California Air Resources Board

Summary

Would have updated the statewide refinery-related fence-line and community air monitoring program established by AB 1647 (Muratsuchi, Chapter 589, Statutes of 2017). The bill would have established statewide standards for the air monitoring program, including monitoring system capabilities, pollutants requiring monitoring, air quality control and assurance plans, third party audits, and data reporting. The bill also would have extended the air monitoring program deadline from January 1, 2020, to January 1, 2028, for updating or installing new air monitoring systems required by the bill. The bill would also have specified the type of refineries that are subject to the program, including biofuel refineries.

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Governor’s Veto Message

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 674 without my signature.

This bill would make several changes to the refinery fence-line air monitoring program, including expanding the program to include monitoring for biofuel refineries and additional pollutants, applying the program to contiguous or adjacent refinery-related facilities, increasing the standards for data quality, and providing new processes for notifying local communities.

California has some of the most stringent refinery air monitoring and pollution standards in the world. These standards have been developed and implemented by the state's local air quality management districts, and each of these districts possess the authority and technical expertise to update, expand and modify these standards according to the best available science.

While I share the author's desire to protect communities from air pollution, local air quality management districts are already carrying out the necessary action to do just that. Additionally, because this bill mandates these districts to implement highly prescriptive measures, it might be found to require state reimbursement of implementation costs at a time when we just recently closed a $44.9 billion shortfall for the 2024-25 fiscal year. There is no state funding identified or available in the state budget to support these efforts.

For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.

Sincerely,

Gavin Newsom

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Summary

Requires a local air district whose jurisdiction includes a metal shredding facility, in consultation with the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), to develop by January 1, 2027, requirements for facility-wide fence-line air quality monitoring at metal shredding facilities, as provided. The bill requires the local air district to, among other things, develop threshold levels for airborne contaminants in consultation with OEHHA, and to adopt regulations by July 1, 2027, to implement the requirements of the bill. The bill authorizes the local air district to be reimbursed for these costs pursuant to its fee authority. The bill requires DTSC to require metal shredding facilities to monitor and report hazardous waste constituents and requires DTSC to collect and analyze light fibrous material at the fence lines to determine the potential for release of hazardous waste. The bill requires DTSC, by July 1, 2027, to develop a community notification procedure, among other things.

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Summary

Establishes the Salton Sea Conservancy (Conservancy) within the California Natural Resources Agency to operate, maintain, and manage projects that are planned and built under the authority of the Salton Sea Management Program to fulfill the State's obligations under the State Water Resources Control Board Order WR 2017-0134. The bill creates a board of directors to govern the Conservancy and adds CARB as one of seven nonvoting ex officio members. Operation of the statute established by SB 583 is contingent upon passage by the voters of the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 at the November 2024 State election.

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Governor’s Signing Message

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am signing Senate Bill 583, which creates the Salton Sea Conservancy within the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) to operate, maintain, and manage projects that are planned or built under the authority of the Salton Sea Management Program.

The Salton Sea Management Program is committed to building 30,000 acres of habitat and dust suppression projects around the Salton Sea to improve air quality and provide critical environmental habitat for birds along the Pacific Flyway. As the first projects are near completion, the state will need to transition to the operation and maintenance of completed projects. This bill will centralize the operation and maintenance of these projects in a new, mission-focused conservancy, led by the state, with extensive local community involvement and partnership. Importantly, enactment of this bill is contingent upon passage by the voters of the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, placed on the November 2024 ballot.

I support this approach, which balances the creation of a new, mission-focused conservancy with viable and stable funding sources. In signing this bill, I expect that this conservancy will remain focused on fulfilling its primary objective - operation, maintenance, and management of Salton Sea restoration projects - without placing undue pressure on the state's General Fund.

Sincerely,
Gavin Newsom

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Summary

Allows local air districts, in support of Tribal sovereignty, to enter into written agreements with federally recognized California Native American Tribes to allow cultural burning in their ancestral territories without undergoing the permitting, regulatory, or administrative requirements for prescribed burning. In the event of a disagreement between a local air district and a tribe in developing or implementing an agreement, the Secretary for Environmental Protection must assist in resolving the disagreement. The bill authorizes the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to enter into written agreements with federally recognized California Native American tribes in support of tribal sovereignty with respect to cultural burning in their ancestral territories. The Secretary may agree in the written agreement that compliance with specified permitting or regulatory requirements is not required.

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Summary

Urges the United States Congress and President Biden to: 1) fully fund the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Comprehensive Infrastructure Solution for the Tijuana River due to the ongoing impacts to public health, the environment, and the local economy caused by cross-border pollution, and 2) include sufficient ongoing operation and maintenance funding for the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in future federal budgets and provide funding to address ongoing cross-border pollution impacting the New River. The measure also urges President Biden to declare a national emergency due to the ongoing impacts caused by cross-border pollution in the Tijuana River Valley..

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Summary

Would have required CARB to adopt regulations to improve air quality in population centers located in valleys and would have required each local air district to implement those regulations with regard to stationary sources located within its jurisdiction. The bill would have made those requirements inoperative on January 1, 2029, and would have required CARB, by January 1, 2030, to submit a report to the Legislature describing any air quality improvements resulting from those regulations. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have prohibited the County of Riverside, the County of San Bernardino, and jurisdictions therein from approving the development or expansion of any logistics use, as defined, that is adjacent to sensitive receptors, as defined, unless the local agency imposes certain requirements, as specified, including a minimum setback on the logistics use of 300 feet, if the logistics use consists of 400,000 or more square feet of building space, including, but not limited to, warehouses. Was not heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Summary

Would have required a fixed-mount generator to be classified as a stationary source and would have required CARB to adopt regulations consistent with that requirement. Was not heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

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Summary

Would have authorized a person or entity to petition CARB to exempt intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the prohibition that bars, beginning January 1, 2025, a person or entity from manufacturing, selling, delivering, holding, or offering for sale in commerce any cosmetic product that contains intentionally added PFAS. The bill would have authorized CARB, in consultation with the State Water Resources Control Board, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control, to exempt an intentionally added PFAS from that prohibition if CARB determined that the intentionally added PFAS meets specified qualifications. The bill also would have required the petitioner to provide specified information in their exemption petition to CARB, including the name of the intentionally added PFAS proposed for exemption, its intended end use, and its intended concentration in the proposed cosmetic product. Was not heard in the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee.

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Summary

Would have required CARB, by January 1, 2027, to conduct an analysis of credits identified in the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District’s (District) ledger of available emission reduction credits (ERCs) to determine if any credits were issued in violation of State, local, or district laws, rules, regulations, or procedures in place at the time of original issuance. The bill would have required CARB to submit a report to the Legislature summarizing the analysis results. The bill would have required the District to aggregate and make publicly available on its website specified information regarding permits issued during a specified 17-year span that would require or would have required the use of one or more ERCs. Was not heard on Assembly Concurrence.

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