On August 31, 2021, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 332 and the bill takes effect immediately. AB332 adopts new Alternative Management Standards (AMS) for treated wood waste that are codified in Health and Safety Code section 25230. As a result of the chaptering of the bill, all treated wood waste variances issued by DTSC since March 2021 are now inoperative and have no further effect. The variances are no longer necessary because they have been replaced by the AMS. The new AMS are similar to the rules that applied under the variance program, except that no variance is required.

Assembly Bill 332

Assembly Bill 332 (AB 332) restores the alternative management standards for treated wood waste. As a result variances are no longer needed for disposal facilities, handlers, and generators of treated wood waste. A link to the new statute language is found below:

• AB 332 Text

Fact Sheet and Other Information

DTSC has developed a fact sheet to help generators and handlers understand what the new requirements are for the alternative management standards for treated wood waste. Links to the new fact sheet. the list of landfills approved to accept TWW, and other useful treated wood information sites are listed below:

• Requirements for Generators and Handlers of Treated Wood Waste – September 2021 Fact Sheet
• List of Landfills approved by the Waterboard to accept TWW
• Western Wood Preservers Institute Website (WWPI)
• Treated Wood Watste Disposal information – Maintained by WWPI
• San Francisco Bay Area TWW disposal information

Notification and Tracking System

Disposal facilities need to enter disposal information into the treated wood waste tracking system linked below:

• Tracking System

Note: for issues with passwords or access to the treated wood waste tracking system contact the email below:

tww_help@dtsc.ca.gov

All Treated Wood Waste (TWW) handlers and generators that generate more than 10,000 pounds in any calendar year shall obtain an identification Number and submit a Treated Wood Waste Handler Notification within 30 days of exceeding the 10,000 pound limit. To obtain an Identification Number, either apply on our website or please call 1-800-618-6942. If you are directed to submit a form for a Permanent Identification Number, the link to the form can be found below. Generators must notify DTSC when the amount of treated wood waste disposed of first exceeds 10,000 lbs. in any given year. Links are found below:

• Treated Wood Waste Online Handler Notification Form If online form is unavailable, fill out pdf form and email to tww_help@dtsc.ca.gov.
• Permanent Identification Number Form

Note: Failure to notify DTSC within 30 days of exceeding 10,000 lbs. of treated wood waste disposal in a year is a violation of California hazardous waste control laws as now written. A violation of the state’s hazardous waste control laws is a crime.

What is Treated Wood?

Treated wood is wood that has gone through a treatment process with chemical preservatives to protect it against pests and environmental conditions. Typically, treated wood is used in exterior applications where ground or water contact is likely.

• What qualifies as treated wood?

• • Treated wood means wood that has been treated with a chemical preservative for purposes of protecting the wood against attacks from insects, microorganisms, fungi, and other environmental conditions that can lead to decay of the wood, and the chemical preservative is registered pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq.). These preservatives often include one or more of the following constituents: arsenic, chromium, copper, pentachlorophenol, and creosote.

• What doesn’t qualify as treated wood?

• • Natural wood with no chemical preservatives.
  • Natural wood that is painted or has a surface finish such as lacquer, shellac, polyurethane and varnish.

What are the different types of Treated Wood?

There are two main groups of treated wood preservatives, water-based and oil-based. Wood treated with water-based preservatives are widely used and are commonly utilized in residential, commercial, marine, agricultural, recreational, and industrial applications. Wood treated with oil-based preservatives is primarily used for industrial applications such as utility poles, piling, posts, and railroad ties.

• What are some chemicals that are commonly used to treat wood?

• • Water-Based Preservatives
    • Acid Copper Chromate (ACC)
    • Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ)
    • Copper Azole (CA)
    • Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA)
    • Copper-HDO
  • Oil-Based Preservatives
    • Copper Naphthenate
    • Creosote
    • Pentachlorophenol (PCP)

• How are the treatment chemicals commonly applied to the wood?

• • Pressure Treatment
  • Brief Dipping
  • Cold Soaking and Steeping
  • Diffusion

• What is treated wood commonly used for?

• • Exterior applications
  • Applications where the wood will be in direct contact with soil or water
  • Applications where long life is important
  • Utility industry – electric, gas, or telephone service (see HSC 25143.1.5)

• What are some wood species that are commonly treated?

• • Hem-Fir and Douglas-Fir
  • Pines (e.g. Southern Yellow Pine, Red Pine, Ponderosa Pine)
  • Spruce

Is my Wood Treated and which type do I have?

Figure 1: Image of pressure treated wood showing indentations from treatment.

Treated wood can often be visually distinguished by its appearance. There are several signs to look out for when determining if a piece of wood has been treated or not.

• What are some things to look for when determining if wood is treated or not?

• • Treated wood end tag
  • Wood manufacturer stamp codes
  • Indentations on the surface of the wood (as seen in the photo above)
  • When cut, staining is visible around the perimeter only
  • Discoloration (e.g. green or dark brown appearance)
  • Odor

Treated wood may have an end tag that looks like the figure below.

Figure 2: Image showing an example of a TWW label. Photo credit: National Pesticide Information Center.

The end tag should have information about the preservative used as well as information about proper use sites (e.g. indoors, outdoors, in water, ground, above ground).

Why is Treated Wood Waste potentially Hazardous?

TWW has the potential to be a hazardous waste if it contains elevated levels of one or more of the following constituents: arsenic, chromium, copper, pentachlorophenol, and creosote. If TWW is not properly disposed of, the chemicals it contains can contaminate soil, surface water, and groundwater. This poses a risk to human health and the environment. TWW may exceed California hazardous waste thresholds for non-RCRA waste; studies have shown that TWW is less likely to exceed U.S. EPA hazardous waste thresholds for RCRA waste. In California, TWW that is a hazardous waste is identified with state hazardous waste code 614.

Analysis of representative samples of treated wood has shown that it has the potential to exhibit a hazardous waste characteristic of toxicity under California state standards. Specifically, samples of treated wood may exceed the Total Threshold Limit Concentration (TTLC) values (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 22, § 66261.24 (a)(2)(A).) for metals and may exceed the Soluble Threshold Limit Concentration (STLC) values for metals when subjected to the Waste Extraction Test (WET). Samples of treated wood may also exceed acute aquatic toxicity limits (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 22, § 66261.24(a)(6).).

What are the Hazardous Waste/Alternative Management Standards (AMS)?

The AMS (Alternative Management Standards) are statutes (HSC 25230 – 25230.18) established by Assembly Bill 332, that allows handling non-RCRA hazardous TWW in accordance with a set of alternative management standards in lieu of the requirements for hazardous waste pursuant to Health and Safety Code, division 20, chapter 6.5, articles 6, 6.5, and 9 and California Code of Regulations, title 22, division 4.5, chapters 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, and 20. In summary, the AMS lessen storage requirements, extend accumulation periods, allow shipments without a hazardous waste manifest and a hazardous waste hauler, and allow disposal at specific non-hazardous waste landfills. The AMS simplify and facilitate the safe and economical disposal of TWW.