The Overview

If you generate, ship, store, or treat hazardous materials in California, a new state law just changed the rules you have to follow. AB 2776 changes state rules on the storage, transport, and treatment of hazardous materials. ​

California's Hazardous Materials bill, became law when Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed it Sept. 20. The Golden State has long struggled with hazardous-waste oversight: a 2023 investigation by CalMatters found that 24 of 41 hazardous-waste sites examined had faced enforcement action since 2010, and 11 were operating with expired permits.

What the Law Does

The law updates several layers of California's hazardous-waste control rules, touching generators, shippers, tank owners, and businesses that handle industrial gases.

Small-quantity generators, those producing less than 1,000 kilograms of hazardous waste per month, no longer need to meet a separate set of state permit-exemption conditions; they now simply must comply with existing state regulations that set the same standards. The change removes a redundant layer of requirements for smaller producers without weakening the underlying rules.

When a shipping manifest goes missing, the required report must now go to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's electronic manifest system rather than directly to the state Department of Toxic Substances Control.

Compacting hazardous waste is now excluded from the legal definition of "treatment" under conditions that include: the waste is not a free liquid, is not a solid that exhibits ignitability or reactivity, the compaction does not change the waste beyond physical changes inherent to compaction, and the compaction does not cause fugitive dust, fire, or explosion.

Under AB 2776, owners and operators of tank facilities must immediately report any petroleum discharge into state waters, except discharges exempt under water control laws. Permitholders for underground tanks must return to compliance within 30 days of receiving an inspection report, replacing the 60-day deadline to file a plan, though local agencies may approve longer plans if they are received within 30 days. That cuts the response window in half for underground tank operators.

The law exempts specified gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and nitrous oxide, from the emergency-response business plan requirement for hazardous materials, as provided in the bill. The Board of Environmental Safety must now post its annual performance review of the Department of Toxic Substances Control on its website.

Legislative Status

The Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials authored the bill. Every recorded vote was unanimous: the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee passed it 7-0 on April 14, the Assembly Appropriations Committee passed it 14-0 on April 29, the full Assembly passed it 66-0 on May 7, the Senate passed it 40-0 on Aug. 30, and the Assembly concurred in Senate amendments 75-0 the same day.

---

AllCiv makes it easy to stay politically informed and involved.

---

Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article