New Law Relaxes Hazardous Waste Rules

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law a measure authored by Senator Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar) seeks to increase the collection of Household Hazardous Waste through door-to-door collection programs.

Huff represents Sierra Madre, along with other nearby foothil cities, to the State Senate.

Known in the Senate halls as SB 456, the new law will allow door-to-door household hazardous waste collection programs to transport and consolidate materials at "exempt" facilities before it is eventually moved to permitted processing facilities.

Essentially, the new law hands control from the state down to local agencies over regulating the transportation and management of hazardous materials.

"Existing law requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection to implement a unified hazardous waste and hazardous materials management regulatory program," the bill's finalized text reads.

"This bill would additionally include... an exempt transfer facility operated by a door-to-door household hazardous waste collection program, thereby creating a state-mandated local program by imposing new duties upon local agencies." 

But according to the text of the new law, local agencies such as governments and school districts will now also be on the hook for the cost of these programs.

"The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state," the text reads. "This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons."

The bill escapes the constitutional mandate for state reimbursement in it's final paragraph by stating that local agencies are able to collect fees in order to cover any new costs associated with the waste collection programs:

"No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution 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..."

The goal of the measure, according to Huff is to discourage illegal dumping and reduce the waste stream to local landfills.

“Current law requires that all hazardous waste must be transported immediately to sometimes remote hazardous waste disposal facilities, which is burdensome and adds cost,” Huff said in a prepared statement. “Although many cities currently operate hazardous waste collection facilities, the sad fact is these programs are often underutilized because their locations attract only a limited number of residents." 

According to Huff, the intent of the law is to make the collection process easier, and in turn encourage more families to take advantage of the programs.