Bill Text: CA AB1553 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Southern Los Angeles Ocean Chemical Waste Community Oversight Council.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2022-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1553 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB1553-Amended.html
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Amended
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Assembly
January 03, 2022 |
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Amended
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Assembly
September 09, 2021 |
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Amended
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April 12, 2021 |
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Amended
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March 25, 2021 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1553
| Introduced by Assembly Member O’Donnell |
February 19, 2021 |
An act to add and repeal Part 4.8 (commencing with Section 71380) of Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental protection.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1553, as amended, O’Donnell.
Southern Los Angeles Ocean Chemical Waste Community Oversight Council.
Existing law establishes the California Environmental Protection Agency 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, 2026, 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 manmade anthropogenic chemical waste deposits at or from the waters of the San Pedro Basin, off the coast of Los Angeles, where barrels of
chemical waste, including, but not limited to, DDT, as defined, have 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 10 11 voting members and no more than 6 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 a at least one public meeting every 3 6 months, with the first meeting occurring on or before September 1, 2022, 2023, to review and provide feedback on proposed scientific studies and mitigation plans and
strategies related to Dumpsite-2, review
completed scientific studies related to Dumpsite-2, as provided. 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, 2023, 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 manmade
anthropogenic chemical waste deposits at or from Dumpsite-2, considering
the impacts on water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, of proposed mitigation efforts on the environment, local communities, Indigenous cultures, and public health, and the technical and financial feasibility of proposed mitigation efforts. and the impacts of no action, as provided.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Part 4.8 (commencing with Section 71380) is added to Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, to read:PART 4.8. Southern Los Angeles Ocean Chemical Waste Community Oversight Council
71380.
Unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions govern the construction of this part:(a) “Council” means the Southern Los Angeles Ocean Chemical Waste Community Oversight Council established pursuant to Section 71381.
(b) “DDT” means dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane or any metabolite or byproduct thereof, including, but not limited to, 1,1-dichloro-2-2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (DDE) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD).
(c) “Dumpsite-2” means the waters of the San Pedro Basin, off the coast of Los Angeles, where barrels of
chemical waste, including, but not limited to, DDT, have has been detected.
71381.
(a) There is in the California Environmental Protection Agency the Southern Los Angeles Ocean Chemical Waste Community Oversight Council, which is hereby established as a state agency to oversee the study and mitigation of the negative impacts of(1) Efforts to locate and identify manmade
anthropogenic chemical waste at Dumpsite-2.
(2) Investigations of water quality, sedimentation, wildlife, Indigenous cultures, and human health relating to the impacts in the coastal waters of the state of chemical contaminants at or from Dumpsite-2.
(3) Investigations into the viability of any plan to remove, contain, mitigate, or eliminate chemical waste in the coastal waters of the state at or from Dumpsite-2.
(4) Education of the public on the investigation Investigations of the
fate and transport in the coastal waters of the state of the chemical contaminants at or from Dumpsite-2 and the safety ramifications of the chemical contaminants at or from Dumpsite-2. The council shall disclose to the public information regarding the investigations, and receive feedback from and educate the public on the investigations.
(b) To accomplish the oversight goals identified in subdivision (a), the council shall hold a at least one public meeting every three
six months, with the first public meeting occurring on or before September 1, 2022, 2023, to do both
all of the following:
(1) Review and provide feedback on proposed scientific studies and mitigation strategies related to Dumpsite-2.
(2) Review completed scientific studies related to Dumpsite-2 to assess the implications of the studies on current and future mitigation efforts. efforts related to Dumpsite-2.
(3) Review and assess the implications of existing laws, regulations, and policies related to DDT on current and future mitigation efforts.
(c) (1) On or before June 30, 2023,
2024, and on or before June 30 of each year thereafter, the council shall report to the Governor and the Legislature with recommendations on how to further mitigate the negative impacts of manmade anthropogenic chemical waste deposits at or from Dumpsite-2. In developing the recommendations required pursuant to this paragraph, the council shall consider impacts both of the following:
(A) The impacts of proposed mitigation efforts
on water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, the environment, local communities, Indigenous cultures, and public health, and the technical and financial feasibility of proposed mitigation efforts.
(B) The impacts of no action on the environment, local communities, Indigenous cultures, and public health.
