Article 11.8. Hazardous Waste Reduction, Recycling, And Treatment of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 20. >> Chapter 6.5. >> Article 11.8.

This article shall be known and may be cited as the Hazardous Waste Reduction, Recycling, and Treatment Research and Demonstration Act of 1985.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the department' s duty to implement this article is contingent upon, and limited to, the availability of funding.
  (b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to Section 25244.4.

(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that, whenever possible, the generation of hazardous waste is to be reduced or eliminated as expeditiously as possible, and that waste that is generated should be recycled, treated, or disposed of in a manner that minimizes any present or future threats to human health or the environment.
  (b) The Legislature further finds that there exists many promising, but as yet unproven, technologies for the reduced generation of hazardous waste and for recycling and treating hazardous waste.
  (c) The Legislature further finds that financial commitment by public agencies and private industry for the expeditious development and dispersion of hazardous waste reduction, recycling, and treatment technologies depends upon further research as well as credible and timely demonstrations of the feasibility, environmental acceptability, and reliability of this technology.
  (d) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this article, to promote the research, development, and expeditious demonstration of technologies which have the potential to reduce, recycle, and treat hazardous waste. It is further the intent of the Legislature to encourage private sector participation in this program to the greatest extent possible.

For purposes of this article, "hazardous waste reduction, recycling, and treatment technologies" mean technologies and techniques which have, as their primary purpose, the reduced generation of hazardous waste, the recycling of hazardous waste, or the conversion of hazardous waste into a less hazardous form. "Hazardous waste reduction, recycling, and treatment technologies" do not include solidification or treatment occurring directly in, or on, the land, such as techniques using evaporation, surface impoundments, or land farming.

Every generator of hazardous waste shall submit a report to the department, at least once every two years, reporting the changes in volume and toxicity of waste achieved through waste reduction during the period for which the report is issued.

(a) The department shall establish a Hazardous Waste Technology, Research, Development, and Demonstration Program, which shall consist of all of the following elements:
  (1) Contracting with, and providing grants to, universities, governmental agencies, and private organizations for the research and development of hazardous waste reduction, recycling, or treatment technologies pursuant to Section 25244.10.
  (2) Providing grants, under specified conditions, to cities, counties, and private organizations for the commercial demonstration of hazardous waste reduction, recycling, or treatment technologies pursuant to Section 25244.6.
  (3) Providing grants to local governments for the development of local hazardous waste reduction programs which provide technical assistance, including hazardous waste audits, to generators pursuant to Section 25244.1101.
  (b) (1) For purposes of this subdivision, "commercially successful technology" means a hazardous waste reduction, recycling, or treatment technology which is proven to be profitable, as determined by the department.
  (2) The department shall require any university, governmental agency, or private organization which receives a grant pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) to agree to repay the department for the amount of the grant, if the grant results in the development of a commercially successful technology, and to additionally pay the department a percentage of any royalties derived from that technology, as negotiated between the department and the grant recipient.
  (3) The department shall deposit any repayments or royalties received by the department pursuant to this subdivision in the Hazardous Waste Control Account, and those funds may be expended by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to carry out this article.

The department, in consultation with the State Water Resources Control Board, the State Air Resources Board, and the California Waste Management Board, shall do all of the following:
  (a) Implement a program to research, develop, and demonstrate hazardous waste reduction, recycling, and treatment technologies at appropriate locations throughout the state.
  (b) On or before January 1, 1987, and, in consultation with industry and interested parties, adopt criteria for selecting projects which would receive grants to pay for the construction of equipment which would be used to demonstrate hazardous waste reduction, recycling, or treatment technologies. The criteria shall include provisions which require that, in assessing each project, the department consider the feasibility of the project's particular technology, the research and technical spinoffs likely to be generated by the project, the degree to which the findings of the projects can be disseminated and evaluated for replication elsewhere, and the consistency of, and contributions of, the project to the state's hazardous waste management program.
  (c) Using the criteria adopted pursuant to subdivision (b), select projects to receive grants to construct equipment which would be used to demonstrate hazardous waste reduction, recycling, or treatment technologies. A grant issued by the department pursuant to this section is not subject to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 10290) of Part 2 of the Public Contract Code, including, but not limited to, Section 10295 of the Public Contract Code, or Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 4525) of Division 5 of Title 1 of the Government Code. The department shall select projects which also meet at least one of the following requirements:
  (1) The project has onsite, as well as offsite potential, for the reduction, recycling, or treatment of hazardous waste.
  (2) The project has the potential to benefit, or be utilized by, small businesses.
  (3) The project is applicable to a range of industries.

Consistent with Article VII of the California Constitution, the department may contract for services to be performed to carry out this article, including, but not limited to, environmental control assessment, feasibility analysis, the review of project design, field management responsibilities, and project scheduling and control.

Grant funding for equipment construction needed for demonstration of hazardous waste reduction, recycling, and treatment technologies shall be provided to projects selected pursuant to Section 25244.6 in four consecutive steps:
  (a) Step I grants shall be made to study the feasibility of a proposed project. Ninety percent of the costs of the feasibility study shall be eligible for grant funding up to a maximum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per grant. In activities funded by a step I grant, the applicant shall develop information needed to select the waste reduction, recycling, or treatment alternative, which would be most cost-effective.
  (b) Step II grants shall be made for project design. Seventy percent of the costs of the design of the project shall be eligible for grant funding, except that a small business may be eligible for 90 percent of those costs, up to a maximum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per grant. In activities funded by a step II grant, the applicant shall prepare detailed plans and specifications for the selected facilities, establish schedules for implementation, and obtain necessary permits.
  (c) Step III grants shall be made for the construction of the facilities. Fifty percent of the costs of constructing the project shall be eligible for grant funding, except that a small business may be eligible for 80 percent of those costs, up to a maximum of four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) per grant. As a condition of receiving a step III grant, the grantee shall allow the results of the project to be evaluated and the information disseminated to other parties. In activities funded by a step III grant, the applicant shall construct the facilities as designed under a step II grant, procure needed equipment, and obtain necessary permits to operate the facility.
  (d) Step IV grants shall be made to evaluate the effectiveness of grant-funded facilities, develop information on compliance with regulatory permits, and assess applicability of the selected approach to other generators of similar hazardous wastes. Ninety percent of the costs of those activities shall be eligible for grant funding, except that a small business may be eligible for 100 percent of those costs, up to a maximum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per grant.

The department shall compile the results of all evaluations of projects funded by step IV grants, as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 25244.8, or the evaluations of any other project which are available to the department, and shall make them available to interested parties as expeditiously as possible. The department shall notify any interested party of the availability of project evaluations.

The department may issue grants to, and enter into contracts with, universities, governmental agencies, and private organizations to research and develop hazardous waste reduction, recycling, or treatment technology. These grants may be applied to personnel, equipment, and administrative costs and shall, to the extent possible, be used to augment other sources of research and development funding, including federal and private funds. Any grant issued by the department pursuant to this section is not subject to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 10290) of Part 2 of the Public Contract Code, including, but not limited to, Section 10295 of the Public Contract Code, but a contract entered into pursuant to this section is subject to all applicable state laws governing contracts.