Comment Period - Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Title 27, Section 27000
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) proposes amendments to Section 27000 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations[1] to update this regulation and incorporate 2016 amendments to the federal Toxic Substances Control Act.
PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS
Any written comments concerning this proposed action, regardless of the form or method of transmission, must be received by OEHHA by 5:00 p.m. on August 14, 2017, the designated close of the written comment period. All comments received will be posted on the OEHHA website at the close of the public comment period.
We encourage you to submit comments in electronic form, rather than in paper form. Comments may be submitted electronically to P65Public.Comments@oehha.ca.gov. Please include “Section 27000 Amendment” in the subject line. Comments submitted in paper form can be mailed, faxed, or delivered in person to the address below. Hard-copy comments may be mailed, faxed, or delivered in person to the address below.
Mailing Address: Ms. Monet Vela
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
P.O. Box 4010, MS-23B
Sacramento, California 95812-4010
Fax: (916) 323-2610
Street Address: 1001 I Street
Sacramento, California 95814
Please be aware that OEHHA is subject to the California Public Records Act and other laws that require the release of certain information upon request. Comments on all regulatory and other actions are routinely posted on our website. By sending us your comments you are waiving any right to privacy you may have in the information you provide. Individual commenters should advise OEHHA when submitting documents to request redaction of home address or personal telephone numbers. Names of commenters will not be redacted.
A public hearing on this proposed regulatory amendments will be scheduled on request. To request a hearing send an e-mail to Monet Vela at monet.vela@oehha.ca.gov or to the address listed above by no later than July 31, 2017, which is 15 days before the close of the comment period. OEHHA will mail a notice of the hearing to the requester and interested parties on the Proposition 65 mailing list for regulatory public hearings. The notice will also be posted on the OEHHA web site at least ten days before the public hearing date. The notice will provide the date, time, and location of the hearing.
If a hearing is scheduled and you have special accommodation or language needs, please contact Monet Vela at (916) 323-2517 or monet.vela@oehha.ca.gov at least one week in advance of the hearing. TTY/TDD/Speech-to-Speech users may dial 7-1-1 for the California Relay Service.
CONTACT
Please direct inquiries concerning the proposed regulatory action described in this notice to Fran Kammerer, in writing at the address given above, or via e-mail to fran.kammerer@oehha.ca.gov. Monet Vela will be a back-up contact. She can be contacted at monet.vela@oehha.ca.gov or (916) 323-2517.
AUTHORITY
Health and Safety Code Section 25249.12.
REFERENCE
Health and Safety Code Sections 25249.5, 25249.6, 25249.7, 25249.9, 25249.10 and 25249.11.
INFORMATIVE DIGEST/POLICY STATEMENT OVERVIEW
Proposition 65 prohibits a person in the course of doing business from knowingly and intentionally exposing any individual to a chemical that has been listed as known to the State to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity, without first giving clear and reasonable warning to such individual[2]. The Act also prohibits a business from knowingly discharging a listed chemical into water or onto or into land where such chemical passes or probably will pass into any source of drinking water[3]. Warnings are not required and the discharge prohibition does not apply when exposures are insignificant[4]. Proposition 65 also provides that a list must be published annually of chemicals that are required by state or federal law to be tested for carcinogenicity or reproductive toxicity, but have been deemed to need further testing[5]. Title 27, California Code of Regulations, section 27000 is the regulation adopted by OEHHA to implement this requirement. These proposed amendments clarify portions of section 27000, but most importantly, update this section to include references to recently renumbered sections of the federal Toxic Substances Control Act.
Further details on the basis for the proposed amendments to Section 27000 are provided in the Initial Statement of Reasons for these regulatory amendments, which is available on request from Monet Vela and is posted on the OEHHA web site at www.oehha.ca.gov.
ANTICIPATED BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSED REGULATION
The proposed update of this regulation will benefit the protection of public health and safety of the public by providing current information and correct citations to federal authorities in this regulation.
NO INCONSISTENCY OR INCOMPATIBILITY WITH EXISTING REGULATIONS
OEHHA has determined that the proposed amendment are neither inconsistent nor incompatible with existing state regulations. After conducting a review for any regulations that would relate to or affect this area, OEHHA has concluded that these are the only regulations that concern Prop 65 and proposed amendments to Section 27000 in California. Moreover, the proposed regulation do not address compliance with any other law or regulation or impose any mandatory requirements on businesses state or local agencies.
