Bill Text: CA SB1043 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

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

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Bill Title: Biogas and biomethane.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [SB1043 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SB1043-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 1043	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Allen
   (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Williams)

                        FEBRUARY 12, 2016

   An act to amend Section 25420 of, and to add Section 39735 to, the
Health and Safety Code, relating to biogas.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1043, as introduced, Allen. Renewable gas: biogas and
biomethane.
   (1) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency
responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse
gases. The act requires the state board to adopt regulations to
require the reporting and verification of statewide greenhouse gas
emissions and to monitor and enforce compliance with this program.
The act requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas
emissions limit, as defined, to be achieved by 2020 equivalent to the
statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990. Existing law
requires the state board to complete a comprehensive strategy to
reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants, as defined, in
the state.
   This bill would require the state board to consider and adopt
policies to significantly increase the sustainable production and use
of renewable gas, as defined, and, in so doing, would require the
state board, among other things, to ensure the production and use of
renewable gas provides direct environmental benefits and identify
barriers to the rapid development and use of renewable gas and
potential sources of funding.
   (2) Existing law requires the Office of Environmental Health
Hazard Assessment, in consultation with the state board, the
Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Department of Resources
Recycling and Recovery, and the California Environmental Protection
Agency, to compile a list of constituents of concern that could pose
risks to human health and that are found in biogas, as defined, at
concentrations that significantly exceed the concentrations of those
constituents in natural gas. Existing law requires the office to
determine the health protective levels for that list, as specified,
and requires the state board to identify realistic exposure scenarios
and the health risks associated with those scenarios, as specified.
   Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to adopt, by
rule or order, standards for biomethane, as defined, that specify
the concentrations of constituents of concern that are reasonably
necessary to protect public health and ensure pipeline integrity and
safety, as specified, and requirements for monitoring, testing,
reporting, and recordkeeping, as specified. Existing law requires a
gas corporation to comply with those standards and requirements and
requires the commission to require gas corporation tariffs to
condition access to common carrier pipelines on the applicable
customer meeting those standards and requirements.
   This bill would revise the definitions of biogas and biomethane
for these purposes.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) California has enacted numerous policies to reduce emissions
of greenhouse gases and to increase the use of renewable energy
resources and renewable fuels, including the California Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section
38500) of the Health and Safety Code), the California Renewables
Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16 (commencing with Section
399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public
Utilities Code), the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulation (Executive
Order S-01-07 (January 19, 2007), Sections 95480 to 95490, inclusive,
of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations), an energy
storage portfolio requirement (Chapter 469 of the Statutes of 2010),
emissions goals for 2030 and 2050 (Executive Order B-30-15), and the
state's comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived
climate pollutants (Section 39730 of the Health and Safety Code).
   (b) Natural gas, which is used for a wide variety of purposes,
including the generation of electricity, heating, cooling,
industrial, commercial, residential, and transportation fuel, causes
more than one-quarter of all emissions of greenhouse gases in
California. Methane emissions from a variety of sources, including
wastewater treatment facilities, landfills, dairies, agricultural
production, and oil and gas, represent up to 15 percent of California'
s total climate change emissions. Wildfires cause two-thirds of all
black carbon emissions, which accounts for approximately 10 percent
of California's's total climate change emissions.
   (c) Reducing emissions of methane, black carbon, and other
short-lived climate pollutants is the most effective way to
immediately slow global warming and reduce the impacts of climate
change. Capturing and using methane (renewable gas) can significantly
reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel use, organic
waste, wildfires, and petroleum-based fertilizers. Increasing the
production and use of renewable gas could reduce emissions of
greenhouse gases by tens of millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide
equivalent emissions per year.
   (d) Renewable gas generated from organic waste can be used to
produce the lowest carbon transportation fuel, flexible generation of
electricity from a renewable resource, energy storage, and a
low-carbon gas supply for heating, cooling, and other purposes.
   (e) Using forest biomass collected as part of a sustainable
forestry plan can significantly reduce the risks and impacts of
catastrophic wildfires, including black carbon emissions and air
pollution, impacts on water supply and quality, impacts on utility
and other infrastructure, threats to public safety and communities,
impacts on fisheries and wildlife, and effects on precipitation.
   (f) Increasing the use of renewable gas in heavy-duty vehicles in
California can help protect disadvantaged communities in the state by
reducing toxic air contaminants and smog-forming emissions.
   (g) Renewable gas can provide significant economic benefits to
California, including job creation, an in-state source of gas,
increased energy security, revenue and energy for public agencies,
and revenue for dairies, farms, rural forest communities, and other
areas.
   (h) Increasing the use of renewable gas will diversify and
decarbonize California's gas supply.
   (i) Increasing the use of renewable gas can help California to
meet the waste diversion requirements of Section 41781.3, Article 1
(commencing with Section 41780) of Chapter 6 of Part 2 of, and
Chapter 12.9 (commencing with Section 42649.8) of Part 3 of, Division
30 of, the Public Resources Code, and the Short-Lived Climate
Pollutant Reduction Strategy being developed by the State Air
Resources Board pursuant to Section 39730 of the Health and Safety
Code by using diverted organic waste to produce renewable gas.
  SEC. 2.  Section 25420 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   25420.  For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
apply:
   (a) "Biogas" means gas that is produced from  the
anaerobic decomposition of organic material.   organic
waste through anaerobic digestion or eligible conversion
technologies, consistent with Section 40106 of the Public Resources
Code. 
   (b) "Biomethane" means  biogas that meets the standards
adopted pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 25421 for
injection into a common carrier pipeline.   the methane
derived from biogas. 
   (c) "Board" means the State Air Resources Board.
   (d) "CalRecycle" means the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery.
   (e) "Commission" means the Public Utilities Commission.
   (f) "Common carrier pipeline" means a gas conveyance 
pipeline,   pipeline  located in 
California,   California  that is owned or operated
by a utility or gas corporation, excluding a dedicated pipeline.
   (g) "Dedicated pipeline" means a conveyance of biogas or
biomethane that is not part of a common carrier pipeline
system,   system  and  which  
that  conveys biogas from a biogas producer to a conditioning
facility or an electrical generation facility.
   (h) "Department" means the Department of Toxic Substances Control.

