CEQA

AB 52 (Gatto) – Concerns
As Amended May 30, 2013
 
AB 52, by Assembly Member Mike Gatto, would treat “tribal cultural resources” differently than any other resource with regards to the CEQA process. Specifically, the bill in print would:

Require a lead agency to consult with affected Native American tribes prior to determining whether a negative declaration or environmental impact report (EIR) is required for a project pursuant to CEQA.
Require a public agency to find that a project may have a “significant effect on the environment” if a proposed project may have a significant effect on a “tribal cultural resource,” including a sacred place.
Require, on or before January 1, 2015, OPR to prepare and develop CEQA Guidelines that “help preserve and protect, or mitigate impacts to, tribal cultural resources
Add a “tribal cultural resource” to the definition of a “unique archaeological resource” under CEQA.
Establish that a project may have a significant effect on the environment if the project has the potential to cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a tribal cultural resource.
Require the lead agency to engage in early consultation with the affected tribe before or during the environmental review process to resolve the potentially adverse impacts of a Project.

CSAC, along with our local government partners, are sensitive to ensure that our land use planning and decision-making processes respect and preserve, to the extent possible, Native American sacred sites; however, we have numerous concerns with the approach taken by AB 52 and its effects on local land use authority. CSAC has had conversations with the author’s office and they will be taking more amendments to the bill, some of which would alleviate lead agency concerns. The bill has not yet been set for a policy committee hearing. 
 
SB 731 (Steinberg) – Oppose Unless Amended
As Amended August 5, 2013
 
SB 731, by Senator Darrell Steinberg, passed out of the Assembly Local Government Committee this week. As you may recall, this bill would make several changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This bill continues to be the main vehicle for the CEQA reform discussion taking place within the Legislature. CSAC, along with a coalition of public agencies, including the California Special Districts Association (CSDA), the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), and the Urban Counties Caucus (UCC) have identified several issues with the bill and are seeking amendments to SB 731. To view a copy of our letter, visit the CSAC website. 
Solid Waste
 
AB 1126 (Gordon) – Support if Amended
As Amended August 14, 2013
 
AB 1126, by Assembly Member Rich Gordon and Assembly Member Kevin Mullin, would define several terms to provide clarity and a permitting pathway for solid waste conversion technology facilities that process municipal solid waste. While CSAC supports the concept of the bill and select provisions, we do have concerns with the way certain terms are defined that appear to be exclusive to combustion facilities. For example, in order to be considered an Engineered Municipal Solid Waste (EMSW) conversion facility, a facility and its process must meet certain requirements including “the conversion is efficient and maximizes the net calorific value and burn rate of the waste.” This provision appears to be exclusive to combustion facilities. In addition, facilities are limited to 500 tons per day. We believe there is a difference between combustion and non-combustion conversion processes, and support amendments that would refine the definition of EMSW conversion to reflect those differences by explicitly identifying the processes that would fall under this classification and differentiate between combustion and non-combustion solid waste conversion. This bill will be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee next week. 
 
SB 804 (Lara) – Support
As Proposed to be Amended 
 
SB 804 (Lara), the CSAC/ LA County co-sponsored measure on biomass and conversion technology, passed out of the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee this week. As you recall, this bill would add conversion technologies to the definition of biomass, enabling the use of thermal, chemical and biological technologies to process biomass, establishing a clear regulatory pathway for these technologies, while providing them the same status afforded to biomass facilities in state law. In addition, the bill clarifies that anaerobic digestion be treated the same as composting for the purpose of permitting and siting facilities. 
 
The Committee requested, and Senator Lara accepted, amendments that would require CT facilities processing biomass to cause no net increase in air emissions or greenhouse gas emissions, remove all recyclable materials (to the maximum extent feasible) from the biomass waste stream before processing, and allow for Cal Recycle to inspect biomass facilities to ensure the facilities are only processing the intended biomass materials. The bill has been referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee

Medical Marijuana

SB 459 (Steinberg) – Watch
As Amended August 5, 2013
 
SB 439, by Senator Darrell Steinberg, would exempt medical-marijuana collectives and cooperatives from criminal liability for possession, cultivation, possession for sale, sale, transport, importation, and furnishing marijuana, as well as, for maintaining a place, or knowingly providing a place for selling or furnishing marijuana.  The bill also clarifies Medical Board of California (MBC) enforcement of MM recommendations, what constitutes unprofessional conduct, and the bar on the corporate practice of medicine. This bill is not yet set for a policy committee hearing in the Assembly and it is unclear at this point if the bill will move forward.