BILL NUMBER: SB 515 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
An act to add Article 3 (commencing with Section 42450.1) to
Chapter 8 of Part 3 of, and Article 5 (commencing with Section 44220)
to Chapter 3 of Part 4 of, Division 30 of the Public Resources Code,
relating to recycling.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 515, as introduced, Corbett. Recycling: product stewardship:
batteries: universal waste management facilities.
(1) The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989,
administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery,
requires retailers of rechargeable batteries to have in place a
system for the acceptance and collection of rechargeable batteries.
The bill would require, by September 30, 2012, a producer or the
household battery stewardship organization created by one or more
producers of a household battery to submit a household battery
stewardship plan to the department, which would be required to
include specified elements. The bill would allow a registered
hazardous waste transporter to elect to submit a household battery
stewardship plan to the department on behalf of one or more producers
and would require a hazardous waste transporter making that election
to comply with the provisions of the bill applicable to a household
battery stewardship organization.
The bill would require the department to review a household
battery stewardship plan submitted to the department and deem the
plan either complete or incomplete within 45 days after receipt.
The bill would prohibit a producer, wholesaler, or retailer, on
and after January 1, 2014, from selling a household battery unless
the plan for that battery is deemed complete by the department. The
act would require a producer or the household battery stewardship
organization to implement the household battery program pursuant to
the household battery stewardship plan, including achieving a
specified collection rate. The bill would require each producer or
household battery stewardship organization implementing a household
battery stewardship plan to prepare and submit to the department an
annual report describing the activities carried out pursuant to the
household battery stewardship plan.
The bill would require a producer or household battery stewardship
organization submitting a household battery stewardship plan to pay
the department a plan review fee, as determined by the department,
when submitting the plan to the department and to pay an
administrative fee, as determined by the department, when submitting
the annual report. The bill would provide for the imposition of
administrative civil penalties upon a producer that does not comply
with the bill's requirements or a wholesaler or retailer selling
household batteries in violation of the bill. The bill would create
the Household Battery Stewardship Account in the existing Integrated
Waste Management Fund and would require that the fees be deposited
into that account and that the penalties be deposited into the
Household Battery Stewardship Penalty Subaccount that the bill would
create in that account. The bill would authorize the fees and
penalties to be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to
cover the department's program implementation costs and would
authorize all funds collected or received by the department under the
program, except for the fees, to be expended as incentives to
enhance recyclability and redesign efforts and to reduce
environmental and safety impacts of household batteries.
(2) Existing law requires the Department of Toxic Substances
Control (DTSC) to exercise enforcement and regulatory authority with
regard to the hazardous waste accepted at a facility that accepts
both hazardous waste and other solid waste.
This bill would require DTSC, upon the request of an applicant for
a project to construct, expand, or retrofit a solid waste facility
to process, collect, or recycle a universal waste, as defined, to
appoint an administrative liaison to serve as the applicant's single
point of contact, and to provide other information and assistance.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) In early 2006, all household batteries were classified by the
state as universal waste and prohibited from being disposed of in
solid waste landfills. Under state law, "household batteries" means
batteries made of mercury, alkaline, carbon-zinc, and nickel-cadmium,
and other batteries typically generated as household waste,
including, but not limited to, batteries used in hearing aids,
cameras, watches, computers, calculators, flashlights, lanterns,
standby and emergency lighting, portable radios, television sets,
meters, toys, and clocks, but excluding lead-acid batteries,
batteries that are sold in a "covered electronic device," as defined
in Section 42463 of the Public Resources Code, and batteries that are
not easily removable or are not intended or designed to be removed
from the products, other than by the manufacturer.
(b) Effective July 1, 2006, state law prohibited most retailers
from selling rechargeable batteries in the state unless they have a
system in place for collecting used rechargeable batteries from
consumers.
(c) Approximately 80 percent of batteries sold in this state are
alkaline batteries and are not covered under the retail take-back
requirements.
(d) Local governments throughout the state are responsible for the
collection and management of household batteries, and to manage this
hazardous waste, these local governments and taxpayers pay a range
of between eight hundred dollars ($800) per ton to two thousand seven
hundred dollars ($2,700) per ton, or tens of millions of dollars
each year.