   (i) "Gas corporation" has the same meaning as defined in Section
222 of the Public Utilities Code and is subject to rate regulation by
the commission.
   (j) "Hazardous waste landfill" means a landfill that is a
hazardous waste facility, as defined in Section 25117.1.
   (k) "Office" means the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment. 
   (l) "Organic waste" means waste of biological origins, including
organic waste, as defined in Section 42649.8 of the Public Resources
Code; biomass feedstock, consistent with Section 40106 of the Public
Resources Code; and livestock waste.  
   (  l  )
    (m)  "Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint
stock company, partnership, association, business concern, limited
liability company, or corporation. "Person" also includes any city,
county, district, and the state or any department or agency thereof,
or the federal government or any department or agency thereof to the
extent permitted by law.
  SEC. 3.  Section 39735 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
   39735.  (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
the following meanings:
   (1) "Biogas" has the same meaning as defined in Section 25420,
except that it does not include gas produced from forest biomass
unless is it produced from forest waste remaining after all other
reasonable forest products have been produced and harvested pursuant
to the Governor's state of emergency proclamation issued on October
30, 2015, or a subsequent emergency order related to forests,
defensible space within 150 feet of a legally permitted structure, or
a harvesting operation that advances the establishment of a
well-distributed mature forest on the site.
   (2) "Renewable gas" means biogas or synthetic gas generated by an
eligible renewable energy resource meeting the requirements of the
California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16
(commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division
1 of the Public Utilities Code).
   (3) "Short-lived climate pollutant" has the same meaning as
defined in Section 39730.
   (b) In order to meet the state's climate change, low-carbon fuel,
renewable energy, landfill diversion, and wildfire reduction goals,
the state board shall consider and adopt policies to significantly
increase the sustainable production and use of renewable gas. In
doing so, the state board shall do all the following:
   (1) Consider adopting a low-carbon gas standard, a renewable gas
portfolio standard, public utility purchase requirements, purchase
requirements by end-use sectors, including transportation, electrical
generation, fuels refining, and public utility purchasing, and other
policies to increase the production and use of renewable gas and to
reduce the carbon intensity of the state's gas supply.
   (2) Ensure that any policy is coordinated and consistent with
existing state policies to:
   (A) Promote renewable fuels and eligible renewable energy
resources, as defined in the California Renewables Portfolio Standard
Program (Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3
of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code).
   (B) Reduce life-cycle emissions of greenhouse gases and
short-lived climate pollutants and increase carbon sequestration.
   (C) Divert organic waste from landfills, consistent with Section
39730 and other state policies.
   (D) Reduce air and water pollution.
   (E) Reduce wildfires.
   (F) Promote resilient and sustainable forests.
   (3) Ensure that the production and use of renewable gas provides
direct benefits to the state's environment by avoiding or reducing
the emission of criteria pollutants, avoiding or reducing emissions
of short-lived climate pollutants and greenhouse gases, avoiding or
reducing emissions that adversely affect the waters of the state,
avoiding or reducing nuisances associated with the emission of odors,
or helping the state to meet its landfill diversion requirements.
   (4) Identify barriers to the rapid development and use of
renewable gas and make specific recommendations to remove those
barriers.
   (5) Coordinate with the Public Utilities Commission, the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, publicly
owned utilities, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery,
and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
   (6) Identify potential sources of funding to provide incentives
for renewable gas production and use.