Bill Text: CA AB1981 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1981 (Prior Session Legislation)

CA State Legislature page for AB1981

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Organic waste: composting.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Passed) 2018-09-21 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 633, Statutes of 2018. [AB1981 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB1981-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly April 30, 2018

Amended IN Assembly March 15, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1981

Introduced by Assembly Member Limón

January 31, 2018

An act to amend Section 42649.87 of the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1981, as amended, Limón. Organic waste: composting.

Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the State Water Resources Control Board, the State Air Resources Board, and the Department of Food and Agriculture, to develop and implement policies to aid in diverting organic waste from landfills by promoting the composting of specified organic waste and by promoting the appropriate use of that compost throughout the state.

This bill would revise and recast this and related provisions, including, among other changes, imposing additional duties on those state agencies relating to promoting the application of compost and additionally ~~include~~ including the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the state agencies in coordination with which the California Environmental Protection Agency is required to develop and implement ~~those~~ the above-specified policies. ~~The bill would specify that the purpose of promoting the appropriate use of that compost throughout the state is to improve the state’s soil organic matter.~~ The bill would also require the California Environmental Protection Agency additionally to work with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Tree Mortality Task Force to achieve the goal of reducing at least 5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year through the development and application of compost on working lands.

Existing law requires, in developing the policies to aid in diverting organic waste from landfills through the use of compost, the California Environmental Protection Agency to work with the Department of Food and Agriculture to achieve the goal of reducing at least 5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year through the development and application of compost on working lands.
~~This bill would require the California Environmental Protection Agency additionally to work with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Tree Mortality Task Force to achieve that goal.~~
Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Food and Agriculture, with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the State Air Resources Board, to complete specified actions relating to the diversion of organic waste from landfills through the use of compost, including meeting at least quarterly to consult with specified interested stakeholders to encourage the continued viability of the state’s organic waste processing and recycling infrastructure.
This bill would add the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to the state entities with which the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Food and Agriculture are required to complete those specified actions. For purposes of the requirement to meet at least quarterly to consult with specified interested stakeholders, the bill would include agricultural land managers in those specified stakeholders and would specify that processing and recycling infrastructure includes both centralized and distributed processing and recycling infrastructure. The bill would additionally require those state entities (1) to implement projects that use woody biomass to promote watershed health, reduce fire risk, and improve postfire recovery and (2) to support postfire recovery efforts to reduce erosion and stabilize fire-damaged land through the application of compost, as provided.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

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

SECTION 1.

Section 42649.87 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

42649.87.

(a) The California Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with the department, the State Water Resources Control Board, the State Air Resources Board, the Department of Food and Agriculture, and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, shall develop and implement policies to aid in diverting organic waste from landfills by promoting the use of agricultural, forestry, and urban organic waste as a feedstock for compost and by promoting the appropriate use of that compost throughout the state to improve the state’s soil organic matter.

(b) In developing policies pursuant to subdivision (a), the California Environmental Protection Agency shall promote a goal of reducing at least five million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year through the development and application of compost on working lands, which include, but are not limited to, agricultural land, land used for forestry, and rangeland. The California Environmental Protection Agency shall work with the Department of Food and Agriculture, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the Tree Mortality Task Force to achieve this goal.

(c) The Secretary for Environmental Protection and the Secretary of Food and Agriculture shall ensure proper coordination of agency regulations and goals to implement this section. The California Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Food and Agriculture, with the department, the State Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the State Air Resources Board, shall do all of the following:

(1) Assess the state’s progress towards developing the organic waste processing and recycling infrastructure necessary to meet the state goals specified in Assembly Bill 341 (Chapter 476 of the Statutes of 2011), Assembly Bill 1826 (Chapter 727 of the Statutes of 2014), the State Air Resources Board’s May 2015 Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy concept paper, and the Department of Food and Agriculture’s Healthy Soils Initiative.

(2) Meet at least quarterly and consult with interested stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the compost industry, local governments, agricultural land managers, and environmental organizations, to encourage the continued viability of the state’s organic waste processing and recycling infrastructure, both centralized and distributed.

(3) Hold at least one public workshop annually to inform the public of actions taken to implement this section and to receive public comment.

(4) Develop recommendations for promoting organic waste processing and recycling infrastructure statewide, which shall be posted on the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Internet Web site no later than January 1, 2017, and updated annually thereafter.

(5) Promote watershed health, reduce fire risk, and improve postfire recovery by implementing projects that use woody biomass from forests and working lands and that promote the ~~highest and best use~~ management of woody biomass through onsite wood chip application and integration with other organic waste streams for the purpose of creating compost.

(6) Support postfire recovery efforts to reduce erosion and stabilize fire-damaged land through the application of compost to restore soil aggregation, increase water infiltration, reduce runoff, prevent erosion, and support plant growth.

(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends that date.