SB 1046 Highlights California’s Need for Additional Composting Capacity and Streamlined Review of Organics Recovery Projects

To avoid environmental credits holding up composting projects, CalRecycle would be wise to look at air permitting as part of its programmatic EIR.

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): California Senate Bill (SB) 1383, which took effect January 1, 2022, was hailed as one of the state’s most significant pieces of environmental legislation in decades. The law was created to combat climate change by helping to achieve “a reduction in the statewide emissions of methane by 40 percent, hydrofluorocarbon gases by 40 percent, and anthropogenic black carbon by 50 percent below 2013 levels by 2030.” To do so, it requires 75 percent of green waste and organics to be collected, recovered, and diverted away from landfills.

In the years since SB 1383 took effect, however, it has become clear that California lacks both the physical and regulatory infrastructure to meet SB 1383’s steep diversion requirements. To meet SB 1383’s recovery rate, the state simply needs more commercial composting facilities. Unfortunately, overly stringent permitting requirements, including another environmental law—the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)—have held up new composting facilities, and thereby, constrained municipalities’ ability to comply with SB 1383.

CEQA and SB 1046
Here is the rub: we need more capacity to recover organic waste material and we need more composting capacity. To achieve that, new projects need to comply with CEQA before they can commence operations.

CEQA unfortunately adds red tape where we need to streamline permitting. CEQA requires the preparation and completion of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on any proposed project that may have a significant effect on the environment. Even if an EIR is not required, other forms of environmental review may involve significant review time. Completing an EIR or other extensive review for each individual composting facility can be a lengthy, challenging endeavor, and one that has compromised the success of SB 1383.

As a result, in September 2024, California’s SB 1046 was enacted to streamline this process. SB 1046 requires CalRecycle to prepare and certify a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIR) applicable to all small and medium composting facilities by January 1, 2027. This PEIR, acting as an umbrella to all small and mid-sized facilities, would help relieve some of the permitting burden, allowing for swifter approval of much-needed composting facilities across the state. In short, SB 1046 is a necessary step in the right direction. However, CalRecycle will need to quickly prepare the PEIR to allow individual facilities to tier from it and assure quick buildout of the necessary recovery capacity.

Additional Measures Are Needed for Success
While SB 1046 could significantly reduce delays in the creation of new composting facilities, additional steps will likely be necessary to facilitate successful compliance with SB 1383 and support California’s environmental goals. Air permitting, for example, is another factor holding up SB 1383 composting projects in certain districts in California.

To construct and run a composting facility, operators often run into air permitting requirements that may delay or disrupt projects. For example, a natural byproduct of compost includes volatile organic compounds (VOCs), also called precursor organic compounds (POCs). In many air districts, composting projects will require VOC or POC credits. However, environmental credits are few and far between in certain districts, making it difficult to secure permitting and making it clear that additional permitting solutions are needed to streamline the process.

To avoid environmental credits holding up composting projects, CalRecycle would be wise to look at air permitting as part of its programmatic EIR. If that is not enough, then the state legislature should consider alternatives to allow another form of mitigation associated with these emissions.

Streamline the Process
SB 1383 was an ambitious piece of legislation that continues to make California a leader in environmental protection and sustainability. However, local governments are facing challenges to comply, mainly due to a lack of physical infrastructure and reasonable regulatory framework. SB 1046 and the completion of CalRecycle’s PEIR will hopefully go a long way towards fixing those issues, but will likely not solve the problem entirely without a comprehensive focus on the issues that may delay projects. For example, the State needs to also streamline air permitting requirements for composting and similar waste recovery projects. 2025 will be a critical year in the battle to meet SB 1383’s ambitious goals, and stakeholders must critically engage in the PEIR development process to make sure it provides the maximum extent of utility to individual projects that wish to streamline by its use. To truly succeed in battling climate change by sending less waste to landfills, state and local officials, regulatory agencies, and the recycling industry must continue streamlining the regulatory process. Environmental review should not get in the way of environmentally friendly projects.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com

• The Hidden Environmental Cost of Your Devices And Actionable Steps to Reduce It
• First NYC Commercial Waste Zone Fully Implemented
• City of Tacoma, WA Resumes Glass Recycling
• Allied Industrial Partners-Backed Waste Eliminator Acquires Enterprise Landfill and Phillips Recoveries