Published: 2015-07-09
Key Benefits:
(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that illegal disposal of solid waste on property owned by innocent parties is a longstanding problem needing attention and that grants provided under this chapter will support the cleanup of farm and ranch property.
(b) The board shall establish a farm and ranch solid waste cleanup and abatement grant program for the purposes of cleaning up and abating the effects of illegally disposed solid waste pursuant to this chapter.
(c) (1) The Farm and Ranch Solid Waste Cleanup and Abatement Account is hereby created in the General Fund and may be expended by the board, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, for the purposes of this chapter.
(2) The following funds shall be deposited into the account:
(A) Money appropriated by the Legislature from the Integrated Waste Management Fund or the California Used Oil Recycling Fund to the board for the grant program, or from the California Tire Recycling Management Fund to the board for the purposes set forth in paragraph (10) of subdivision (b) of Section 42889.
(B) Notwithstanding Section 16475 of the Government Code, any interest earned on the money in the account.
(3) The board may expend the money in the account for both of the following purposes:
(A) To pay the costs of implementing this chapter, which costs shall not exceed 7 percent of the funds available for the grant program.
(B) To make payments for grants authorized by this chapter.
(4) Upon authorization by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, the sum of all funds transferred into the account from other funds or accounts shall not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) annually.
(5) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 48653 and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the grant program shall be funded from the following funds:
(A) The Integrated Waste Management Fund.
(B) The California Tire Recycling Management Fund, for the purposes set forth in paragraph (10) of subdivision (b) of Section 42889.
(C) The California Used Oil Recycling Fund.
(d) For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) “Native American tribe” has the same meaning as tribe, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 44201.
(2) “Public entity” means a city, county, or resource conservation district.
(Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 353, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2010.)
(a) The grant program shall be established to make grants available to public entities and Native American tribes for the purposes described in subdivision (b) of Section 48100 in an amount not to exceed the sum of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) per year for any single public entity or Native American tribe, and not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for any single cleanup or abatement project. A Native American tribe or public entity may not expend more than 7 percent of the grant for administrative costs.
(b) The board shall give priority to the provision of grants to public entities and Native American tribes that have established innovative and cost-effective programs designed to discourage the illegal disposal of solid waste and to encourage the proper disposal of solid waste in permitted solid waste disposal facilities.
(c) A grant agreement between the board and a public entity or Native American tribe may provide for, but is not limited to, all of the following provisions:
(1) Site-specific cleanup and removal of solid waste that is illegally disposed on farm or ranch property.
(2) Comprehensive, ongoing enforcement programs for the cleanup and removal of solid waste that is illegally disposed of on farm or ranch property.
(3) Waiver of tipping fees or other solid waste fees at permitted solid waste facilities for solid waste that was illegally disposed of on farm or ranch property.
(d) On and after the adoption of grant program regulations by the board, any fines levied on, or abatement orders issued against, a farm or ranch owner by the local enforcement agency or other local agency as the result of solid waste disposed of on the owner’s farm or ranch property, regarding which the owner has made application to a public entity or Native American tribe for a grant under this chapter, shall be stayed, upon the owner’s written request to the local enforcement agency or other local agency, if (1) the local agency makes a decision that the property owner was not responsible for the dumping or (2) the property owner has filed a written appeal of the local agency’s decision to the board and the board’s decision on the matter is pending.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 628, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2003.)
No farm or ranch property is eligible for a grant pursuant to this chapter if it is determined by the public entity or Native American tribe that the owner was responsible for the illegal disposal of the solid waste.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 628, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2003.)
(a) The board shall adopt regulations to implement this chapter.
(b) The regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall include criteria for grant eligibility and shall establish a process that is open and accessible to the public under which grant applications may be reviewed, ranked, and awarded. The regulations shall also develop a process for a farm or ranch property owner to appeal a public entity’s or Native American tribe’s determination of responsibility pursuant to Section 48102.
(c) The regulations adopted under this section shall require the applicant public entity or Native American tribe to certify to both of the following:
(1) That the public entity or Native American tribe is the only applicant for funding under the program for any particular farm or ranch property.
(2) That the owner of the farm or ranch property is not responsible for the illegal disposal of the solid waste.
(3) That the public entity or Native American tribe has in place a program that is sufficient to prevent future incidents of illegal solid waste disposal.
(d) If a public entity or Native American tribe denies a grant application, it shall notify the farm or ranch property owner in writing as to why the application was denied.
(e) Nothing in this section is intended to prevent a farm or ranch property owner from receiving reimbursement for solid waste cleanup or abatement costs under the grant program or pursuant to any other law.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 628, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2003.)
Each year, as part of the annual report required to be submitted pursuant to Section 40507, the board shall report to the Governor and the Legislature on all of the following:
(a) Actions the board has taken under the grant program.
(b) The costs and effectiveness in cleaning up and abating solid waste illegally disposed of on farm and ranch property.
(c) The number of sites cleaned up and abated in each county.
(d) The number of participant cities, counties, districts, and Native American tribes, and the sites cleaned up and abated through those cities, counties, districts, and Native American tribes.
(e) The types of solid waste cleaned up and abated.
(f) The number of sites not approved for the grant program, and the reasons for that disapproval.
(g) The types of property on which solid waste has been cleaned up and abated.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 628, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 2003.)
All solid waste collected as a result of cleanup or abatement under the grant program shall be recycled or reused to the maximum extent feasible and cleanup or abatement activities shall be conducted in compliance with existing laws governing the handling of solid wastes, hazardous wastes, liquid wastes, or medical wastes, as appropriate.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 628, Sec. 7. Effective January 1, 2003.)
Nothing in this chapter is intended to relieve any party who is responsible for the generation or illegal deposition of the solid waste from liability for removal costs if the party can be identified. Farm or ranch property owners whose property is the subject of solid waste cleanup or abatement under this chapter and who are not responsible for the generation or deposition of the solid waste shall not be subject to any cost recovery action for cleanup or abatement costs borne by public entities or Native American tribes or the board under this chapter.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 628, Sec. 8. Effective January 1, 2003.)