LOCAL MANDATE/FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed amendments are updates and clarifications of the existing regulation; therefore, OEHHA has determined that no nondiscretionary costs or savings to local agencies or school districts will result from the proposed regulatory action.
COSTS OR SAVINGS TO STATE AGENCIES
The proposed amendments are updates and clarifications of the existing regulation; therefore, OEHHA has determined that no other savings or increased costs to any other State agency will result from the proposed regulatory action.
EFFECT ON FEDERAL FUNDING TO THE STATE
Because Proposition 65 expressly[6] does not apply to any federal agency, and no federal funding is involved in the implementation of Proposition 65, OEHHA has determined that no costs or savings in federal funding to the State will result from the proposed regulatory action.
EFFECT ON HOUSING COSTS
OEHHA has determined that the proposed regulatory action will have no effect on housing costs.
SIGNIFICANT STATEWIDE ADVERSE ECONOMIC IMPACT DIRECTLY AFFECTING BUSINESS, INCLUDING ABILITY TO COMPETE
Because the proposed regulatory amendments do not impose any mandatory requirements on businesses subject to the Act, OEHHA has made an initial determination that these amendments will not have a significant statewide adverse economic impact directly affecting businesses, including the ability of California businesses to compete with businesses in other states.
RESULTS OF ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS (Gov. Code section 11346.3(b))
Impact on the Creation, Elimination, or Expansion of Jobs/Businesses in California
This regulatory proposal will not affect the creation or elimination of jobs or businesses within the State of California, nor will it impact the expansion of existing businesses in the State. Proposition 65 requires businesses with ten or more employees to provide warnings when they expose people to chemicals that are known to cause cancer or reproductive harm. The law also prohibits the discharge of listed chemicals into sources of drinking water. The proposed amendments are simply updates and clarifications of an existing regulation which benefits the health and welfare of California residents.
COST IMPACTS ON REPRESENTATIVE PRIVATE PERSONS OR BUSINESSES
OEHHA is not aware of any cost impacts that a representative private person or business would necessarily incur in reasonable compliance with the proposed action.
EFFECT ON SMALL BUSINESSES
OEHHA has determined that the proposed amendments will not impose any mandatory requirements on small businesses, they simply clarify and update the existing regulation.
CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES
Government Code section 11346.5(a)(13) requires that OEHHA must determine that no reasonable alternative considered by OEHHA or that has otherwise been identified and brought to the attention of OEHHA would be more effective in carrying out the purpose for which the action is proposed, would be as effective and less burdensome to affected private persons than the proposed action, or would be more cost-effective to affected private persons and equally effective in implementing the statutory policy or other provision of law than the proposal described in this Notice.
AVAILABILITY OF STATEMENT OF REASONS AND TEXT OF PROPOSED REGULATIONS
OEHHA has prepared and has available for public review an Initial Statement of Reasons for the regulation, which contains the text (express terms) of the regulation, and all the information upon which the regulation is based (rulemaking file). A copy of the Initial Statement of Reasons and the text of the regulation, as well as the complete rulemaking file, are available upon request from OEHHA at the address, e-mail address and telephone number indicated above. These documents are also posted on OEHHA’s Web site at www.oehha.ca.gov.
AVAILABILITY OF CHANGED OR MODIFIED TEXT
The full text of any regulation which is changed or modified from the express terms of this proposed action will be made available at least 15 days prior to the date on which OEHHA adopts the resulting regulation. Notice of the comment period on changed regulations and the full text will be mailed to individuals who testified or submitted written comments at the public hearing, if held, or whose comments were received by OEHHA during the public comment period, and anyone who requests notification from OEHHA of the availability of such changes. Copies of the notice and the changed regulation will also be available on the OEHHA Web site at www.oehha.ca.gov.
AVAILABILITY OF FINAL STATEMENT OF REASONS
A copy of the Final Statement of Reasons may be obtained, when it becomes available, from OEHHA at the address, e-mail address and telephone number indicated above, and on the OEHHA website at www.oehha.ca.gov.
OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL
HEALTH HAZARD ASSESSMENT
Allan Hirsch
Chief Deputy Director
Dated: June 30, 2017
[1] All further references are to sections of Title 27, Cal. Code of Regs., unless otherwise indicated.
[2] Health and Safety Code section 25249.6.
[3] Health and Safety Code section 25249.5.
[4] Health and Safety Code sections 25249.9 and 25249.10.
[5] Health and Safety Code section 25249.8(c)
[6] See Health and Safety Code section 25249.11(b).