California Air Resources Board

Defines pyrolysis in the Public Resources Code as the thermal decomposition of material at elevated temperatures in the absence or near absence of oxygen. Requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to include pipeline biomethane converted from organic waste as eligible for procurement credit by local jurisdictions by January 1, 2027.

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Requires CARB to amend its regulations on methane emissions from a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill to establish requirements for the monitoring of landfill gas temperature and requires the operator of an MSW landfill to monitor landfill gas temperature in accordance with CARB regulations. The bill also requires the California Department of Recycling and Resource Recovery (CalRecycle), on or before July 1, 2027, to establish minimum guidelines and coordinate with CARB to ensure consistency with CARB's methane regulation, and consider existing federal, State, and local guidance and stakeholder expertise to identify and manage subsurface elevated temperature events and minimum standards for a corrective action plan. The bill also requires tiered action if the gas temperature reaches 131 F, 146 F, or 170 F for a specified time frame. If an operator of an MSW landfill fails to provide notice of a sustained gas temperature within the specified timeframe, the bill authorizes CalRecycle or a local enforcement agency to impose a penalty of $10,000 per day and other penalties, as specified. The bill requires all penalties to be deposited into the Landfill Subsurface Fire Mitigation Account, which the bill creates, to be used upon appropriation by the Legislature to mitigate harm to a person or community adversely affected by a solid waste landfill, as specified. This bill makes an operator of an MSW landfill liable to CalRecycle and the local enforcement agency for their costs, as specified. Moved to the Senate Inactive File.

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Allows CARB to adopt and enforce rules and regulations for indirect sources of emissions. Within 120 days of statewide indirect source rule (ISR) adoption, air districts would determine if the district or CARB will implement and enforce the regulations within air the district. If the air district elects to implement and enforce a statewide ISR, it must propose regulations enacting those measures no later than six months following CARB's ISR adoption. The air district could, at any time, adopt and enforce more stringent indirect source regulations than the regulations adopted by CARB. The bill allows CARB to establish a schedule of fees on facilities and mobile sources to cover the reasonable costs of implementing and enforcing the regulations and requires the fees to be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund and made available to CARB upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill also requires CARB to prepare an annual presentation on the impacts and effects of any ISRs that it adopts. Was not heard on the Assembly Floor.

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Extends the rural jurisdiction exemption until 2037 for organic waste collection under California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery regulations pursuant to SB 1383’s (Lara, Chapter 395, Statutes of 2016) Short-lived Climate Pollutant Strategy and changes how population is calculated for organic waste procurement targets, among several other provisions that reduce the stringency of organic waste regulations.

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Would have eliminated the requirement for CARB to credit dairy methane projects for a minimum of 10 years and prohibited CARB from guaranteeing those credits if they would not otherwise generate credits in the program. The bill also would have required CARB to include new specific emissions when calculating a carbon intensity value for dairy methane projects, limited credit generation to historical herd size, and required public disclosure of specified information in fuel pathway applications from dairy methane projects. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Would have replaced the term “natural gas” with the term “methane” throughout California statute. Was not heard in the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications.

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Would have exempted portions of a county from the state’s organic waste collection requirements if a majority of property owners protest organic waste collection fees under Proposition 218.Failed passage in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

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Would have required California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to consider alternatives to census tracts, as provided, when deciding the boundaries of a low-population or elevation waiver for organic waste jurisdictional targets under the Short-lived Climate Pollutants Strategy organic waste regulations. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Requires the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to develop a Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) for small and medium compost facilities under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by January 1, 2027, and specifies that the PEIR shall streamline the process with which jurisdictions can develop and site compost facilities.

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Would have required the Office of Planning and Research to develop a technical advisory on best practices to facilitate the siting of compost facilities and would have required cities and counties to consider updating the land use element to identify areas for siting compost facilities. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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