This week RCRC helped coordinate a diverse coalition of local governments and the solid waste industry to support Assembly Bill 332, authored by the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee. AB 332 facilitates the safe and proper handling and disposal of Treated Wood Waste (TWW) by codifying the Alternative Management Standards found in 22 CCR 67386.1 et seq. that sunset on January 1, 2021. Those standards significantly eased the burdens associated with proper transportation, management, and disposal of TWW.
On September 29, 2020, Governor Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 68 (Galgiani), which sought to repeal the sunset date allowing the alternative management of TWW. This left residential and commercial customers with no practical disposal options because of the significantly greater costs and complexities of managing and transporting these materials as hazardous wastes to a Class I hazardous waste disposal facility. Over the last several months, the Department of Toxic Substances Control has worked diligently to develop a temporary, short-term fix by issuing variances to generators, transporters, handlers, and disposal facilities for the management and disposal of TWW.
This variance system was not intended to be a permanent solution, but instead facilitates the proper management and disposal of TWW while the Legislature crafts a long-term approach. RCRC supports AB 332 because it establishes a clear, reasonable, and permanent path for the proper management and disposal of TWW.
For a list of coalition partners and to read the support letter, see here. For more information, contact John Kennedy, RCRC Legislative Advocate, by email or call (916) 447-4806.