20250AB__103197AMD INTRODUCED 2025-02-20 AMENDED_ASSEMBLY 2025-03-24 AMENDED_ASSEMBLY 2025-04-23 2025 AB AMD Introduced by Assembly Member Jeff Gonzalez LEAD_AUTHOR ASSEMBLY Jeff Gonzalez

An act to amend

Section 25205.5 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to hazardous waste. hazardous waste Hazardous waste control laws: exemption: geothermal resources. The hazardous waste control laws require the Department of Toxic Substances Control to regulate the handling and management of hazardous waste and hazardous materials. Existing law requires a generator of hazardous waste to pay to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration a generation and handling fee for each generator site, and requires the Board of Environmental Safety to establish a

schedule of rates for the fee, as provided. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime. Existing law generally exempts geothermal waste that is generated from the exploration, development, or production of geothermal energy and that does not result from drilling for geothermal resources from the hazardous waste control laws.

Existing law limits that exemption under various circumstances, including, among other circumstances, when the waste is no longer contained in a piping system, nonearthen trench, or other specified form of containment, or is left in a lined surface impoundment months after the date the surface impoundment has last received waste. This bill would limit the generation and handling fee rate for geothermal waste that is not exempt from the hazardous waste control laws to no more than $10 per ton.

This bill would expand the scope of the geothermal waste exemption by deleting the limits of that exemption, as described above.</xhtml:p>"?> MAJORITY NO YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION

Section 25205.5 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 25205.5. (a)

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a generator of hazardous waste shall pay to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration a generation and handling fee for each generator site that generates an amount equal to, or more than, five tons for each calendar year, or portion of the calendar year. (2) (

A) For the 2022–23 fiscal year, the fee rate shall be forty-nine dollars and twenty-five cents ($49.25) for each ton or fraction of a ton of hazardous waste generated in calendar year 2021. (

B) Commencing January 1, 2026, the fee rate for geothermal waste not exempt from this

chapter pursuant to

Section 25143.1 shall not exceed ten dollars ($10) for each ton.

(3) Commencing July 1, 2023, the fee rates established pursuant to

Section 25205.5.01 shall apply to each ton, including the first five tons, or fraction of a ton rounded up to the next nearest ton, of hazardous waste generated.

(4) For purposes of calculating the amount of the fee imposed pursuant to paragraph (1), a generator of hazardous waste that is issued a hazardous waste facilities permit from the department and that pays the annual facility fee, as specified in

Section 25205.2, may deduct, from the amount of hazardous waste otherwise subject to this subdivision that is generated per calendar year, the amount of hazardous waste that is stored, bulked, and transferred solely through the location of the permitted hazardous waste facility and that is in route to another facility that is authorized to do any of the following: (

A) Manage the hazardous waste for reclamation and recovery, including fuel blending before energy recovery at another site. (

B) Manage the hazardous waste through destruction methods or treatment before disposal at another site. (

C) Manage the hazardous waste by any form of treatment. (

D) Dispose of the hazardous waste. (

b) The fee imposed pursuant to this

section shall be paid in accordance with

Part 22 (commencing with

Section 43001) of Division of the Revenue and Taxation Code. (

c) This

section shall become operative on January 1, 2022, and applies to the generation and handling fees imposed pursuant to subdivision (

a) for hazardous waste generated on or after January 1, 2021. <caml:Num>SECTION 1.</caml:Num><caml:ActionLine action="IS_AMENDED" xlink:href="urn:caml:codes:HSC:caml#xpointer(%2Fcaml%3ALawDoc%2Fcaml%3ACode%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'DIVISION'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'20.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'CHAPTER'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'6.5.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'ARTICLE'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'4.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawSection%5Bcaml%3ANum%3D'25143.1.'%5D)" xlink:label="fractionType: LAW_SECTION" xlink:type="locator">Section 25143.1 of the <caml:DocName>Health and Safety Code</caml:DocName> is amended to read:</caml:ActionLine><caml:Fragment><caml:LawSection id="id_9DF3F7B5-E36D-4240-8E00-B065F34BE0BB"><caml:Num>25143.1.</caml:Num><caml:LawSectionVersion id="id_5E9DED00-77FA-4B5A-B8C9-7EBADC5DB5A3"><caml:Content><xhtml:p>(a)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Geothermal waste resulting from drilling for geothermal resources is exempt from the requirements of this

chapter because the disposal of these geothermal wastes is regulated by the California regional water quality control boards.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(b)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>(1)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Wastes from the extraction, beneficiation, and processing of ores and minerals that are not subject to regulation under the federal act are exempt from the requirements of this chapter, except the requirements of

Article 9.5 (commencing with

Section 25208), as provided in paragraph (2).</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(2)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The wastes subject to this subdivision are subject to

Article 9.5 (commencing with

Section 25208) and

Part 2 (commencing with

Section 78000) of Division if the wastes would otherwise be classified as hazardous wastes pursuant to

Section and the regulations adopted pursuant to

Section 25141.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(3)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>For purposes of this subdivision, the following

definitions shall apply:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(A)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>“Wastes from the extraction, beneficiation, and processing of ores and minerals” means any of the following:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(i)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Soil, waste rock, overburden, and other solid, semisolid, or liquid natural materials that are removed, unearthed, or otherwise displaced as a result of excavating or recovering an ore or a mineral.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(ii)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Residuals of ores or minerals after those ores or minerals have been removed, unearthed, or otherwise displaced from their natural sites and physically or chemically treated or otherwise managed in order to separate or concentrate the commercial product present in the ore or mineral, or processed to produce a final marketable product.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(iii)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Spent brine solutions that are used to produce geothermal energy and that are transferred, via a closed piping system, to an adjacent facility for reclamation, beneficiation, or processing to recover minerals or other commercial substances, if the spent brine solutions, and any liquid residuals derived from the solutions, satisfy all of the following conditions:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(I)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Are managed in accordance with the standards set forth in

Section 261.4(a)(17)(

i) to (iii), inclusive, of Title of the Code of Federal Regulations.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(II)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Are returned after processing, via closed piping.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(III)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Are not a solid or semisolid hazardous residuals. This subclause applies to materials that include, but are not limited to, filter cakes.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(B)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>“Minerals” has the same meaning as defined in

Section of the Public Resources Code.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(c)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>(1)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Geothermal waste, excluding filter cake, that is generated from the exploration, development, or production of geothermal energy and that does not result from drilling for geothermal resources, is exempt from the requirements of this chapter.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(2)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>This subdivision does not exempt hazardous waste that is either not directly associated with geothermal energy exploration, development, and production, or that is not exempted from the federal act pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (

b) of

Section 261.4 of Title of the Code of Federal Regulations, or both. Hazardous waste that is not exempted pursuant to this subdivision includes, but is not limited to, used oil generated from vehicles or the lubrication of machinery.</xhtml:p></caml:Content></caml:LawSectionVersion></caml:LawSection></caml:Fragment></caml:BillSection>"?>