As the Board is aware, the Office of Administrative Law approved the SB 1383 final regulations on November 3, 2020. The deadline by which jurisdictions must comply with SB 1383 regulations has not been changed. Below is a summary of work completed since the October 2nd Full Board meeting.
• Agency staff, along with six Food Recovery Organizations, participated in Tehama Together’s Food Share meeting on October 12, 2023. The meeting focused on the upcoming holiday food giveaways and issues in coordinating food donation pickups with Feeding America.
• Agency staff continue to stay involved with Tehama Together’s Garden Mentor meetings, but as interest in the program has waned and very few people attended the October and January meetings, the Agency has decided to attend quarterly until a community garden is established.
• Agency staff gave compost demonstrations at the Sacramento River Discovery Center’s Fall Plant Festival on October 28, 2023. Staff provided information and compost booklets to five interested individuals and gave away a compost food scraps pail to one participant that wanted to start composting in their backyard.
• Agency staff drafted an SB 1383 Enforcement Procedure to assist jurisdictions in the SB 1383 enforcement process. The draft Enforcement Procedure is attached to this item for reference. Staff met with Tehama County Chief Administrator, Director of Environmental Health and Deputy County Counsel on December 18, 2023 to review the process and receive feedback. Tehama County and Agency staff agreed to meet again once the Agency Manager returns as further clarification is needed on the roles of the Agency and the County. Once this is resolved with the County, staff will meet with each city to review the process with their staff.
• Agency staff notified Tier 1 Commercial Edible Food Generators and Food Recovery Organizations of their responsibility to report the food they donated or received, respectively. There were several entities that did not report the food they donated or received, and those entities will be referred to their jurisdiction of residence for enforcement action.
• Agency staff continue to monitor the Complaint Portal and Paper Procurement Tracking Portal to ensure that all jurisdictions are staying compliant with their paper purchases. Thus far no complaints related to SB 1383 have been received.
• Agency staff, along with three Food Recovery Organizations, participated in Tehama Together’s Food Share meeting on January 11, 2024. The meeting focused on feedback from the holiday food giveaways and needs for the upcoming year. Agency staff emailed a guidance document about shelf-life dates of non-perishable foods to the group to help them when determining what can be safely recovered and how long to store it.
• Thanks to the help of Tehama County Purchasing, the Agency was able to continue a project with Reeds Creek Elementary School for cafeteria waste sorting and on-site composting. Agency staff created a composting “Lesson Plan” using information gained through the 131° School’s Compost Operator Training that staff received in October 2022. The Agency was able to purchase tools and supplies with grant funding to make the program a success. Agency staff gave presentations to all students about the cafeteria waste sorting and composting program on January 17, 2024, and began the cafeteria waste sorting January 22, 2024. Composting began February 2, 2024, and Agency staff will continue to monitor the program to ensure it is successful.
• Agency staff met with the Tehama County Librarian, Alicia Meyer, on February 7, 2024 to explore the possibility of creating a community compost drop-off site if approval is given to have a community garden at the Red Bluff branch of the Tehama County Library. Staff will update the Board as progress is made with the project.
• Agency staff attended a CalRecycle webinar focused on Capacity Planning on February 29, 2024. According to regulations, Capacity Planning must be completed by August 1, 2024 for the period covering January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2034. However, on the webinar CalRecycle indicated that Capacity Planning for organic waste does not need to be completed by August 1, 2024 for jurisdictions that have received a waiver from organic waste collection. The Agency is awaiting an official guidance document from CalRecycle confirming this advice from the webinar.
• A high-level overview of staff time spent on SB 1383 from May 6, 2022, when the Agency received the SB 1383 Local Assistance Grant funds, to November 1, 2023 indicates the Organic Materials Program Coordinator had spent almost 357 hours or the equivalent of more than 44 8-hour days on SB 1383 implementation, recordkeeping, and inspections. A presentation will be given at the April Full Board meeting detailing how the time has been spent during the grant term.
• The Agency received notification of the award for the SB 1383 Local Assistance Grant (OWR4); the second round of funding for SB 1383 implementation. Additionally, the Agency was notified by CalRecycle that the deadline to expend funds for the current cycle of funding, OWR1, has been extended until November 1, 2024.