Bill Text: CA AB2345 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2345 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Renewable energy: shared renewable energy tariffs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-08-06 - Re-referred to Com. on RLS. [AB2345 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB2345-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate August 06, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2345

Introduced by Assembly Member Reyes

February 13, 2018

~~An act to amend Section 25200 of, and to add Section 25200.25 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to hazardous waste.~~ An act to add Section 2827.2 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to renewable energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2345, as amended, Reyes. ~~Hazardous waste: facilities: permits.~~ Renewable energy: shared renewable energy tariffs.

Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to develop a standard contract or tariff, which may include net energy metering, for an eligible customer-generator with a renewable electrical generation facility that is a customer of a large electrical corporation, as defined.
The Green Tariff Shared Renewables Program requires a participating utility, as defined, to file with the commission an application requesting approval of a tariff to implement a program enabling ratepayers to participate directly in offsite electrical generation facilities that use eligible renewable energy resources, consistent with certain legislative findings and statements of intent. Existing law requires the commission, by July 1, 2014, to issue a decision concerning the participating utility’s application, determining whether to approve or disapprove the application, with or without modifications, pursuant to a specified methodology.
This bill would require the commission to require each large electrical corporation to establish a tariff or tariffs that provide for bill credits for electricity generated by eligible renewable generating facilities and exported to the electrical grid to be credited to electrical accounts of nonresidential customers of the corporations. The bill would require the commission to ensure that the credits reflect the full value of the electricity from the eligible renewable generating facilities and the credits are established using the same methodology that is used to determine credits under the standard contract or tariff for eligible customer-generators.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
By requiring the commission to require large electrical corporations to establish the above-described tariff, and by therefore making it a crime for a large electrical corporation to fail to establish that tariff, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.
Existing law, as part of the hazardous waste control law, requires a facility handling hazardous waste to apply for and obtain a hazardous waste facilities permit from the Department of Toxic Substances Control. Existing law requires that a hazardous waste facilities permit be for a fixed term not to exceed 10 years for certain facilities. Existing law requires the owner or operator of a facility intending to extend the facility’s permit to submit a complete Part A application for a permit renewal before the fixed term of the permit expires, and, at any time following the submittal of the Part A application, to submit a complete Part B application, or any portion of that application, and other relevant information, if requested by the department. Existing law provides that when a complete Part A renewal application and any other requested information has been submitted before the end of the permit’s fixed term, the permit is deemed extended until the application is approved or denied and the owner has exhausted all applicable rights of appeal.
This bill would require, for a hazardous waste facilities permit that will expire on or before July 1, 2021, the owner or operator of a facility intending to extend the term of that permit to submit a Part A and Part B application for a permit renewal at least 6 months before the fixed term of the permit expires. The bill would require, for a hazardous waste facilities permit that will expire after July 1, 2021, the owner or operator to submit a Part A and Part B application for a permit renewal at least 2 years before the fixed term of the permit expires. The bill would provide that, if a Part A and Part B renewal application and any other requested information has been submitted in accord with these requirements, the permit is deemed extended until the application is approved or denied and the owner has exhausted all applicable rights of appeal. The bill would also require the department, no later than 90 days after receiving an application for a hazardous waste facilities permit, to post on its Internet Web site a timeline with the estimated dates of key milestones in the application review process, to note on its Internet Web site that these dates are estimates, and to update the dates as needed.

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

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

SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) California leads the nation and the world in the development of renewable energy generally and specifically solar energy, from individual rooftops to the world’s largest solar projects.
(b) Solar energy, in conjunction with other distributed energy resources, such as energy efficiency, demand response, energy storage, and electric transportation infrastructure, provides benefits to the environment, the economy, consumers, and electric reliability.
(c) Despite this, there are still many commercial, industrial, public sector, and nonprofit electric customers that are unable to install solar energy either because they lease their space or they lack available rooftop or other space.
(d) At the same time, California has an abundance of previously developed sites like parking lots, warehouses, and brownfields that are well suited for solar development. In fact, there are approximately 70,000 acres of previously developed parcels across the state, including over 40,000 in disadvantaged communities, that could provide sites for new investments in renewable energy.
(e) A program needs to be developed that helps expand access to solar energy for California’s nonresidential customers that face barriers to onsite solar facilities by allowing them to partner with developed and previously impacted sites to develop those sites with clean, local renewable energy, promoting economic development and local job growth.

SEC. 2.

