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Senate Bill 318
Chaptered |
sb-0301-0350/
BILL NUMBER: SB 318 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 745
FILED WITH SECRETARY
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
PASSED THE SENATE
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY
AMENDED IN SENATE
AMENDED IN SENATE
OF STATE OCTOBER 7, 1997
OCTOBER 7, 1997
SEPTEMBER 12, 1997
SEPTEMBER 10, 1997
SEPTEMBER 8, 1997
AUGUST 25, 1997
JULY 22, 1997
JULY 10, 1997
JULY 7, 1997
APRIL 3, 1997
APRIL 1,1997
INTRODUCED BY Senators Thompson and Costa
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cardoza, Machado, Olberg, Papan,
Richter, and Woods)
FEBRUARY 11, 1997
An act to amend Sections 41865, 44535, and 44537.5 of, and to add Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 39750) to Part 2 of Division 26 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to air pollution.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 318, M. Thompson. Air pollution: rice straw burning.
(1) Existing law, the Connelly-Areias-Chandler Rice Straw Burning Reduction Act of 1991, limits the burning of rice straw in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin to prescribed percentages of the acres planted annually through 1999, and prescribes conditions and procedures for the issuance of conditional rice straw burning permits after 1999. A violation of the act is a misdemeanor.
This bill would instead specify the number of acres that may be burned in specified spring months and in specified fall months through 2000, and would revise the conditions and procedures that apply after 2000, as specified, thereby creating a state-mandated local program by changing the definition of a crime and by imposing new duties on local agencies with regard to implementing the bill. The bill would specify related matters.
(2) The act exempts from its provisions administrative burning, as defined, that is conducted as specified.
This bill would revise the definition of administrative burning to include the burning of vegetative materials on rice research facilities authorized by the county agricultural commissioner, not to exceed 2,000 acres.
(3) The bill would require the State Air Resources Board to administer a demonstration program for the development of new rice straw technologies through the awarding of grants.
(4) Existing law establishes the California Pollution Control Financing Authority, with specified powers and duties, and specifies which projects may be considered for financing.
This bill would include projects for the disposal of agricultural waste within that provision and would make related changes.
(5) 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 specified reasons.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 39750) is added to Part 2 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER 4.5. RICE STRAW DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
39750. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the
Connelly-Areias-Chandler Rice Straw Burning Reduction Act was enacted
in 1991 to phase down rice straw burning and improve the air quality
for the citizens of the state. This creates an additional
significant cost to rice growers, with potential adverse impacts on
the farming communities, including lost farm production; lost state,
local, and federal tax revenues; lost jobs; and reduction of wildlife
habitat in the rice fields. The commercial technologies that could
utilize straw, making it a commodity rather than a waste disposal
problem, have not developed in the rice growing areas because of the
lack of marketplace risk capital to take technologies from the
laboratory stage to demonstration projects. To retain the public
benefits from having a viable rice growing industry in California and
to improve air quality, there is a need to provide cost-sharing
grants for the development of demonstration projects for new rice
straw technologies in the marketplace.
39751. The Rice Straw Demonstration Project Fund is hereby
created in the State Treasury. The fund shall he administered by the
state board for the purpose of developing demonstration projects for
new rice straw technologies in the rice straw growing regions of
California.
39752. The state board shall provide cost-sharing grants for the
development of demonstration projects for new rice straw technologies
according to criteria developed by the state board, in consultation
with the University of California, the Trade and Commerce Agency, and
the Department of Food and Agriculture, and adopted at a noticed
public hearing held by the state board. The criteria shall include,
but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
(a) Proposed projects shall use a technology that could use
significant volumes of rice straw annually if it is commercialized,
based upon such factors as potential markets and viability of the
technology in meeting market demands.
(b) The state board shall provide not more than 50 percent of the
cost for each demonstration project.
(c) Public and private support shall be demonstrated for proposed
projects, including local community support from the rice growing
community where the project would be located.
(d) The grants shall be authorized and allocated during the
1997-98 and 1998-99 fiscal years. Grants may be expended, under the
grant agreement, during a period not to exceed three years from the
date that the grant is awarded.
