Hazardous materials: metal shredding facilities.

Senator Caballero, joined by a coalition of coauthors, advances a dedicated regulatory regime for metal shredding facilities that relocates oversight from generic hazardous-waste rules to a new, DTSC-led framework. The centerpiece is a prohibition on operating a metal shredding facility without a permit from the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) or a determination that the facility is deemed to have a permit. Existing facilities may continue operating while their permit applications move through a three-year decision window, subject to interim fire, pile-size, and related controls.

At the heart of the proposal is a comprehensive permit system and a suite of required plans and practices. Applicants must describe metal processing operations, provide an inspection plan for hammer mills and downstream equipment, and develop a fire prevention and response plan, a closure plan, a housekeeping plan, an inventory-management plan, a security plan, and a workforce training plan. Affected facilities must also submit an offsite transportation plan for metal shredder aggregate and CTMSR (chemically treated shredder residue), and demonstrate compliance with site-specific conditions. The department is to conduct at least one post-application site visit and hold a public meeting prior to permit approval, with information about applying facilities posted on the DTSC website.

The bill introduces a robust framework for ongoing oversight, including annual compliance evaluations, enforcement authority for DTSC (with referrals to district attorneys or the Attorney General as needed), and notification duties to local health officers and environmental health directors about unlawful disposals and enforcement actions. It imposes a broad set of testing, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements: facilities must certify reports under penalty of law, monitor certain hazardous-waste constituents at fence-lines, and maintain extensive documentation related to plans, inspections, training, and transport. Public engagement is embedded throughout permit processing, including pre-application meetings, progress updates, and a public-posting requirement for facility information.

To support implementation, the bill creates a dedicated Metal Shredding Facility Subaccount funded by new and annual fees paid by facilities. The fee regime is designed to cover DTSC and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment costs, with provisions for annual rate adjustments beginning in the 2027–28 fiscal year and a 25-percent deposit for permit applications. The subaccount would fund program administration and related oversight, and separate permit-application costs would be collected under a distinct permitting-fee arrangement. In addition, the measure requires financial assurance for closure and post-closure, sets standards for closure planning and timing, and prescribes requirements for the transport and disposal of chemically treated metal shredder residue, including shipping-document specifics and post-closure reporting. The author’s findings frame metal shredding as integral to a circular economy while emphasizing health, environmental protection, and equitable treatment of communities, including those designated as disadvantaged or vulnerable, within a statewide regulatory approach.