California Assembly Bill AB222 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 222AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 15, 2010 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 8, 2009 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 28, 2009 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 5, 2009 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Adams and Ma (Coauthors: Assembly Members Blakeslee, Conway,  Duvall,  Emmerson, Fletcher, Fuentes, Galgiani, Gilmore, Knight, Mendoza, Smyth, and Torrico) (Coauthors: Senators Benoit and Calderon) FEBRUARY 4, 2009  An act to amend Sections 25741, 25806, 40194, and 40201 of, to add Sections 40103 and 41786.5 to, and to repeal Section 40117 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to energy.   An act to amend Sections 40194 and 40201 of, to add Section 40103 to, and to repeal Section 40117 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.  LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 222, as amended, Adams.  Energy: biofuels.   Solid waste: defin   itions.   (1) Existing law establishes the Public Interest Research, Development, and Demonstration Fund in the State Treasury, and provides that the money collected by the public goods charge to support cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation activities and public interest energy research, development, and demonstration projects not adequately provided by competitive and regulated markets, be deposited in the fund for use by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission). Existing law requires the Energy Commission to use those funds to develop, implement, and administer the Public Interest Research, Development, and Demonstration Program to develop technologies to, among other things, improve environmental quality, enhance electrical system reliability, increase efficiency of energy-using technologies, lower electrical system costs, or provide other tangible benefits to electric utility customers. Existing law defines "in-state renewable electricity generation facility" for the purposes of the program to include, among other things, a facility that uses municipal solid waste conversion.   This bill would instead define "in-state renewable electricity generation facility" to include a facility that uses conversion at a biorefinery. The bill would define "biorefinery" to mean a facility that uses a nonincineration thermal, chemical, biological, or mechanical conservation process, or a combination of those processes, to produce clean burning fuel for generating electricity or a renewable fuel from carbonaceous materials not derived from fossil fuel or solid waste feedstock.   (2) The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 requires cities and counties, on and after January 1, 2000, to divert 50% of all solid waste through source reduction, recycling, and composting activities.   This bill would authorize a jurisdiction, if the act requires a solid waste diversion of more than 50%, to consider solid waste diverted to a biorefinery as disposal reduction in meeting the solid waste diversion level requirement above 50% if the jurisdiction makes a specified certification to the board.   (3) The act   The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989  defines various terms, including "gasification," "solid waste facility," and "transformation" for the purposes of the act. This bill would repeal the term "gasification."  The bill would additionally define "solid waste facility" to include a biorefinery that processes solid waste.  The bill would revise and recast the definition of "transformation" to exclude from that definition, among other things, anaerobic digestion, as defined, and  to include in that definition  solid waste conversion at a biorefinery  , as defined. The bill would revise the definition of "solid waste" remove "gasification"   from that definition  . 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.   Section 40103 is added to the   Public Resources Code   , to read:   40103. "Anaerobic digestion" means a process using the bacterial breakdown of compostable organic material in a controlled environment that meets other parameters as established by the department.   SEC. 2.   Section 40117 of the   Public Resources Code   is repealed.   40117. "Gasification" means a technology that uses a noncombustion thermal process to convert solid waste to a clean burning fuel for the purpose of generating electricity, and that, at minimum, meets all of the following criteria: (a) The technology does not use air or oxygen in the conversion process, except ambient air to maintain temperature control. (b) The technology produces no discharges of air contaminants or emissions, including greenhouse gases, as defined in subdivision (g) of Section 38505 of the Health and Safety Code. (c) The technology produces no discharges to surface or groundwaters of the state. (d) The technology produces no hazardous waste. (e) To the maximum extent feasible, the technology removes all recyclable materials and marketable green waste compostable materials from the solid waste stream prior to the conversion process and the owner or operator of the facility certifies that those materials will be recycled or composted. (f) The facility where the technology is used is in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances. (g) The facility certifies to the board that any local agency sending solid waste to the facility is in compliance with this division and has reduced, recycled, or composted solid waste to the maximum extent feasible, and the board makes a finding that the local agency has diverted at least 30 percent of all solid waste through source reduction, recycling, and composting.   SEC. 3.   Section 40194 of the   Public Resources Code   is amended to read:  40194. "Solid waste facility" includes a solid waste transfer or processing station, a composting facility,  a gasification facility,  a transformation facility, and a disposal facility. For purposes of Part 5 (commencing with Section 45000), "solid waste facility" additionally includes a solid waste operation that may be carried out pursuant to an enforcement agency notification, as provided in regulations adopted by the  board   department  .  SEC. 4.   Section 40201 of the   Public Resources Code   is amended to read:  40201. "Transformation" means incineration, pyrolysis, distillation,  or  biological conversion other than composting  and anaerobic digestion, or the processing of solid waste at a biorefinery. "Biorefinery" means a facility that utilizes noninceration thermal, chemical, biological, or mechanical conversion processes, other than composting and anaerobic digestion  . "Transformation" does not include composting,  gasification   anaerobic digestion  , or biomass conversion. All matter omitted in this version of the bill appears in the bill as amended in the Senate, July 8, 2009. (JR11)