2001 Annual Report: Cross-Media Coordination

In 2001, the Board increased its resources invested in issues and problems that bridge environmental strata and traditional agency responsibilities. Colocation with other Cal/EPA boards, departments, and offices is a significant contributing factor to this trend towards improved coordination on cross-media issues.

On this page...

• Environmental Justice
• Electronics Waste
• Nonpoint Source Pollution
• Organics Regulatory Issues
• Landfill Study

Environmental Justice
The Board has participated since the summer of 2000 in the Cal/EPA working group established pursuant to SB 115 (Solis, Chapter 690, Statutes of 1999) to develop a draft model mission statement to guide the development of Cal/EPA boards' and departments' program plans in the environmental justice area, and the draft list of program elements the plans should address. An internal working group is providing input into the Cal/EPA process and advising staff in preparing options for the Board’s plan.

Board staff incorporated statewide demographic and tribal information from the 1990 Census into the mapping portion of the California Waste Stream Profiles system, which is an Internet-based high-level summary portal of solid waste information by jurisdiction. This allows the user to access both tribal and demographic information relative to any facility of interest. Data from the 2000 Census will be on-line in 2002.

In October 2001, the Board directed its staff to implement a variety of actions to address environmental justice concerns. These items include incorporating environmental justice into grant, loan, and contract evaluation criteria, as well as expanded outreach and public information efforts. Staff is identifying potential activities in the permitting and inspection program for the Board’s future consideration.

The Board adopted its 2001 Strategic Plan in November. The plan includes a commitment to environmental justice in the values element, committing the Board to act in a manner that ensures the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and income levels; to reach out to California’s diverse communities and include their input in policy and decision making; and to reduce or eliminate any disproportionate impacts of pollution identified. The plan also includes a specific goal to ensure the integration of environmental justice concerns into all of the Board’s programs and activities.

Finally, the Board approved $35,000 in February 2001 to conduct a study of minority communities and the waste stream, and has set aside $300,000 to fund minority community outreach efforts and to develop and implement a program evaluation model through the use of standardized guidelines.

Electronics Waste
Widely regarded as the fastest growing component of the municipal waste stream, discarded electronic products—e-wastes—are presenting both challenges and opportunities to government and industry. Increasing e-waste generation is due to advances in technology, reductions in price, and the general pervasiveness of electronic products in modern life. An estimated half-billion computers in the U.S. may become obsolete and require disposal options within the next five years.

While regulatory issues associated with hazardous materials used in the manufacture of computers, monitors, and other gadgets are being revisited by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), the Board has established an electronics Web site to provide up-to-date information to local government and California residents on how to safely these materials.

In 2001, the Board commissioned a baseline study to assess the scope of the issue and the development of procurement and end-of-life management guidelines. The baseline study estimated that more than six million potentially hazardous old computer monitors and televisions are now being stored in California homes, and identified a gap between the current processing capacity for these products and the projected volume of their diversion in 2006.

In 2001, the Board focused on three major areas to address e-waste:

• Participating in the National Electronic Product Stewardship Initiative (NEPSI).
• Collaborating with DTSC on regulations and outreach to affected groups.
• Developing information on reuse, recycling, and disposal options for e-waste to address local government needs and presenting that information on the electronics Web site.

In 2002, the Board will continue its participation in the NEPSI dialog, help electronic equipment recycling businesses expanding or building new facilities in California with its Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ) program and RMDZ loans, and assist local efforts to collect e-waste through household hazardous waste grants. In addition, the Board will expand data collection and information dissemination efforts concerning e-waste issues, including expansion of its electronic equipment reuse Web site.

Nonpoint Source Pollution
Nonpoint source pollution of surface and ground waters remains one of the most challenging environmental problems in the state. The Board is helping to address this problem by promoting sustainable landscaping and agricultural practices, which accomplish multiple cross-media objectives, including landfill diversion, increased efficiency of water use, erosion control, and decreased runoff, and by funding pilot stormwater cleanup projects that will keep solid wastes out of waterways. In 2001, the Board:

• Received draft reports on two projects it sponsored to demonstrate the use of mulch in hillside vineyard erosion control; the findings will be disseminated to vineyard operators and local governments around the state.
• Accepted a $50,000 Pollution Prevention Incentives for States (PPIS) grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop landscape design/water use guidelines and to distribute, in the North Natomas area of Sacramento, educational materials promoting environmentally beneficial landscape management practices.
• Participated in working groups on manure and biosolids management issues that have nonpoint source pollution aspects.
• Coordinated with the State Water Resources Control Board on finalizing the state’s nonpoint source pollution plan and seeking funding for related erosion control, biosolids, and manure management projects.
• Awarded $1.25 million in matching grants to the cities of Malibu and Santa Monica for projects to keep trash out of Malibu Lagoon and Ballona Creek. Both are tributaries to Santa Monica Bay and are major sources of contamination that plagues beaches in the area.

Organics Regulatory Issues
The Board is actively engaged in many key regulatory issues related to organic materials management. These include responding to the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) proposed rule 1133 on composting and coordinating this response with the composting industry. Rule 1133 could have devastating effects on California diversion efforts. Collecting scientific data on compost facility emissions was initiated in the last months of 2001 to enable the Board and the district to develop a rule that protects air quality without compromising statutory diversion mandates. The Board also conducted several workshops on alternative daily cover (ADC) issues, received the first draft of a Board-sponsored research study on the use of wood ash to control odor problems at composting facilities, and approved initiation of the formal rulemaking process to amend its composting regulations.

The Board will continue its leadership on organics regulatory issues and will conduct a new round of training for local enforcement agencies and compost operators in spring 2002. It also will continue to monitor the issue of persistent herbicides in compost and work with herbicide manufacturers, the composting industry, and the Department of Pesticide Regulation to resolve outstanding problems.

Landfill Study
In 2000, the Board commissioned a unique, cross-media study of municipal solid waste landfills in the state to determine if current regulations effectively protect the environment for both the short and the long terms. It is the most comprehensive inventory ever undertaken of California landfills, involving multiple regulatory agencies in measuring the overall environmental effects of solid waste disposal in California. A key objective of the study is to have a complete picture of landfill performance today.

Initially, the study will provide an exhaustive databank on more than 240 existing facilities, including their physical features, the environmental protection systems in place, and their compliance with environmental requirements. Further, the study will analyze the design and operation of over 50 landfills—including sites that handled waste before federal regulatory changes in 1993—to assess the effectiveness of current regulations in controlling environmental impacts over time. The study will recommend ways to improve landfill operations to ensure greater environmental protection.

As part of the study efforts, the Board’s contractor will review regulations of other states and countries as well as emerging waste disposal technologies, which could lead to reforms in the way California manages the nearly 40 million tons of waste it landfills each year. Information on the status of the study is available on the Board’s Web site.

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