(e) Because other types of recycling programs have proven to have
limited success, state and regional governments in Europe and Canada
have adopted producer responsibility programs to redirect the
responsibility for the end-of-life management of discarded hazardous
and hard-to-manage products from local governments and retailers
primarily to producers.
(f) After many public hearings and discussions, the former
California Integrated Waste Management Board adopted an overall
Framework for an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidance
document as a policy priority in January 2008.
(g) The program established by this act is intended to reduce
costs to local government, to harmonize the state's producer
responsibility obligations with other national and international
programs, and to enhance the protection of public health and
environment through safer product design, use, and end-of-life
management.
(h) The plan review fee and the administrative fee imposed
pursuant to Section 42450.10 of the Public Resources Code are
regulatory fees within the meaning of paragraph (3) of subdivision
(b) of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, as
the fees are imposed solely for the purpose of recovering the
reasonable regulatory costs to the Department of Resources Recycling
and Recovery incident to investigating, inspecting, and auditing the
fee payer, and the enforcement costs thereof, and with respect to
reviewing the battery stewardship plan, and the annual reports and
enforcing Article 3 (commencing with Section 42450.1) of Chapter 8 of
Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code.
SEC. 2. Article 3 (commencing with Section 42450.1) is added to
Chapter 8 of Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, to
read:
Article 3. Product Stewardship for Household Batteries
42450.1. For purposes of this article, and unless the context
otherwise requires, the definitions in this article govern the
construction of this article.
(a) "Brand" means a name, symbol, word, or mark that identifies a
household battery, rather than its components, and attributes the
household battery to the owner or licensee of the brand as the
producer.
(b) "Collection rate" means a quantitative measure established in
each household battery stewardship plan that establishes the amount
of household batteries required to be collected by the household
battery stewardship system for that household battery by an
established date. The collection rate is included as a component of
the product goals for a household battery. The collection rate shall
be calculated by weight and shall distinguish between nonrechargeable
household batteries and rechargeable household batteries, but not by
the individual producer of each battery.
(c) "Department" means the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery.
(d) (1) "Household battery" has the same meaning as defined in
subdivision (c) of Section 42450, but shall not include any of the
following:
(A) A battery that is sold in a covered electronic device, as
defined in Section 42463.
(B) A battery that is not easily removable or is not intended or
designed to be removed from the product, other than by the
manufacturer.
(2) "Household battery" includes both the class of nonrechargeable
household batteries and the class of rechargeable household
batteries.
(e) "Household battery stewardship organization" means an
organization appointed by one or more producers to act as an agent on
behalf of the producer to design, submit, and administer a household
battery stewardship plan pursuant to this article.
(f) "Household battery stewardship plan" or "plan" means a plan
written by an individual producer, a household battery stewardship
organization, or a hazardous waste transporter registered pursuant to
Section 25163 of the Health and Safety Code, on behalf of one or
more producers, that includes all of the information required by
Section 42450.2.
(g) "Nonrechargeble battery" means a household battery that is not
designed to be recharged for repeated use.
(h) "Producer" shall be determined, with regard to a household
battery that is sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state,
as meaning one of the following:
(1) The person who manufactures the household battery and who
sells, offers for sale, or distributes that household battery in the
state under that person's own name or brand.
(2) If there is no person who sells, offers for sale, or
distributes the household battery in the state under the person's own
name or brand, the producer of the household battery is the owner or
licensee of a trademark or brand under which the household battery
is sold or distributed in the state, whether or not the trademark is
registered.
(3) If there is no person who is a producer of the household
battery for purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2), the producer of that
household battery is the person who imports the household battery
into the state for sale or distribution.
(i) "Product stewardship" means requiring the producer of a
household battery, and all other entities involved in the
distribution chain of a household battery, to share in the
responsibility of reducing the life-cycle impact of the household
battery and its packaging, including requiring the producer who makes
design and marketing decisions for the household battery to bear the
primary responsibility for this reduction.