(e) Preference shall be given to projects located within the rice
growing regions of the Sacramento Valley and which may be replicated
throughout the region.
(f) Projects should demonstrate technical and economic
feasibility.
39753. It is the intent of the Legislature that funding for
purposes of this chapter be provided in the annual Budget Act. The
state board may use not more than 10 percent of the rice straw
technology demonstration cost-sharing funds for administrative and
project review costs in carrying out the grant program.
SEC. 2. Section 41865 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
41865. (a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Connelly-Areias-Chandler Rice Straw Burning Reduction Act of 1991.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) "Sacramento Valley Air Basin" means the area designated by the
state board pursuant to Section 39606.
(2) "Air pollution control council" means the Sacramento Valley
Basinwide Air Pollution Control Council authorized pursuant to
Section 40900.
(3) "Conditional rice straw burning permit" means a permit to burn
granted pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (h).
(4) "Allowable acres to be burned" means the number of acres that
may be burned pursuant to subdivision (c).
(5) "Department" means the Department of Food and Agriculture.
(6) "Maximum fall burn acres" means the maximum amount of rice
acreage that may be burned from September 1 to December 31,
inclusive, of each year.
(7) "Maximum spring burn acres" means the maximum amount of rice
acreage that may be burned from January 1 to May 31 of the following
year, inclusive.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 41850, rice straw burning in counties
in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin shall be phased down, as follows:
(1) From 1998 to 2000, the maximum spring and fall burn acres
shall be the following number of acres planted prior to September 1
of each year:
Maximum Fall Burn Maximum Spring Burn
Year Acres Acres
1998 90,000 110,000
1999 90,000 110,000
2000 90,000 110,000
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), any of the 90,000 acres allocated in the fall that are not burned may be added to the maximum spring burn acres, provided that the maximum spring burn acres does not exceed 160,000 acres.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the maximum acres burned between January 1, 1998, and August 31, 1998, shall be limited so that the total acres burned between September 1, 1997, and August 31, 1998, do not exceed 38 percent of the total acres planted prior to September 1, 1997.
(4) In 2001 and thereafter, the maximum annual burn acres shall be the number of acres prescribed in subdivision (i), subject subdivisions (f) and (h).
(d) The number of allowable acres to be burned each day shall be determined by the state board and the air pollution control officers in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin and equitably allocated among rice growers in accordance with the annual agricultural burning plan adopted by the air pollution control council and approved by the state board.
(e) on or before September 1, 2000, the state board, in consultation with the department and the air pollution control council, shall adopt regulations consistent with the criteria provided in subdivisions (f) and (h). On or before September 1, 1996, an advisory group shall be established by the state board and the department to assist in the adoption of those regulations.
(f) Commencing September 1, 2001, the county air pollution control officers in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin may grant conditional rice straw burning permits once the county agricultural commissioner has determined that the applicant has met the conditions specified in subdivision (h). The county agricultural commissioner shall be responsible for all field inspections associated with the issuance of conditional rice straw burning permits. A conditional rice straw burning permit shall be valid for only one burn, per field, per year.
to
(g) The county agricultural commissioner may charge the applicant a fee not to exceed the costs incurred by the county agricultural commissioner in making the determination specified in subdivision (f). This subdivision shall be operative only until January 1, 2009.
(h) If the terms and conditions for issuing conditional rice straw burning permits specified in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, are met, a conditional rice straw burning permit may be issued unless the state board and the department have jointly determined, based upon an annual review process, that there are other economically and technically feasible alternative means of eliminating the disease that are not substantially more costly to the applicant. The terms and conditions for issuing the conditional rice straw burning permits are:
(1) The fields to be burned are specifically described.
(2) The applicant has not violated any provision of this section within the previous three years.
(3) During the growing season, the county agricultural commissioner has independently determined the significant presence of a pathogen in an amount sufficient to constitute a rice disease such as stem rot.
(4) The county agricultural commissioner makes a finding that the existence of the pathogen as identified in paragraph (3) will likely cause a significant, quantifiable reduction in yield in the field to be burned during the current or next growing season. The findings of the county agricultural commissioner shall he based on recommendations adopted by the advisory group established pursuant to subdivision (e).
