Solid waste: State Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective Action Trust Fund.

(1) The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 requires a solid waste disposal fee, on and after January 1, 2012, to be increased by $0.12 per ton for each operator of a solid waste landfill that notifies the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery that it elects to participate in the State Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective Action Trust Fund, which is available for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for corrective action and postclosure activities. However, the fee will not be operative on or after January 1, 2012, unless the department receives, on or before July 1, 2011, letters of participation in the fund from landfill operators representing at least 50% of the total volume of waste disposed of in 2010. The act requires the department to notify the State Board of Equalization on or before August 31, 2011, if the increased fee will become operative. This bill would extend all of those dates by 6 months, except the total volume of waste would still be measured by the 2010 standard, with the exception that letters of participation would be based on submission of those letters by landfill owners rather than landfill operators. The bill also would impose the participation notification requirements on the owner of a landfill rather than the operator. (2) The act requires an operator of a landfill that meets specified requirements, including electing to participate in the fund, to submit written notice to the department on or before July 1, 2011. The act requires an operator that is operating a landfill on July 1, 2011, and submits that notice after the increased fee goes into effect to pay all trust fund fees applicable from January 1, 2012, and a 5% penalty before being allowed to participate. For a new landfill that receives a solid waste facility permit after July 1, 2011, the act requires the operator's election to participate in the fund to be submitted in writing to the department before the department concurs in the issuance of the permit. The act also requires an operator of multiple landfills who is required to maintain evidence of financial ability and whose landfills are operating on July 1, 2011, to include all other landfills in which that operator has in common ownership in the letter of participation. This bill would extend all of those dates by 6 months, and would apply those requirements to owners rather than operators. Additionally, a landfill with multiple owners would be authorized to participate only if all owners of that landfill elect to participate, and participation of a landfill with multiple owners would not obligate a partial owner of that landfill to include any other landfills at which the owner has full or partial ownership. (3) The act requires the department after January 1, 2015, to report annually on expenditures from the fund, the status of cost recovery actions, and any recommended statutory changes that are necessary to ensure adequate resources are available to carry out the purposes of the fund. This bill would require the department to begin that annual reporting after January 1, 2016, rather than January 1, 2015.