Bill > SB594

This bill addresses the process for issuing waste discharge permits for new Class III landfills (non-hazardous solid waste disposal sites) with a focus on environmental justice considerations. The bill requires county boards of supervisors to hold a public hearing to evaluate whether a proposed landfill is consistent with the county's environmental justice element of its general plan. Before a state agency can issue a waste discharge permit, the county must submit a summary of its evaluation and any public comments to the regional water board. If a county has not adopted an environmental justice element, the local enforcement agency must consider environmental justice indicators like CalEnviroScreen data (a tool that identifies disadvantaged communities based on pollution burden and population characteristics) when assessing potential disproportionate impacts on environmental justice communities. An environmental justice community is defined as an area with a Pollution Burden score in the 90th percentile according to CalEnviroScreen. The bill also includes a provision that if the Commission on State Mandates determines the act imposes additional costs on local agencies, the state will reimburse those agencies for their mandated expenses.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Budget and Finance

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB594