Senate committee hears SB 526 to tighten dust controls at aggregate recycling facilities near homes and parks

Sen. Menjivar told the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality SB 526 directs the South Coast Air Quality Management District to update Rule 1157 to strengthen protections at aggregate recycling and processing sites located near sensitive receptors.

Menjivar described conditions in parts of her district — photos shown to the committee depict large stockpiles of crushed concrete and asphalt within a few hundred feet of parks and homes — and said current Rule 1157 has not been updated since 2006. “If your stockpile is 20 feet higher than your fence, what's the point of your fence?” she asked.

Students from UCLA’s California Environmental Legislation Clinic presented technical research backing the bill. Maya Huel Hernandez and Ian Bertrando described frequent dust exposures, health risks to children and the elderly, and concluded that only a few dozen of hundreds of facilities would be within the bill’s 500‑foot threshold for the most stringent controls. Their suggestions included fence-line monitoring, pile enclosures and an 8‑foot maximum pile height for facilities within 500 feet of a sensitive receptor.

Lead opponents included Calcema (California Construction and Industrial Materials Association), which cautioned the committee that a regionwide change could disrupt construction supply chains and that a thorough air-quality analysis should precede a district‑wide rule change. Calcema noted the South Coast mobile monitoring program and argued that targeted local enforcement and investigations of specific facilities would be preferable to a regionwide regulatory overhaul.

Committee members acknowledged the photographs and community concerns and encouraged continued work with South Coast AQMD. The author accepted committee amendments and said she would continue discussions with stakeholders. The committee later advanced SB 526 on a recorded vote.