(j) "Product goal" means those qualitative or quantitative goals
determined by the producer to address and measure source reduction,
material content, packaging, and end-of-life management.
(k) "Program" means the system for the collection, transportation,
recycling, and disposal of household batteries pursuant to a
completed household battery stewardship plan that is financed and
managed or provided by an individual producer, collectively by one or
more producers or by a hazardous waste transporter pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 42450.2.
( l ) (1) "Rechargeable household battery" means a
household battery that consists of one or more voltaic or galvanic
cells, which are electrically connected to produce electric energy,
that is designed to be recharged for repeated use and that weighs
less than 10 pounds.
(2) "Rechargeable household battery" includes a battery pack that
combines one or more rechargeable household batteries and weighs, in
total, less than 10 pounds.
(3) "Rechargeable household battery" does not include a battery of
any size used to start an internal combustion engine or as the
principal electrical power source for a vehicle or boat.
(m) "Recycling rate" means a quantitative measure that establishes
the amount of collected household batteries that is recycled as
compared to the total amount of household batteries that is
collected, including the amount of the household batteries that is
discarded for reuse, energy recovery, or safe disposal.
(n) "Reporting period" means the period commencing January 1 and
ending on December 31 of the same calendar year.
(o) "Retailer" means a person that offers new household batteries
in a retail sale, as defined in Section 6007 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code, including a retail sale at retail through any means,
including remote offerings such as sales outlets, catalogs, or an
Internet Web site.
(p) "Reuse rate" means a quantitative measure that establishes the
amount of collected household batteries that is reused as compared
to the total amount of household batteries that is collected,
including the amount of household batteries that is discarded by
recycling, energy recovery, or safe disposal.
(q) "Sell" or "sales" means any transfer of title of a household
battery for consideration, including a remote sale conducted through
a sale outlet, catalog, or Internet Web site or similar electronic
means, but does not include a lease.
(r) "Wholesaler" means a person that offers new household
batteries for sale in this state in a sale that is not a retail sale,
as defined in Section 6007 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and for
which the household battery is intended to be resold.
42450.2. (a) (1) On or before September 30, 2012, each producer
or the household battery stewardship organization for producers of
household batteries shall submit a household battery stewardship plan
to the department.
(2) A hazardous waste transporter registered pursuant to Section
25163 of the Health and Safety Code may elect to submit a household
battery stewardship plan to the department on behalf of one or more
producers, and, if so, the hazardous waste transporter shall submit
the household battery stewardship plan to the department on or before
September 30, 2012, and shall comply with the provisions of this
article that apply to a household battery stewardship organization,
including, but not limited to, the requirements of subdivisions (b)
and (c) and payment of the fees specified in Section 42450.10.
(b) A producer, group of producers, or household battery
stewardship organization shall consult with stakeholders during the
development of the household battery stewardship plan, including
soliciting stakeholder comments and responding to stakeholder
comments prior to submitting the household battery stewardship plan.
(c) Each household battery stewardship plan shall include, at a
minimum, all of the following elements:
(1) Contact information for all participating producers.
(2) The collection rate for the household batteries subject to the
plan, which shall be calculated for each class of household
batteries subject to the plan, in the following manner, except as
provided in Section 42450.4:
(A) On and after January 1, 2015, the collection rate shall be 25
percent of the average number of household batteries that are sold in
the state during the previous three calendar years by the producers
who are subject to that plan.
(B) On and after January 1, 2017, the collection rate shall be 45
percent of the average number of household batteries that are sold in
the state during the previous three calendar years by the producers
who are subject to that plan.
(C) On January 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, the producer
shall demonstrate to the department that it has achieved continuous
meaningful improvement in the collection rate.
(3) A description of all of the following elements:
(A) Brands of the household batteries covered by the plan and if
the brand is a rechargeable household battery or a nonrechargeable
household battery.
(B) The manner in which the product goals will be achieved.
(C) The annual schedule for achievement of the collection rate for
each class of household batteries covered by the plan consistent
with the requirements of paragraph (2).
(D) The number and type of convenient collection opportunities
free of charge for consumers in all counties of the state, including
those supporting the retailer collection of used rechargeable
household batteries required by Section 42453.
