CalRecycle maintains archived information on its website as a record of its activities for use by the public and CalRecycle staff.
Overview
On August 11, 2025, the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the Readoption of Illegal Disposal emergency regulations. The regulations became effective on August 14, 2025, and will expire on November 13, 2025.
The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) proposed to readopt existing emergency regulations that define Land Application Activities and place these activities within CalRecycle’s Compostable Material Handling Facilities and Operations Regulatory Tiers and subject these activities to the appropriate operator filing requirements, state minimum standards, record keeping, and Enforcement Agency (EA) inspection requirements. The readoption of these regulations ensures that activities which are land applying compostable material or digestate are appropriately regulated by the EA to ensure protection of public health and safety and the environment.
Additionally, the readoption of these regulations will continue the amendment of sampling and record keeping requirement for solid waste facilities, operations, and activities to ensure that any facility and operation sending material to a location to be land applied are sampling to ensure the material is suitable for land application, consistent with CCR section 17852(a)(24.5), and the sampling test results, weights, and end destination for each load sent offsite are included in the operator records. The readoption of these regulations will continue to allow EAs to review this new recordkeeping data to track the flow of material, investigate, and enforce land application activities to prevent unlawful disposal of material.
For information on the associated rulemaking that CalRecycle is proposing to establish permanent Illegal Disposal regulations, please visit the Illegal Disposal Permanent Regulations CalRecycle Webpage.
Affected Regulatory Code Sections
CalRecycle proposed to re-adopt emergency regulations to amend Title 14, California Code of Regulations (CCR), Division 7, Chapters 3, 3.1, 3.2, and 5, sections 17402, 17414, 17414.2, 17852, 17854.1, 17862.1, 17869, 17896.45, 17896.57, 18302, 18303, 18304, 18304.1, and 18304.3.
CalRecycle proposed to re-adopt emergency regulations to adopt Title 14, CCR, Division 7, Chapters 3, 3.1, and 3.2, Sections 17410.5, 17862.3, 17868.6, and 17896.62.
Current Status
The readoption of the emergency regulations were approved by OAL effective August 14, 2025. They will expire on November 13, 2025.
The Readoption of the Illegal Disposal emergency regulations were submitted to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) on August 1, 2025, beginning the 10-calendar day emergency rulemaking process. The 5-calendar day public comment period began on August 1, 2025, and ended on August 6, 2025.
Current Documents
- Amended Office of Administrative Approval Document. The Office of Administrative Law’s amended official approval of the emergency regulations.
- Office of Administrative Law Approval Document. The Office of Administrative Law’s official approval of the emergency regulations. This document is available for public inspection during normal business hours at CalRecycle, 1001 “I” Street, 24th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814. To schedule a time to inspect these documents, please contact Claire Derksen at Regulations@calrecycle.ca.gov.
- Office of Administrative Law Approved Regulation Text. An accessible version of the final regulation text as approved by the Office of Administrative Law.
- Emergency Rulemaking Action. The notice of proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations, and Finding of Emergency.
- All Readopt Emergency Regulation Text. The express language that shows any proposed adoption, amendment, or deletion to the regulations. Because this is a readoption of the language of the emergency regulation text approved on February 14, 2025, this text is identical to that approved language with the exception of a correction to a citation.
- Economic and Fiscal Impact Statement (STD 399) and STD 399 Supplemental Information. Copy of the Economic and Fiscal Impact Statement form and supporting documentation.
- Readopt Change to Previous Approved Emergency Regulation Text. This version shows only the typographical correction to regulation text that was previously approved on February 14, 2025.
- Documents Relied Upon. All technical, theoretical, and empirical studies, reports, or similar documents relied upon in developing the proposed regulations.
- Attachment 1: Economic and Fiscal Impact Statement (STD 399)
- Attachment 2: STD 399 Appendix
- Attachment 3: Transcript from CalRecycle’s October 2024 Monthly Public Meeting
- Attachment 4: Site Photographs from Tour of Antelope Valley
- Attachment 5: California – May 2023 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_ca.htm#19-0000, accessed January 8, 2025
- Attachment 6: Visit Log, November 17 – 18, 2024 (Antelope Valley)
These documents are also available for public inspection during normal business hours at CalRecycle, 1001 “I” Street, 24th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814. To schedule a time to inspect these documents, please contact Claire Derksen at Regulations@calrecycle.ca.gov.
Input from Interested Parties
Interested parties had the opportunity to provide input during the public comment period, which commenced on August 1, 2025, when the emergency regulations were posted on OAL’s website. The public comment period closed on August 6, 2025.
History
OAL approved the readoption of the emergency regulations on August 11, 2025.
On August 1, 2025, CalRecycle initiated a 5-calendar day written comment period for the proposed emergency regulations. The public comment period commenced on August 1, 2025, when the emergency regulations were posted on Office of Administrative Law’s (OAL) website. The public comment period closed on August 6, 2025.
During the public comment period, interested parties could submit comments in the following way:
Written comments were sent to OAL and CalRecycle and received before the close of the public comment period on August 6, 2025.
Comments on the proposed emergency regulations were submitted to OAL via email to staff@oal.ca.gov, by fax to (916) 323-6826, or by mail to:
OAL Reference Attorney
300 Capitol Mall, Suite 1250
Sacramento, California 95814
When a comment was submitted to OAL, a copy of the comment was also submitted to CalRecycle in one of the following ways:
- CalRecycle’s public comment portal
- or by mail to:
Claire Derksen
Re-Adoption of Illegal Disposal Emergency Regulations
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, Regulations Unit
1001 “I” Street, MS-24B
Sacramento, CA 95814
OAL confirmed that CalRecycle received the comment before considering it. The comment must have stated that it was about the emergency regulation currently under OAL review and included the topic of the emergency.
Contact
For more information on the Readoption Illegal Disposal Emergency Regulations, please contact Claire Derksen at Regulations@calrecycle.ca.gov.
Subscribe to the Proposed Regulations Listserv to receive emails regarding rulemaking developments.
For more information regarding the solid waste handling regulatory requirements, please visit CalRecycle’s Permit Toolbox homepage.