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Lawmakers press DTSC on permit backlog, fees and plan four years after SB 158
Summary
At a joint oversight hearing, DTSC Director Katie Butler and Board Chair Andrew Raikstra described enforcement wins and fiscal improvements since SB 158 but acknowledged lingering permit delays, data gaps and a cautious pace on Safer Consumer Products.
At a joint oversight hearing convened by the Senate Environmental Quality Committee and the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, Department of Toxic Substances Control Director Katie Butler and Board of Environmental Safety Chair Andrew Raikstra outlined progress and remaining challenges implementing SB 158, the 2021 reform package.
Butler said she has centered the department on three priorities — stronger enforcement, improved community engagement and cross-agency collaboration — and highlighted enforcement actions that led to criminal charges in one case and a major order at a landfill. "Our goal with enforcement is always to bring a regulated entity into compliance," Butler said, noting cooperation with the Los Angeles district attorney in the Atlas Metals investigation that resulted in five felony counts and cleanup orders.
Butler and Raikstra…
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