the
person's plea of guilty, and to enter a plea of not guilty, or
setting aside the verdict of guilty, or dismissing the accusation,
information, or indictment.
(f) Activities resulting in the revocation or suspension of a
license, permit, registration, or certificate held by the applicant
or holder of the permit, registration, or certificate or, if the
applicant or holder of the permit, registration, or certificate is a
business concern, by any trustee, officer, director, partner, or any
person holding more than 5 percent of the equity in, or debt
liability of, that business concern relating to, the generation,
transportation, treatment, storage, recycling, disposal, or handling
of a hazardous waste, as defined in Section 25117, a hazardous
substance, as defined in Section 25316, or a hazardous material, as
defined in Section 353 of the Vehicle Code.
SEC. 2. Section 25186.05 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
25186.05. (a) For the purposes of this section, "violation" and
"noncompliance" mean only the following:
(1) A violation or noncompliance pursuant to Section 25186 that
creates a significant risk of harm to the public health or safety of
the environment resulting from acute or chronic exposure to hazardous
waste or hazardous waste constituents, and that threat makes it
reasonably necessary to take action to prevent, reduce, or mitigate
that exposure.
(2) A violation of, or noncompliance with, any order issued by the
department to the applicant or holder of the permit.
(3) A federal or state felony conviction for a violation of this
chapter or its equivalent in the federal act, or of any requirement
or regulation adopted pursuant to that authority relating to the
generation, transportation, treatment, storage, recycling, disposal,
or handling of hazardous waste, as described in subdivision (e) of
Section 25186.
(b) A violation or noncompliance by a federal hazardous waste
facility, pursuant to Section 6961 of Title 42 of the United States
Code, shall, for purposes of this section, be limited to a violation
or noncompliance caused by an action or inaction within the
boundaries identified in Part B of the federal hazardous waste permit
application, pursuant to Section 270.14 of Title 40 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, for that facility.
(c) "Violation" and "noncompliance" shall not include a minor
violation as defined in Section 25117.6.
(d) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the department shall
consider three or more incidents of violation of, or noncompliance
with, a requirement specified in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section
25186 for which a person or entity has been found liable or has been
convicted, with respect to a single facility within a five-year
period, as compelling cause to deny, suspend, or revoke the permit,
registration, or certificate.
(2) This subdivision does not apply to a third violation or
noncompliance if the department finds that extraordinary
circumstances exist, including that a denial, suspension, or
revocation would endanger the public health or safety or the
environment.
(3) This subdivision does not limit or modify the department's
authority to deny, suspend, or revoke any permit, registration, or
certificate pursuant to Section 25186 or any other law.
SEC. 3. Section 25186.2 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
25186.2. The department may temporarily suspend any permit,
registration, or certificate issued pursuant to this chapter prior to
any hearing if the department determines that conditions may present
an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or
safety or the environment. In making this determination, the
department may rely on any information, including, but not limited
to, information concerning an actual, threatened, or potential harm
to the public health or safety or the environment, information
concerning a release or threat of a release, or a human health or
ecological risk assessment. The department shall notify the holder of
the permit, registration, or certificate of the temporary suspension
and the effective date thereof and at the same time shall serve the
person with an accusation. Upon receipt by the department of a notice
of defense to the accusation from the holder of the permit,
registration, or certificate, the department shall, within 15 days,
set the matter for a hearing, which shall be held as soon as
possible, but not later than 30 days after receipt of the notice. The
temporary suspension shall remain in effect until the hearing is
completed and the department has made a final determination on the
merits, which shall be made within 60 days after the completion of
the hearing. If the determination is not transmitted within this
period, the temporary suspension shall be of no further effect.
SEC. 4. Section 25189.4 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
25189.4. (a) In addition to any penalty imposed under any other
law, a person who is subject to the imposition of civil or criminal
penalties pursuant to the provisions specified in subdivision (b)
shall also be subject to an additional civil penalty of not less than
five thousand dollars ($5,000) or more than fifty thousand dollars
($50,000) for each day of each violation, if the person has been
found liable for, or has been convicted of, two or more previous
violations subject to the penalties specified in subdivision (b) and
those violations or convictions occurred within any consecutive 60
months.
(b) The additional liability specified in subdivision (a) shall
apply to a penalty imposed pursuant to, or a conviction under,
paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 25187.8, or Section
25189, 25189.2, 25189.3, 25189.5, 25189.6, or 25189.7.
