BILL ANALYSIS
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 983
Author: Bowen (D)
Amended: 8/18/00
Vote: 21
PRIOR SENATE VOTES NOT RELEVANT
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 54-23, 8/25/00 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Hazardous substances: controlled substances
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : The provisions of this bill, as it left the
Senate, were deleted in the Assembly. As it left the
Senate, the bill would have updated the law relating to
commercial mobile radio service to reflect current
terminology and federal law.
This bill now directs the State Department of Toxic
Substances Control to develop regulations governing the
cleanup of illegal drug laboratories.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Charges the State Department of Toxic Substances Control
(DTSC) with conducting the "gross removal" of an illegal
drub lab as an emergency response to cleanup hazardous
substances that pose an immediate threat to public health
CONTINUED
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or safety. This portion of the cleanup is paid for by
general fund expenditures. Over $11.5 million in general
funds is budgeted for removal actions this year.
2.Allows the state to take civil action to recover the
expenses incurred for law enforcement actions, seizing
and destroying of substances, or taking remedial action.
3.Places the ultimate responsibility for further cleanup of
a former drug lab on the property owner. Supervision of
this "deep-cleaning" or "remedial action" is generally
left to designated local agencies (i.e., such as health
and human services departments, environmental health
division, hazardous materials division, fire
departments).
This bill:
1.Requires DTSC to adopt regulations, by January 1, 2002,
that set procedures and standards to be used by state and
local agencies conducting removal actions of a hazardous
material resulting from the manufacture of illegal
controlled substances. DTSC will consult with the Office
of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in developing
these standards.
2.Specifies that the regulations shall set a level of
cleanup that will protect the health and safety of future
occupants of the site.
Comments
This bill requires DTSC to develop and adopt uniform
procedures and standards for the cleanup of sites that have
been used (1) as a laboratory for manufacturing illegal
drugs, or (2) as a dumping ground for materials and waste
used by manufactures. By setting statewide,
scientifically-based standards for acceptable drug lab
cleanup levels, DTSC will establish a program that
designated local health and environmental agencies could
adopt and use.
Laboratories used to make substances such as
methamphetamine (meth) are frequently set up in residential
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sites including houses, apartment buildings, and even
motels. The chemicals used in the manufacture of illegal
substances, such as meth, present a variety of hazards,
both during the manufacture and after closure of the
laboratory.
The cleanup of sites that have been used as illicit
laboratories to make meth and other drugs is an issue of
growing concern in California. According to the Western
States Information Network, over the past two years,
Californian law enforcement has carried out the following
actions:
1998: 1717 Clandestine Drug Lab Seizures and 238 Dump Site
Removals
1999: 2034 Clandestine Drug Lab Seizures and 386 Dump Site
Removals
The author's office asserts that, while state and local
agencies may possess the legal authority to insist that a
property owner cleanup the site used as a drug lab, current
law provides them with no statewide cleanup guidance.
Without established procedures and standards, the author's
office feels that innocent people are at risk of being
harmed from the residue that's left behind by these
chemicals when the properties are rented or sold without
being adequately decontaminated.
Supporters of this bill feel that current coordination
between local law enforcement and local health departments
is haphazard, for instance:
1.Even though drug enforcement agencies are required by law
to inform local health officials within 24 hours of an
action that uncovers this type of contaminated property,
it can be weeks before they are notified. The author's
office cites an assessment by OEHHA which concludes that
the local health department generally isn't involved in
the cleanup and is concerned with the lengthy
notification process.
2.In some counties, the local health department simply
provides property owners with a list of "certified
industrial hygienists." The extent to which a "certified
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industrial hygienist" decides to cleanup a meth lab is
ultimately at his or her discretion.
The Alliance for Drug Endangered Children Resource Center
determined that chemicals found in meth labs are associated
with: cancer, short-term and permanent brain damage,
developmental and growth problems in children and teens,
reproductive system toxicity, internal and external
chemical burns, immune system problems, heart problems, and
respiratory system problems.
Other states have "established" safe levels for meth lab
residue. For instance, Washington will allow up to five
micrograms per square foot, while Oregon has set its level
at 0.5 micrograms per square foot.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to Assembly Appropriation Committee analysis,
minor one time costs of less than $75,000.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/28/00)
County of Riverside Department of Environmental Health
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/28/00)
Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The County of Riverside Department
of Environmental Health expresses a need for standards and
procedures that can be used to cleanup former sites used
for drug labs. They state that this bill will assist with
the development of the standards and procedures. This
issue has been included in the County's Legislative
Platform for the last several years.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Department of Finance
opposes this bill for the following reasons:
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1.The proposed regulations would be premature, prior to
additional scientific research on the appropriate level
of regulatory need.
2.Information is unavailable to demonstrate that more
general (and less costly and time-consuming to develop)
cleanup guidelines would be a less effective alternative
to the proposed regulations.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Alquist, Aroner, Bock, Calderon, Cardenas, Cardoza,
Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Cunneen, Davis, Dickerson,
Ducheny, Dutra, Firebaugh, Florez, Floyd, Gallegos,
Havice, Honda, Jackson, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Leach,
Lempert, Longville, Lowenthal, Machado, Maddox,
Maldonado, Mazzoni, Migden, Nakano, Olberg, Papan,
Pescetti, Reyes, Romero, Scott, Shelley, Steinberg,
Strom-Martin, Thomson, Torlakson, Villaraigosa, Vincent,
Washington, Wayne, Wesson, Wiggins, Wildman, Wright,
Hertzberg
NOES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Ashburn, Baldwin, Bates, Battin,
Baugh, Brewer, Briggs, Campbell, Cox, Granlund, House,
Kaloogian, Leonard, Margett, McClintock, Oller, Robert
Pacheco, Runner, Strickland, Thompson, Zettel
CP:cm 8/28/00 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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