(i) (1) The maximum annual number of
Sacramento Valley Air Basin pursuant to
(c) shall be the lesser of:
(A) The total of 25 percent of each acres that year.
(B) A total of 125,000 acres planted Basin.
(2) Each grower shall be eligible grower's planted acres, as determined officers in the Sacramento Valley Air maximum annual number of acres burned the grower has met the criteria for a
acres burned in the paragraph (3) of subdivision individual applicant's planted in the Sacramento Valley Air to burn up to 25 percent of the by the air pollution control Basin and subject to the set forth in paragraph (1), if conditional rice straw burning permit.
(3) The air pollution control council shall annually determine which is the lesser of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1), and shall determine the maximum percentage applicable to all growers subject to the conditions set forth in subdivisions (f) and (h).
(4) A grower the criteria for who owns or operates 400 acres or less who has met the issuance of a conditional rice straw burning permit may burn his or her entire acreage once every four years, provided that the limit prescribed in paragraph (1) is not exceeded.
(5) Nothing in this subdivision shall permit an applicant to transfer, sell, or trade any permission to burn granted pursuant to this subdivision to another applicant or individual.
(j) The state board and the department shall jointly determine if the allowable acres to be burned, as provided in subdivisions (c), (f), and (h), may be exceeded due to extraordinary circumstances, such as an act of God, that have an impact over a continuing duration and make alternatives other than burning unusable.
(k) "Administrative burning" means burning of vegetative materials along roads, in ditches, and on levees adjacent to or within a rice field, or the burning of vegetative materials on rice research facilities authorized by the county agricultural commissioner, not to exceed 2,000 acres. Administrative burning conducted in accordance with Section 41852 is not subject to this section.
(1) (1) On or before September 1, 1992, the state board and the department shall jointly establish an advisory committee composed of 10 members to assist with the identification and implementation of alternatives to rice straw burning. Members of the committee shall be from the Sacramento Valley Air Basin, and the committee shall consist of two rice growers, two representatives from the environmental community, two health officials, two county supervisors or their designees, one member from the air pollution control council, and one member from the business community with expertise in market or product development. The committee shall meet at least annually. General Fund moneys shall not be used to support the committee.
(2) The committee shall develop a list of priority goals for the development of alternative uses of rice straw for the purpose of developing feasible and cost-effective alternatives to rice straw burning. These goals shall include, but not be limited to, research on alternatives, economic incentives to encourage alternative uses, and new product development.
(m) on or before September 1, 1998, the state board, in consultation with the department, the advisory committee, and the Department of Commerce, shall develop an implementation plan and a schedule to achieve diversion of not less than 50 percent of rice straw produced toward off-field uses by 2000. Off-field uses may include, but are not limited to, the production of energy and fuels, construction materials, pulp and paper, and livestock feed.
(n) On or before September 1, 1999, the state board and the department shall jointly report to the Legislature on the progress of the phasedown of, and the identification and implementation of alternatives to, rice straw burning. This report shall include an economic and environmental assessment, the status of feasible and cost-effective alternatives to rice straw burning, recommendations from the advisory committee on the development of alternatives to rice straw burning, the status of the implementation plan and the schedule required by subdivision (m), progress toward achieving the 50 percent diversion goal, any recommended changes to this section, and other issues related to this section. The report shall be updated biennially and transmitted to the Legislature not later than September 1 of each odd-numbered year. The state board may adjust the district burn permit fees specified in subdivision (s) to pay for the preparation of the report and its updates. The districts shall collect and remit the adjustment to the state board, which shall deposit the fees in the Motor Vehicle Account in the State Transportation Fund. It shall be the goal of t~e state board and the department that the cost of the report and its updates shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
(o) The state board and the California Department of Food and Agriculture shall jointly collect and analyze all available data relevant to the air quality and public health impacts and, to the extent feasible, the economic impacts, that may be associated with the burning of rice straw pursuant to the schedule provided in subparagraph (1) of subdivision (c). On or before July 1, 2001, the state board shall submit a report to the Legislature presenting its findings regarding the air quality, public health, and economic impacts associated with the burning of rice straw pursuant to the schedule provided in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c).