Section 2827.2 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

2827.2.
(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Benefiting account” means an electricity account, or more than one account, that satisfies both of the following:
(A) It is located in the service territory of, and the electric service is provided by, the same electrical corporation as the generation account.
(B) It is an individually metered electrical account of an eligible customer.
(2) “Bill credit” means an amount of money credited to a benefiting account that is calculated based upon the applicable rate under the tariff established pursuant to this section multiplied by the quantities of electricity generated by an eligible renewable generating facility that are exported to the grid. Electricity is exported to the grid if it is generated by an eligible renewable generating facility, is not utilized onsite by the eligible renewable generating facility, and flows through the meter site and onto the electrical corporation’s distribution or transmission infrastructure.
(3) “Eligible customer” means a nonresidential customer of a large electrical corporation.
(4) “Eligible renewable generating facility” means a generation facility that meets both of the following requirements:
(A) It has a generating capacity of no more than 10 megawatts.
(B) It is an eligible renewable energy resource, as defined in Section 399.12.
(5) “Generation account” means an electricity account, or more than one account, attached to a generation project that satisfies both of the following:
(A) It is located in the service territory of, and its electric service is provided by, the same electrical corporation as the benefiting account.
(B) It is sited behind the meter of any of the following locations:
(i) A government property, including, but not limited to, school facilities and college, trade school, or university property.
(ii) A commercial property.
(iii) A landfill.
(iv) A port.
(v) A warehouse.
(vi) A parking lot.
(vii) An industrial zone.
(viii) A brownfield site.
(ix) An area where oil and gas activity is the primary land use.
(x) A location sited in any area determined by the electrical corporation or the commission to have high locational value, if any.
(6) “Large electrical corporation” has the same meaning as defined in Section 2827.
(b) (1) The commission, as part of its review pursuant to Section 2827.1, shall require each large electrical corporation to establish a tariff or tariffs that provide for bill credits generated by an eligible renewable generating facility at a generating account to be credited to a benefiting account in a manner that the commission determines to be in the interest of ratepayers.
(2) The commission shall ensure all of the following:
(A) The credits reflect the full value of the electricity from the eligible renewable generating facility.
(B) The credits are established using the same methodology used to determine credits for other customer generation under the program established pursuant to Section 2827.1.
(C) The credits do not cause shifting of costs to bundled service customers of an electrical corporation.
(c) Service taken under a tariff established pursuant to this section by an individually metered account does not preclude participation by the eligible customer in other programs, so long as the credit provided pursuant to this section is not credited to more than one program.

SEC. 3.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SECTION 1.Section 25200 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
25200.
(a)The department shall issue hazardous waste facilities permits to use and operate one or more hazardous waste management units at a facility that in the judgment of the department meet the building standards published in the State Building Standards Code relating to hazardous waste facilities and the other standards and requirements adopted pursuant to this chapter. The department shall impose conditions on each hazardous waste facilities permit specifying the types of hazardous wastes that may be accepted for transfer, storage, treatment, or disposal. The department may impose any other conditions on a hazardous waste facilities permit that are consistent with the intent of this chapter.
(b)The department may impose, as a condition of a hazardous waste facilities permit, a requirement that the owner or operator of a hazardous waste facility that receives hazardous waste from more than one producer comply with any order of the director that prohibits the facility operator from refusing to accept a hazardous waste based on geographical origin that is authorized to be accepted and may be accepted by the facility without extraordinary hazard.
(c)(1)(A)A hazardous waste facilities permit issued by the department shall be for a fixed term, which shall not exceed 10 years for any land disposal facility, storage facility, incinerator, or other treatment facility.
(B)An owner or operator of a facility who intends to extend the term of a hazardous waste facilities permit that expires on or before July 1, 2021, shall submit a Part A and Part B application for a permit renewal at least six months before the fixed term of the permit expires, in order for the department to begin its administrative review of the Part A and Part B application. To the extent not inconsistent with the federal act, if a Part A and Part B renewal application, and any other requested information, has been submitted under this subparagraph at least six months before the end of the permit’s fixed term, the permit is deemed extended until the renewal application is approved or denied and the owner or operator has exhausted all applicable rights of appeal.
(C)An owner or operator of a facility who intends to extend the term of a hazardous waste facilities permit that expires after July 1, 2021, shall submit a Part A and Part B application for a permit renewal at least two years before the fixed term of the permit expires, in order for the department to begin its administrative review of the Part A and Part B application. To the extent not inconsistent with the federal act, if a Part A and Part B renewal application, and any other requested information, has been submitted under this subparagraph at least two years before the end of the permit’s fixed term, the permit is deemed extended until the renewal application is approved or denied and the owner or operator has exhausted all applicable rights of appeal.
(D)This section does not limit or restrict the department’s authority to impose any additional or different conditions on an extended permit that are necessary to protect human health and the environment.
(E)In adopting new conditions for an extended permit, the department shall follow the applicable permit modification procedures specified in this chapter and the regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.
(F)When prioritizing pending renewal applications for processing and in determining the need for any new conditions on an extended permit, the department shall consider any input received from the public.
(2)The department shall review each hazardous waste facilities permit for a land disposal facility five years after the date of issuance or reissuance, and shall modify the permit, as necessary, to ensure that the facility continues to comply with the currently applicable requirements of this chapter and the regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.
~~(3)This subdivision does not prohibit the department from reviewing, modifying, or revoking a permit at any time during its term.~~
~~(d)(1)When reviewing an application for a permit renewal, the department shall consider improvements in the state of control and measurement technology as well as changes in applicable regulations.~~
~~(2)Each permit issued or renewed under this section shall contain the terms and conditions that the department determines necessary to protect human health and the environment.~~
(e)A permit issued pursuant to the federal act by the federal Environmental Protection Agency in the state for which no state hazardous waste facilities permit has been issued shall be deemed to be a state permit enforceable by the department until a state permit is issued. In addition to complying with the terms and conditions specified in a federal permit deemed to be a state permit pursuant to this section, an owner or operator who holds that permit shall comply with the requirements of this chapter and the regulations adopted by the department to implement this chapter.
SEC. 2.Section 25200.25 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
25200.25.
No later than 90 days after receiving an application for a hazardous waste facilities permit, the department shall post on its Internet Web site a timeline with the estimated dates of key milestones in the application review process, which shall include, but not be limited to, the dates of public meetings and the date for issuance of a draft decision. The department shall note on its Internet Web site that these dates are estimates and shall update the dates as needed.