LEA Central Legislation and Regulations

Tiered Regulatory Structure

At its November 1994 general business meeting, the California Integrated Waste Management Board (now CalRecycle) adopted regulations implementing a tiered regulatory structure for all solid waste facilities and solid waste handling operations. The structure is designed to provide a level of regulatory oversight commensurate with the impacts associated with a solid waste handling or disposal activity.

The regulations established four (4) tiers in addition to an existing full solid waste facilities permit. From the highest level of regulation to the lowest, the tiers are full, standardized, registration, enforcement agency notification, and excluded. Figure 1 provides some basic information with respect to permitting status and operational standards associated with each tier.  The matrix summary of tier elements [Word (6.0/95, 18 KB) or PDF (Adobe Acrobat, 21 KB)] includes process timeframes, inspection frequency, enforcement tools, and more. The complete regulatory language is contained in the California Code of Regulations, Title 14, sections 18100 through 18105.11.

The regulations established only the tiered structure. To be applicable, the Board must adopt regulations to set minimum standards and place different types of operations and facilities in the tiers. A matrix summary of facilities and operations for which the Board adopted tiered regulations is available in both html and downloadable (MS Word, 23 KB) versions.

For additional information related to the implementation of any of the regulatory tier packages please go to the Permit Toolbox, which provides online tools and resources to local enforcement agencies, operators, applicants, and CalRecycle staff for obtaining, processing, and maintaining new and revised solid waste facility permits and completing other permit-related tasks and responsibilities.

Last updated: January 04, 2010