(p) The Legislature hereby finds and declares as follows:
(1) Because of the requirements imposed by this section, rice straw that was previously burned may present, as solid waste, a new disposal problem.
(2) The state should assist local governments and growers in diverting rice straw from landfills by researching and developing diversion options.
(q) It is the intent of the Legislature that all feasible alternatives to rice straw burning and options for diverting rice straw from landfills be encouraged.
(r) This subdivision confirms that reductions in emissions from rice straw burning qualify for air quality offsets, in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2).
(1) These credits shall meet the requirements specified in state law and district rules and regulations, and shall comply with applicable district banking rules established pursuant to Sections 40709 to 40713, inclusive. Districts are urged to establish banking systems in accordance with Sections 40709 to 40713, inclusive. The state board may adopt regulations to implement this subdivision, including, but not limited to, consideration of the seasonal and intermittent nature of rice straw burning emissions. In developing the regulations, the state board shall consult with all concerned parties. However, emission reduction credits that would otherwise accrue from reductions in emissions from rice straw burning shall not be affected or negated by the phasedown of burning, as specified in subdivision (c).
(2) Reductions in emissions achieved in compliance with subdivision (c) that are banked or used as credits shall not be credited for purposes of attainment planning and progress towards the attainment of any state or national ambient air quality standard as required by state and federal law.
(s) (1) Any person who negligently or intentionally violates any article is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), imprisonment in the county jail for not more than nine months, or by both that fine and imprisonment. This subdivision applies only to agricultural burning in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin.
(2) Any person who negligently or intentionally violates any provision in this article is liable for a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000). This subdivision applies only to agricultural burning in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin.
(t) Districts in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin shall impose fees on growers to cover the cost of implementing this section pursuant to Section 42311.
(u) To the extent that resources are available, the state board and the agencies with jurisdiction over air quality within the Sacramento Valley Air Basin shall do both of the following:
(1) Improve responses to citizen complaints, and, to the extent feasible, immediately investigate and analyze smoke complaints from the public to identify factors that contribute to complaints and to develop better smoke control measures to be included in the agricultural burning plan, keep a record of all complaints, coordinate among other agencies on citizens' complaints, and
investigate the source of the pollution causing the complaint.
(2) Respond more quickly to requests for update from county air pollution control officers to help maximize burning days when meteorological conditions are best suited for smoke dispersion.
SEC. 3. Section 44535 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
44535. (a) The authority may separately approve financing for projects, the purpose of which is to prevent or reduce environmental pollution resulting from the disposal of solid or liquid waste.
(b) The following projects shall be considered for financing:
(1) Projects utilizing recognized resource recovery or energy conversion processes.
(2) Projects utilizing new technologies or processes for resource recovery or energy conversion.
(3) Projects utilizing technologies designed to reduce the level of pollutants found in water.
(4) Recycled water facilities.
(5) Water main replacements.
(6) Water filtration facilities.
(7) Projects for the disposal of agricultural wastes.
(8) Other projects for the reduction of environmental pollution resulting from the disposal of solid or liquid waste.
(c) The projects specified in subdivision (b) may include elements that provide for new refuse removal vehicles, transfer stations, resource recovery or energy conversion plants, source separation, or any solid or liquid waste disposal facilities involved in resource recovery systems. "Solid or liquid waste disposal facilities" means any property, or portion thereof, used for the collection, storage, treatment, utilization, processing, or final disposal of solid or liquid waste in resource recovery systems.
SEC. 4. Section 44537.5 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
44537.5. The authority shall provide the maximum opportunity for the use of the authority's financing by individuals, businesses engaged in agricultural operations, and small businesses or corporations by providing information, assistance, and coordination to facilitate financing for small projects and other financing that benefits the environment, including financing for projects for the disposal of agricultural wastes, with special attention to the needs of businesses that do not meet standard commercial lending requirements but provide public benefits, such as job creation or retention.
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution for certain costs that will be incurred by a local agency or school district 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 XIIIB of the California Constitution. Moreover, no reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain other costs that will be incurred because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code. Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Governrnent Code, unless otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the California Constitution.