(E) Reuse rate and recycling rate for the household batteries
manufactured by the producer.
(F) Roles and responsibilities of key participants in the
household battery distribution chain.
(G) Procedures to be used for notifying retailers and wholesalers
of the program.
(H) The manner in which existing collection points and programs
can be identified and maximized to achieve the required collection
rates.
(4) (A) The financing method selected to sustainably fund the
implementation of the plan for achieving the identified collection
rates as described in the plan, pursuant to paragraph (2).
(B) The financing method shall not include a separate and distinct
fee at the point of purchase.
(5) Education and outreach activities to maximize collection
rates.
(6) A producer or household battery stewardship organization shall
contact cities, counties, districts, and regional agencies, in whose
jurisdictions the program will be implemented, to do either, or
both, of the following:
(A) Reimburse the local public agency for the mutually agreed upon
cost of collecting household batteries.
(B) Provide the local public agency with the location, hours, and
contact information for the convenient collection points for
household batteries that are located within the county where the
local agency is located and are consistent with the plan.
42450.3. A household battery stewardship program shall be
considered in compliance with this article if it achieves the
collection rate for each class of household batteries covered by the
plan as required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section
42450.2. If only one class of household batteries achieves its
collection rate required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of
Section 42450.2, that portion of the program governing that class of
household batteries shall be considered in compliance with the plan.
42450.4. A producer may petition the department for an adjustment
to the collection rate. The department may grant an adjustment to
the collection rate only if the department determines there are
documented exigent circumstances that are beyond the control of the
producer or household battery stewardship organization.
42450.5. (a) The department shall review a plan within 45 days
after the date the plan is received and either deem the plan complete
or incomplete. If the department does not deem the plan complete,
the department shall notify the producer or organization that
submitted the plan of the deficiencies and the producer or
organization shall revise and resubmit the plan within 45 days after
receiving the notification. If the department deems the plan
complete, the department shall, within 45 days after receipt, notify
the producer or organization that the submitted plan is complete.
(b) The department shall make all household battery stewardship
plans submitted to the department available to the public on the
department's Internet Web site.
(c) A producer shall notify the department 30 days before
instituting a significant or material change to a household battery
stewardship plan.
(d) On or before July 1, 2013, and on or before July 1 annually
thereafter, the department shall post on its Internet Web site a
listing of the brands of household batteries for which the producer
is in compliance with this article.
42450.6. On and after January 1, 2014, a producer, wholesaler, or
retailer shall not offer a household battery for sale in this state
or offer a household battery for promotional purposes in this state
unless one of the following applies:
(a) The plan submitted by the producer or household battery
stewardship organization of that household battery has been deemed
complete by the department pursuant to Section 42450.5.
(b) A plan submitted by a hazardous waste transporter on behalf of
the producer of that household battery pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 42450.2 is deemed complete by the
department.
42450.7. Upon receiving notification from the department pursuant
to Section 42450.5 that a plan is complete, the producer or the
household battery stewardship organization shall do all of the
following:
(a) Implement the plan, including, but not limited to, achieving
the collection rate specified in the plan.
(b) Pay the administrative fees imposed pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 42450.10.
(c) Submit the annual report required by Section 42450.9.
42450.8. (a) A wholesaler or a retailer that distributes or sells
household batteries shall monitor the department's Internet Web site
to determine if the sale of a producer's household batteries is in
compliance with this article.
(b) A retailer shall have 90 days from the date a noncompliant
brand is posted on the department's Internet Web site to sell the
remaining stock of those noncompliant household batteries or to
remove the product from sale. An enforcement action shall not be
taken against a retailer pursuant to this article with regard to that
noncompliant brand until after that 90-day period has expired.
42450.9. (a) On or before April 1, 2014, and every subsequent
year thereafter, each producer or household battery stewardship
organization implementing a plan shall prepare and submit to the
department an annual report describing the activities carried out
pursuant to the plan during the previous calendar year. The annual
report shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1) The extent to which each element of the plan specified in
subdivision (c) of Section 42450.2 is attained, including, but not
limited to, achieving the collection rate specified in the plan.
