Process Summary

 

The following information summarizes the statutory basis of the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery’s (CalRecycle) local enforcement agency (LEA) evaluation program.

Program History

Public Resource Code (PRC) Section 43214 requires CalRecycle to develop performance standards for evaluating local enforcement agencies and to review each enforcement agency and its implementation of the permit, inspection, and enforcement program. The evaluation shall be conducted every three years (or more frequently as determined by CalRecycle following the initial certification of an enforcement agency).
LEA performance standards have been developed by CalRecycle and are codified in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (14CCR), Division 7, Chapter 5, Article 2.2.

The PRC allows local governing bodies to designate a local agency to carry out solid waste permitting, inspection, and enforcement duties in their jurisdictions. The statute further requires that all designated local agencies be approved and certified by CalRecycle pursuant to its adopted certification regulations. The statute also requires CalRecycle to conduct local agency reviews and performance evaluations. Evaluation staff is required to determine whether or not any of the six statutory findings in PRC Section 43214 (d) can be made regarding the LEA’s performance.

Data Gathering

The LEA evaluation period begins at the conclusion of the last evaluation cycle (final evaluation report date), and concludes with the initiation date for the current evaluation (the date of the letter notifying the LEA of its evaluation). Any ongoing issues which began before the conclusion of the last evaluation cycle, and remain unresolved, will also be considered in the current evaluation. The period will be clearly identified in written correspondence notifying the LEA of its forthcoming evaluation.

Evaluation staff will:

  • Utilize CalRecycle’s Solid Waste Information System (SWIS) Database to obtain appropriate information for the jurisdiction related to the six statutory findings in PRC Section 43214 (d).
  • Review the data, noting obvious compliance issues relevant to the findings required to be made by statute (as described in the standardized final evaluations report).
  • Review and assess data noting compliance issues to the appropriate CalRecycle program staff. This process may include further investigation and LEA input.
  • Prior to the final report, develop a draft LEA evaluation. The purpose of the draft evaluation is to ensure the accuracy of facts within the report. For a full description of interim steps in this process, please refer to the LEA evaluation process flowchart.