(2) The council shall submit the report to the Legislature required pursuant to paragraph (1) in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
71382.
(a) The council shall consist of(1) Ten Eleven voting members consisting of the
following:
(A) The Secretary for Environmental Protection.
(B) The Chairperson of the State Water Resources Control Board.
(C) The Director of the State Department of Public Health.
(D) The Director of the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
(E) The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency.
(E)
(F) Six members of the public, none of whom shall be elected officials at the time of appointment, appointed by the Governor as follows:
(i) Two members of the public, each of whom represents a different Los Angeles regional environmental environmental, environmental health, or environmental justice organization.
(ii) Two members of the public, each of whom represents a different statewide environmental
environmental, environmental health, or environmental justice organization.
(iii) One member of the public who represents a statewide or Los Angeles regional fishing organization.
(iv) One member of the public who represents a statewide or Los Angeles regional tourism industry organization.
(2) No more than six nine nonvoting members consisting of the following:
(A) One Two
research scientist scientists from the University of California designated by the University of California Office of the President. President, one of whom shall have expertise in public health, epidemiology, or a related field.
(B) One Two research scientist
scientists from the California State University designated by the California State University Office of the Chancellor. Chancellor, one of whom shall have expertise in public health, epidemiology, or a related field.
(C) One Assembly Member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(D) One Senator appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
(E) One member from, and designated by, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.
(E)
(F) One member from, and designated by, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, if the agency agrees to do so.
(F)
(G) One member from, and designated by, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, if the agency agrees to do so.
(b) A state or local official who is a member of the council may designate a member of the official’s executive staff, or, in the case of the Chairperson of the State Water Resources
Control Board, the board’s executive director or another member of the board, to vote on the member’s behalf and otherwise discharge the duties of the member when the member is not in attendance. Notice of this designation shall be promptly communicated in writing to the chairperson of the council.
(c) A vacant council member position shall be filled by the appropriate appointing or designating authority as identified in
either subparagraph (E) (F) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) and
or subparagraphs (A) to (F), (G),
inclusive, of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
(d) (1) The members of the council shall serve without compensation.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a council member may shall be reimbursed for the member’s actual and necessary expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in traveling to and attending council meetings and in carrying out required duties.
71383.
(a) The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall, in consultation with the council, select an executive director of the council.(b) The executive director of the council shall be exempt from civil service and shall serve at the pleasure of the Secretary for Environmental Protection.
(c) For purposes of this part, the executive director of the council shall be an employee of the California Environmental Protection Agency.
71384.
(a) The council shall provide overall guidance and oversight on research and mitigation efforts at Dumpsite-2.(b) (1) The voting members of the council shall annually elect, from among the voting members, a chairperson, a vice chairperson, and other necessary officers, as determined by the council, each of whom shall serve a term of one year. A person that has previously served as a council officer or is serving as a council officer at the time of an election may be reelected for an unlimited number of additional terms.
(2) The council shall fill a vacancy of any council officer position by election and the member selected shall serve the remainder of the
one-year term.
(3) The offices of the chairperson and the vice chairperson shall not be held concurrently by any persons who both fall in one of the following categories:
(A) Persons identified in subparagraphs (A) to (D), (E), inclusive, of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 71382.
(B) Persons identified in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (E)
(F) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 71382.
(C) Persons identified in clauses (iii) and (iv) of subparagraph (E) (F) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 71382.
(c) (1) Seven Eight of the voting members of the council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the council.
(2) The council shall make decisions by a majority of the total number of voting members.
(3) A voting member that who has a conflict of interest shall recuse themselves from voting on the item for which a conflict of interest exists.
(d) The council may adopt rules, regulations, and procedures for the conduct of business by the council.
71385.
(a) The council’s jurisdiction is limited to Dumpsite-2 and the coastal waters of the state(b) This part does not grant to the council any regulatory authority, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(1) The authority to regulate land use.
(2) Any authority to regulate activities on land, unless the regulation is carried out pursuant to an agreement with an owner of an interest in the land.
(3) Any
water quality regulatory authority.
(c) Nothing in this part interferes with or prevents the exercise of authority by any other public agency to carry out its programs, projects, or responsibilities.
(d) Nothing in this part affects the requirements of any other law.
