AB 1178 (Ma, 2011-12) - Prohibition on Local Disposal Limits

Summary. 
AB 1178 prohibits local governments from limiting disposal of imported waste.

Position and Status.
CAW Opposes.

AB 1178 is in Senate Environmental Quality Committee and will be eligible to be heard this year.

Description.
Landfills have a significant impact on the communities in which they are located, contributing to air pollution and ground water contamination, creating significant nuisances, and often leaving the jurisdiction on the hook for a sizable unassured financial liability after the closure of the landfill. Nonetheless, local governments are responsible for ensuring that their communities have 15 years of disposal capacity, and AB 1178 prohibits a community from approving a limited landfill expansion for the needs of that community—since the community would not be able to limit the importation of waste, the landfill capacity would go to the highest bidder.

Waste management has statewide ramifications and some urban areas—like San Francisco—may not have sufficient local disposal capacity to meet their needs, and regional waste planning would be hampered if every jurisdiction were to prohibit the importation of waste. However, in its current form, AB 1178 would limit the right of every jurisdiction in the state to control the type and size of disposal facility in their community, and the bill would be more appropriate if its scope were limited to non-disposal activities, such as recycling and composting, which do not face the same environmental and economic risks of landfills.

CAW Staff Contacts.
Nick Lapis (916) 443-5422

Assembly Member Fiona Ma 
State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814

Supporters.
Atlas Disposal Industries
Blue Line Transfer, Inc.
Bridgeport Sales and Service
Burrtec Waste Industries
Calasian Chamber of Commerce
California Association of Sanitation Agencies
California Teamsters
City of Fairfield 
City of Martinez
City of Napa
City of Vacaville
Commercial Fleet Services, Inc.
Consolidated Fabricators Corp.
County of Sacramento Board of Supervisors
County of San Bernardino
Davis Waste Removal
Desert Valley Disposal
East Bay Sanitation Company
EDCO Waste and Recycling Services
Elk Grove Waste Management
Freeman and Williams, LLP
Fremont Recycling and Transfer Station
Garaventa Enterprises
Garden City Sanitation, Inc.
Gilton Solid Waste Management, Inc.
Heffernan Insurance Brokers
Livermore Sanitation, Inc.
Marin Sanitary Service
Napa Recycling and Waste Services, LLC
National Solid Waste Management Association
Olympic Wire and Equipment, Inc.
Palm Springs Disposal Services
Palo Verde Valley Disposal Service
Recology, Inc.
Rehig Pacific Company
Sacramento Recycling and Transfer Station
Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority
Soft-Pak
Solano County Board of Supervisors
Solid Waste Insurance Managers
South Lake Refuse and Recycling
South San Francisco Scavenger Co.
Southern California Disposal and Recycling Co., 
Inc.
SSI Schaefer Systems International
Stockton Tri Industries, Inc.
Truck Lubrication Co., Inc.
Turlock Scavenger Company
Upper Valley Disposal and Recycling
Vacaville Chamber of Commerce
Varner Bros., Inc.
Varner and Sons, Inc.
Vence Consulting
Waste Connections, Inc.
Westhoff, Cone and Holmstedt

Opponents.
Californians Against Waste
Alameda County
California League of Conservation Voters
California Resource Recovery Association
Center of Biological Diversity
City of Glendale
City of Riverside
City of Rosemead
City of San Jose
Clean Water Action
Kern County Board of Supervisors
League of California Cities
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County Solid Management Authority
Merced County Regional Waste Management 
Authority
Natural Resources Defense Council 
North Valley Coalition
Northern California Recycling Association
Orange County Board of Supervisors
Planning and Conservation League
Riverside County Board of Supervisors
Sierra Club California
Solano County Orderly Growth Commission
Solid Waste Association of North America
Stopwaste.org
Sustainability, Parks, Recycling and Wildlife 
Legal Defense Fund
Western Placer Waste Management Authority
Yuba Group Against Garbage