Full Solid Waste Facilities Permits

This page provides information and resources for “full” solid waste facilities permits.

What is a full permit?
Who needs a full permit?
Processing requirements.
Standards unique to the full permit tier.
Resources (regulations, advisories, tools, forms, and links).
Writing a Solid Waste Facilities Permit (revised February 24, 2010)

Please note that other local, state, or federal agencies may also have regulatory authority over solid waste facilities. Also, all statutory citations refer to the California Code of Regulations (CCR) unless otherwise indicated.

What is a full permit?

Public Resources Code (PRC), Sections 44001 and 44002, state that

“…no person shall operate a solid waste facility without a solid waste facilities permit…”
“…any person who proposes to become an operator of a solid waste facility shall file with the enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the facility, or the board if there is no designated and certified enforcement agency, an application for a solid waste facilities permit…”

“Solid Waste Facility” includes a solid waste transfer or processing station, a composting facility, a transformation facility, and a disposal facility. Section 40194 of the PRC (Definitions)

Until CalRecycle’s tiered regulatory structure became effective in 1994, there was a “one-size-fits-all” permit applied to all facilities. There are now five tiers, including the original “full” tier which provides the greatest level of review and oversight. Permit tiers include:

Also see the fact sheet, Who Needs a Permit.

What types of facilities are required to obtain a full permit:

The following types of facilities are currently required to obtain a full solid waste facilities permit prior to commencing operations:

Solid waste landfills
All compost facilities with feedstock other than green material (Title 14, Section 17854)
Green Material Composting Facilities with more than 12,500 cubic yards of feedstock, compost, or chipped and ground material on-site at any one time (Title 14, Section 17857.1)
Chipping and Grinding Operations handling more than 500 tons per day (Title 14, Section 17862.1)
Large volume transfer/processing facilities (Title 14, Section 17403.7) receiving 100 tons or more of solid waste per operating day.
Transformation (a.k.a. “waste to energy” or “co-generation”) means incineration, pyrolysis, distillation, or biological conversion of mixed municipal waste (including biosolids). “Transformation” does not include composting, gasification, or biomass conversion (PRC Section 40201).
Certain large-volume construction and demolition/inert debris facilities.
Large-volume in-vessel digestion facilities that receive greater than 100 tons of solid waste per operating day or greater than 700 tons per week of solid waste for digestion in an in-vessel digester (Title 14, Section 17896.13).

See the Tiered Regulatory Placement Chart for a comprehensive list of facilities and operations that have been slotted into the permit tiers.

Full permit application processing requirements

The process and timelines for processing a full solid waste permit (SWFP) are described in:

Operator and Applicant Filing Requirements

Title 27, Section 21570 identifies the requirements for preparing and submitting a complete and correct application, which initiates the process of obtaining, modifying or revising a permit.

Also see the Full Permit Application and Permit Package Checklist (“The Laundry List”).

Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) Processing Requirements

Title 27, Section 21650 identifies the responsibilities of the LEA for receipt and review of the complete and correct application, and for writing and issuing the permit.

Also see the LEA Full Permit Tasks and Timelines Table and Writing a Solid Waste Facility Permit. (Updated January 13, 2011)

A Solid Waste Facility Permit template/form is available for use by LEAs.

Title 27, Section 21660 identifies the requirements for giving public notice and conducting informational meetings when an application for an RFI amendment, modified solid waste facilities permit, revised solid waste facilities permit, or new solid waste facilities permit is submitted.

California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery

Title 27, Section 21685 identifies the role of CalRecycle for new, modified and revised solid waste facilities permits for final review and concurrence in, or objection to, the issuance of the permit.

Permit requirements unique to the full permit tier

The full permit application process is described in Title 27 CCR rather than Title 14 CCR for other tiers.
New and revised full permits require the LEA to notice and conduct an informational meeting.
Modified permits require the LEA to notice the LEA’s preliminary determination to modify the permit.
Full permits contain site-specific LEA (or EA) terms and conditions.
The application submittal package (“laundry list”) requires more information.
The review/processing timelines are longer.
Certain insignificant changes can sometimes be approved through an RFI amendment or modification to the permit.

The Permit Task/Tiers Chart illustrates the major differences between the full, standardized, and registration permit, and notification tiers.

Resources

LEA Guidance: Owner/Operator Change Processing Procedures
Full permit application and permit submittal checklist (“laundry list”)
Writing a solid waste facilities permit (revised February 24, 2010)
Full permit LEA tasks and timelines
Full permit process flowchart
Application for New or Revised Full Permit, Permit Review, and RFI Amendment (Form E-177)
Answers to questions about completing the full permit application form E-177
Solid Waste Facilities Permit Template/Form
Permit Application Review Chart (A tool that lets you compare site parameters in the various elements of the permit package)
Who Needs a Permit (Fact Sheet)
Permit Tier/Task Chart (Which types of permits require which types of documentation?)
List of other local, state, or federal agencies which may regulate solid waste facilities.
Complete and Correct
Writing a Solid Waste Facilities Permit