Hazardous waste.

(1) Existing law requires facilities handling hazardous waste to obtain a permit from the Department of Toxic Substances Control. Existing law requires an owner or operator of a facility intending to renew the facility's permit to submit a complete Part A application for a permit renewal prior to the expiration of the permit. Existing law requires the owner or operator to submit a complete Part B application when requested by the department. Existing law requires the department to issue a permit if the facility meets specified requirements. This bill would instead require the owner or operator of a facility to submit complete Part A and Part B applications for a permit renewal at least 2 years prior to the expiration date of the permit. The bill would require the department to issue a final permit decision for an application for permit renewal within 36 months of the expiration of the facility's permit. The bill would provide that an application for permit renewal shall be deemed denied if a final permit decision has not been issued for the application within that time period. (2) Existing law requires the department, in the case of a release of hazardous waste or constituents into the environment from a hazardous waste facility that is required to obtain a permit, to pursue available remedies, including the issuance of an order for corrective action, before using available legal remedies, except in specified circumstances. This bill would repeal the above requirements and would instead require the department, under specified circumstances, to request an owner or operator of a hazardous waste facility to submit to the department for review and approval a written cost estimate to cover activities associated with a corrective action based on available data, history of releases, and site activities, as specified. The bill would require the owner or operator to submit the corrective action cost estimate within 60 days of the department's request. The bill would require the owner or operator, within 90 days of the approval of the corrective action cost estimate, to fund the cost estimate or enter into a schedule of compliance for assurances of financial responsibility for completing the corrective action. (3) Existing law requires the department, on or before January 1 of each odd-numbered year, to post on its Internet Web site specified information. This bill would add certain information that would need to be posted. (4) Existing law authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control to issue an order under the hazardous waste control laws requiring that a violation be corrected and imposing a civil penalty to specified persons, including a person who has violated various provisions regulating hazardous waste or provisions concerning removal and remedial actions for hazardous substance releases. A person who is issued that order is required to pay for oversight of the removal or remedial action. Existing law, the Carpenter-Presley-Tanner Hazardous Substance Account Act, authorizes the department to take or oversee removal and remedial actions related to the release of hazardous substances. Existing law authorizes the Attorney General to recover from the liable person, as defined, the costs incurred by the department or a California regional water quality control board in carrying out the act and requires that any monetary obligation owed to the department pursuant to the act or the hazardous waste control laws be subject to a specified rate of interest earned in the Surplus Money Investment Fund. This bill would require a person to pay for oversight of any corrective action required of the person with respect to hazardous waste, and would authorize the recovery by the Attorney General of costs incurred with regard to carrying out or overseeing a removal action, a remedial action, or a corrective action under the act or under the hazardous waste control laws. The bill would require any monetary obligation owed to the department under the act or these laws to accrue interest at the same rate as the modified adjusted rate per annum imposed for underpayments of sales and use taxes to the state. (5) This bill would establish, until January 1, 2020, the DTSC Community Oversight Committee within the department and require the committee to make recommendations to the department to increase public participation in, and the transparency of, the department's decisionmaking, and to serve as a resource and liaison for communities and residents in communication with the department. The bill would require the department, by July 1, 2017, to develop and implement programmatic reforms designed to improve the protectiveness, timeliness, legal defensibility, and enforceability of the department's permitting program.