AB 1311 Alternative Schedule Permanent Regulations
Summary
SCH Number
2025040952
Public Agency
California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
Document Title
AB 1311 Alternative Schedule Permanent Regulations
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
4/18/2025
Document Description
In 2021, the Legislature enacted Assembly Bill (AB) 1311 (Wood, Ch. 506, Statutes of 2021), which expands eligibility for certified recycling centers to operate on an alternative schedule other than the schedule established in Public Resources Code (PRC) section 14571(a)-(b) and allows CalRecycle to certify recycling centers with reduced hours. CalRecycle has developed proposed regulations to clarify the alternative schedule and reduced hours requirements and to establish administrative procedures to enable CalRecycle to fulfill its responsibilities under AB 1311.
Assembly Bill 1311 expands eligibility for certified recycling centers to operate on an alternative schedule other than the schedule established in PRC 14571(a)-(b) and allows CalRecycle to certify recycling centers with reduced hours. CalRecycle has developed regulations to establish administrative procedures to enable CalRecycle to fulfill its responsibilities under AB 1311.
Contact Information
Name
Craig Castleton
Agency Name
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
Job Title
Regulations Unit Supervisor
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Counties
Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba
Regions
Statewide
Other Location Info
Statewide
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Sections 15061(b)(3); 15378(a)
Reasons for Exemption
The adoption of the regulation is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a “project,” as that term is defined in the CEQA Guidelines (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, sections 15000 et. seq.). A “project” is an activity “which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment…” (CEQA Guidelines, section 15378(a)). The regulation only clarifies the language introduced by AB 1311 and implements application requirements for certified recyclers to operate on an alternative schedule or reduced schedule. The adoption of the regulation will have no direct effect on the environment and no reasonably foreseeable indirect effect on the environment. There are no requirements, standards, or targets set in the proposed regulation for environmental impacts on which to base an objective analysis of any potential impacts. To impute any general or specific environmental effects from the regulation would be entirely speculative, and CEQA does not require a lead agency to speculate as to the potential impacts of a project. Accordingly, the adoption of the regulation is exempt from consideration under CEQA. The adoption of the regulation also falls under the “general rule” or “common sense” exemption as defined in the CEQA Guidelines. The common sense exemption states that a project is not subject to CEQA where “it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment” (CEQA Guidelines, section 15061(b)(3)). For the same reasons that CalRecycle has determined that the regulation falls under the “not a project” exemption, it can also be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the regulation would result in a significant effect on the environment and is exempt from consideration under CEQA. In the alternative, if it is determined that the regulation is a “project,” there is no possibility that the activity in question will have a “significant effect on the environment,” which is defined by PRC section 21068 to only include adverse changes in the environment. This is because the regulation only makes minor changes to the operating hours of a small number of businesses, and therefore cannot possibly cause a substantial, or potentially substantial, adverse change in the environment.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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