(2) The actions that the producer will take during the next
reporting period to meet the product goals specified in the plan that
have not been met.
(3) A report of the total sales data for household batteries sold
in the state for the previous three calendar years.
(4) Independently audited financial statements that detail the
financing method selected to sustainably fund the implementation of
the plan for achieving the identified collection rates as described
in the plan, pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section
42450.2.
(b) The department shall review an annual report submitted
pursuant to this section and shall deem it complete if the department
determines the report contains the information required by this
section.
(c) If the department does not act on a report within 45 days of
receipt, the report shall be deemed to be complete.
(d) The department shall make all reports submitted to the
department pursuant to this section available to the public on the
department's Internet Web site.
(e) If the collection rate for the household batteries subject to
the plan meets the collection rate specified in subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 42450.2, the report shall
be submitted once every two years.
42450.10. (a) (1) A producer or household battery stewardship
organization that submits a battery stewardship plan to the
department shall pay a plan review fee to the department pursuant to
this subdivision.
(2) The department shall set the plan review fee at an amount so
that the total amount of plan review fees received by the department
is no more than necessary to cover the reasonable costs of reviewing
and enforcing the plan. The department may establish a variable plan
review fee based on relevant factors, including, but not limited to,
the proportion of household batteries produced by the feepayer as
compared to the total amount of batteries produced by all producers
or household battery stewardship organizations submitting a household
battery stewardship plan. The department shall establish the fee so
that the manner in which the fee is allocated bears a fair and
reasonable relationship to the department's costs in reviewing a
plan.
(3) The fee shall be due to the department upon submittal of the
plan.
(b) (1) A producer or household battery stewardship organization
required to submit an annual report pursuant to this article shall
pay an annual administrative fee to the department pursuant to this
subdivision.
(2) The department shall set the annual administrative fee in an
amount that is no more than necessary to cover the reasonable costs
of reviewing annual reports and enforcing this article. The
department may establish a variable annual administrative fee based
on relevant factors, including, but not limited to, the proportion of
household batteries produced by the feepayer, as compared to the
total amount of household batteries produced by all producers or
household battery stewardship organizations submitting an annual
report, and whether the producer is submitting a plan every two years
as specified in subdivision (e) of Section 42450.9. The department
shall establish the fee so that the manner in which the fee is
allocated bears a fair and reasonable relationship to the department'
s costs in reviewing the annual reports and enforcing this article.
(3) The fee shall be due to the department upon submittal of the
annual report.
(c) The total amount of fees collected pursuant to this section
shall not exceed the amount necessary to recover costs incurred by
the department in connection with the administration and enforcement
of the requirements of this article.
42450.11. (a) The Household Battery Stewardship Account and the
Household Battery Stewardship Penalty Subaccount are hereby
established in the Integrated Waste Management Fund.
(b) All fees collected pursuant to this article shall be deposited
in the Household Battery Stewardship Account and may be expended by
the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to cover the
department's costs to implement this article.
(c) All penalties collected pursuant to this article shall be
deposited in the Household Battery Stewardship Penalty Subaccount and
may be expended by the department, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to cover the department's costs to implement this
article.
(d) All funds that are collected or received by the department
pursuant to this article, other than the fees specified in
subdivision (b), may be expended as incentives to enhance reuse,
recyclability, and redesign efforts and to reduce environmental and
safety impacts of household batteries.
42450.12. (a) If, after holding a public hearing, the department
finds that a producer has failed to make a good faith effort to
comply with this article, including, but not limited to, failing to
submit a plan pursuant to Section 42450.2 or failing to submit an
annual report pursuant to Section 42450.9, the department shall issue
a compliance order with a schedule for achieving compliance.
(b) If, after issuing an order and schedule for compliance
pursuant to subdivision (a), the department finds that the producer
has failed to make a good faith effort to comply with this article,
the department may impose an administrative civil penalty of five
thousand dollars ($5,000) per day until the producer achieves
compliance.
