In all likelihood, if the Department is allowed to regulate the metal recycling industry as hazardous waste treatment, the onerous regulations and unnecessary restrictions involved would render the industry uneconomical, and plants would shut down or move out of state.

Any operations that did remain would be stigmatized as hazardous waste facilities, not recycling plants, causing multiple problems with siting, zoning, permitting, negative public reaction, etc.

The metal recycling industry is already extensively regulated by a wide array of federal, state, regional and local authorities, including federal air and water quality laws, regional water control boards, regional air quality management districts, and local fire departments and other entities that manage and regulate land use and permitting.

If the industry is curtailed or shuts down, the plain fact is that the massive quantity of scrap metals produced every day in California will have nowhere to go.