On Tuesday, a broad coalition of more than 60 local government and solid waste organizations, including RCRC, sent a letter to the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) outlining concerns about new standards for treated wood waste (TWW) that go into effect on January 1, 2021.
 
The existing standards for managing TWW, including authorizing landfill disposal, have been in place since 2004, but will expire on December 31, 2020 as a result of Governor Newsom’s recent veto of Senate Bill 68 (Galgiani).  This means that all TWW, including fence posts, sill plates, landscape timbers, pilings, guardrails, and decking, will have to be managed as hazardous waste, hauled by a registered hazardous waste transporter, and disposed in hazardous waste landfills beginning January 1, 2021.  These changes will exponentially increase management and disposal costs and could lead to a significant increase in illegal dumping of TWW.

The veto of SB 68 leaves the solid waste industry, the business community, and local governments with significant management challenges, exorbitant costs, and exponentially increased risk of illegal TWW disposal.
 
The coalition is urging CalEPA, Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), and the Governor’s Office to consider several options, including issuance of variances, that would allow TWW to be managed under the current standards for collection and disposal. The variances would be temporary, providing the coalition time to either 1) develop legislation that can be supported, quickly passed, and signed into law, or (2) in the event legislation is not feasible or successful, develop plans and a procedure in accordance with the necessary requirements by July 1, 2021. 
 
To better assist rural communities and solid waste enterprises, the coalition adopted RCRC’s suggestion that DTSC create a standard template for issuing TWW-related variances, thereby reducing the workload for DTSC’s review of the applications and the burden placed on each individual applicant.