(c) For purposes of this section, "good faith effort" means all
reasonable and feasible efforts by a producer or the program
implementing a plan deemed complete by the department towards
implementing the requirements of this article, including, but not
limited to, meeting the collection rate specified in the plan.
(d) If a household battery stewardship organization or hazardous
waste transporter submits a plan on behalf of a producer pursuant to
Section 42450.2, which plan is deemed complete by the department, and
the department finds the program established by the plan has made a
good faith effort to implement this article, the department shall not
deem the producer to have failed to make a good faith effort to
implement this article.
42450.13. (a) The department may impose an administrative civil
penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) per day against a
wholesaler or retailer that violates Section 42450.6.
(b) A wholesaler or retailer that removes from sale any household
battery within 90 days of discovery that it is not in compliance with
this article shall not be deemed to be in violation of Section
42450.6.
(c) Prior to enforcing any penalty pursuant to this section, the
department shall issue a compliance order to the wholesaler or
retailer selling the household battery allowing 30 days from the date
of the compliance order to cease sales of the household battery.
42450.16. This article does not limit, supersede, duplicate, or
otherwise conflict with the authority of the Department of Toxic
Substances Control under Section 25257.1 of the Health and Safety
Code to fully implement Article 14 (commencing with Section 25251) of
Chapter 6.5 of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, including
the authority of the department to include household batteries in its
household battery registry.
42450.17. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), any action
taken to increase the recycling of household batteries pursuant to
this article by a producer, stewardship organization, or hazardous
waste transporter that affects the types or quantities being recycled
or the cost and structure of any return program is not a violation
of either the Cartwright Act (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section
16700) of Part 2 of Division 7 of the Business and Professions Code),
or the Unfair Practices Act (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
17000), of Part 2 of Division 7 of the Business and Professions
Code).
(b) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to any agreement establishing
or affecting the price of household batteries or the output or
production of household batteries, or any agreement restricting the
geographic area in which, or customers to whom, household batteries
with be sold.
SEC. 3. Article 5 (commencing with Section 44220) is added to
Chapter 3 of Part 4 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, to
read:
Article 5. Universal Waste Management Facilities
44220. For purposes of this article, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "DTSC" means the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
(b) "Project" means the construction, expansion, or retrofitting
of a solid waste facility to process, collect, or recycle a universal
waste.
(c) "Universal waste" has the same meaning as defined in Section
25123.8 of the Health and Safety Code.
44221. Notwithstanding Section 44103, a project is eligible for
the permitting process established by this article if the project
meets all of the following requirements, as determined by DTSC:
(a) The project complies with the Global Warming Solutions Act
(Division 25.6 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and
Safety Code).
(b) The project complies with the California Environmental Quality
Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000)).
(c) The project is capable of creating long-term, high value-added
jobs for Californians while enhancing the state's commitment to
source reduction, recycling, proper handling of universal and
hazardous waste, and greenhouse gas reduction.
44222. (a) Upon the request of an applicant for a project, the
DTSC shall appoint an administrative liaison within DTSC to serve as
the applicant's single point of contact with the DTSC with respect to
the requirements of any permit or authorization required by Chapter
6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20 of the Health and
Safety Code.
(b) The administrative liaison shall provide information to the
applicant regarding the status of, and coordinate the review and
decisionmaking process with respect to, the applications and permits
required by DTSC for the project.
(c) DTSC shall provide all of the following to a project applicant
for a permit or authorization required by Chapter 6.5 (commencing
with Section 25100) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code:
(1) A consolidated project information form to collect the
information required to complete all permits for the project.
(2) A method for tracking the progress of the permit application
through the permitting process, including the identification of a
staff person responsible for monitoring the permit progress.
(3) A process for determining whether the consolidated project
information form is complete upon its submission.
(4) Timetables for action on the permit application.
(5) An expedited appeal process, to ensure fair treatment to the
applicant, using existing agencies, staffs, commissions, or boards,
where possible.
(d) The DTSC shall give the highest priority to a project for
which, as of January 1, 2012, an applicant has submitted an
application for a permit or authorization required by Chapter 6.5
(commence with Section 25100) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety
Code.