Lawmakers press DTSC on permit backlog, fees and plan four years after SB 158

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 described fiscal stabilization steps after initial shortfalls under the restructured fee system. Butler said DTSC’s hazardous-waste revenues rose to $67 million last fiscal year from about $40 million previously, and the department reduced spending by roughly $18 million to improve fund condition. Raikstra warned the generation-and-handling fee baseline used after SB 158 proved too low and that the board will vote soon on fee rates for fiscal years 2025–26, constrained by a 10% statutory reserve limit.

Both officials said DTSC met the statutory deadline for a draft Hazardous Waste Management Plan and has revised the plan in response to public comment. Butler and Raikstra said the board removed a proposed provision to divert certain metal-contaminated soils to municipal landfills after public concern and planned a revised draft for September with a final board vote anticipated in November.

Permitting remained a focal point. Butler acknowledged a long backlog of expired permits and described issuing a draft renewal for the Buttonwillow Clean Harbors landfill as clearing some of the longest-standing continued permits. She said two recent renewals were issued for five years rather than the typical 10 "to provide an earlier checkpoint" given those facilities’ compliance histories.

Lawmakers pressed for specifics on whether home sites affected by recent Los Angeles fires are safe for rebuilding; Butler said residential sites are "substantively complete" while some commercial properties still require action and survivors should employ environmental professionals where elevated levels are found.

Advocates and some committee members pressed DTSC on the pace of work and transparency. Earthjustice attorney Angela Johnson Mazaros told the committee that, despite reforms, "the challenges of yesterday persist" and urged legislative action to accelerate protective measures. Community members during public comment said DTSC has not always incorporated independent science and asked the board and department to expand community access, accept outside data and increase enforcement authority where necessary.

Raikstra described the board’s oversight role — setting fee rates, holding public hearings, and hearing permit appeals — and noted the board does not have inspection or enforcement authority; that power remains with DTSC. He said the board is developing program-level performance metrics and expects to release a draft performance evaluation of DTSC in November.

The hearing did not produce formal committee actions; chairs said they may hold further briefings and urged continued collaboration between the department, board, stakeholders and the legislature.