Abstract: Unified Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Materials Management Regulatory Program

Kevin J. Neese

The administration and regulation of hazardous wastes and materials in the state of California has for many years been overseen by a number of regulatory agencies that have jurisdiction to undertake or compel cleanup. The jurisdiction and authority of each of these agencies differ, as do their philosophical underpinnings, in terms of protection of human health and the environment versus protection of groundwater resources.

In 1993, Senate Bill 1082 was enacted to require the Secretary for Environmental Protection, by January 1, 1996, to adopt implementing regulations and implement a unified hazardous waste and hazardous materials management regulatory program to consolidate the administration of specific statutory requirements for the regulation of hazardous wastes and materials. All aspects of the unified program related to the adoption and interpretation of statewide standards and requirements will be the responsibility of the state agency, which is charged with that responsibility under existing law. For example, for underground storage tanks, that agency shall be the state Water Resources Control Board. The Department of Toxic Substances Control shall have the sole responsibility for the determinati n of whether a waste is hazardous or nonhazardous.

Those aspects of the unified program related to the application of statewide standards to particular facilities, including the grant of authorizations, the issuance of permits, the review of reports and plans, and the enforcement of those standards and requirements against particular facilities, will be the responsibility of the certified unified program agency.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90981©1994 AAPG Pacific Section Meeting, Ventura, California, April 27-29, 1994