Bill > AB411

This bill adds a new section to California's Food and Agricultural Code that allows farmers to compost livestock carcasses under specific conditions, despite previous regulations prohibiting the composting of unprocessed mammalian tissue. The bill establishes detailed requirements for such composting, including that it must follow best management practices developed collaboratively by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, and State Water Resources Control Board. These practices must address groundwater protection, public health, compost pile management, and collaboration with local enforcement agencies. The composting is limited to 100 cubic yards of material at a time, must occur on agricultural land owned or leased by the livestock owner, and can only involve carcasses from routine mortality events (natural deaths) or on-farm processing, excluding animals euthanized with barbiturates or those that died from reportable diseases or under quarantine. The operator must notify local enforcement and water quality agencies within 30 days of starting the composting operation, and the resulting compost can only be applied to agricultural sites owned or leased by the same owner, following the established best management practices.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Budget and Finance

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB411