Section 25199.7 Of Article 8.7. Procedures For The Approval Of New Facilities From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 20. >> Chapter 6.5. >> Article 8.7.
25199.7
. (a) At least 90 days before filing an application for a
land use decision for a specified hazardous waste facility project
with a local agency, the proponent shall file a notice of intent to
make the application with the Office of Permit Assistance in the
Office of Planning and Research and with the applicable city or
county. The notice of intent shall specify the location to which the
notice of intent is applicable and shall contain a complete
description of the nature, function, and scope of the project. The
Office of Permit Assistance shall immediately notify affected state
agencies of the notice of intent. The local agency shall publish a
notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the area affected by
the proposed project, shall post notices in the location where the
proposed project is located, and shall notify, by a direct mailing,
the owners of contiguous property, as shown in the latest equalized
assessment roll. A notice of intent filed with a local agency shall
be accompanied by a fee which shall be set by the local agency in an
amount equal to the local agency's cost of processing the notice of
intent and carrying out the notification requirements of this
subdivision. A notice of intent is not transferable to a location
other than the location specified in the notice and shall remain in
effect for one year from the date it is filed with a local agency or
until it is withdrawn by the proponent, whichever is earlier.
(b) A notice of intent is not effective and a proponent may not
file an application for a land use decision for a specified hazardous
waste facility project with a local agency unless the proponent has
first complied with subdivision (a).
(c) Within 90 days after a notice of intent is filed with the
Office of Permit Assistance pursuant to subdivision (a), the office
shall convene a public meeting in the affected city or county to
inform the public on the nature, function, and scope of the proposed
specified hazardous waste facility project and the procedures that
are required for approving applications for the project.
(d) The legislative body of the affected local agency shall
appoint a seven member local assessment committee to advise it in
considering an application for a land use decision for a specified
hazardous waste facility project. The members of the local assessment
committee may be appointed at any time after the notice of intent is
filed with the local agency but shall be appointed not later than 30
days after the application for the land use decision is accepted as
complete by the local agency. The local agency shall charge the
project proponent a fee to cover the local agency's costs of
establishing and convening the local assessment committee. The fee
shall accompany the application for a land use decision.
(1) The membership of the committee shall be broadly constituted
to reflect the makeup of the community, and shall include three
representatives of the community at large, two representatives of
environmental or public interest groups, and two representatives of
affected businesses and industries. Members of local assessment
committees selected pursuant to this subdivision shall have no direct
financial interest, as defined in Section 87103 of the Government
Code, in the proposed specified hazardous waste facility project.
(2) The local assessment committee shall, as its primary function,
advise the appointing legislative body of the affected local agency
of the terms and conditions under which the proposed hazardous waste
facility project may be acceptable to the community. To carry out
this function, the local assessment committee shall do all of the
following:
(A) Enter into a dialogue with the proponent for the proposed
hazardous waste facility project to reach an understanding with the
proponent on both of the following:
(i) The measures that should be taken by the proponent in
connection with the operation of the proposed hazardous waste
facility project to protect the public health, safety, and welfare,
and the environment of the city or county.
(ii) The special benefits and remuneration the facility proponent
will provide the city or county as compensation for the local costs
associated with the operation of the facility.
(B) Represent generally, in meetings with the project proponent,
the interests of the residents of the city or county and the
interests of adjacent communities.
(C) Receive and expend any technical assistance grants made
available pursuant to subdivision (g).
(D) Adopt rules and procedures which are necessary to perform its
duties.
(E) Advise the legislative body of the city or county of the
terms, provisions, and conditions for project approval which have
been agreed upon by the committee and the proponent, and of any
additional information which the committee deems appropriate. The
legislative body of the city or county may use this advice for its
independent consideration of the project.
(3) The legislative body of the affected jurisdiction shall
provide staff resources to assist the local assessment committee in
performing its duties.
(4) A local assessment committee established pursuant to this
subdivision shall cease to exist after final administrative action by
state and local agencies has been taken on the permit applications
for the project for which the committee was convened.
(e) A local agency shall notify the Office of Permit Assistance
within 10 days after an application for a land use decision for a
specified hazardous waste facility project is accepted as complete by
the local agency and, within 60 days after receiving this notice,
the Office of Permit Assistance shall convene a meeting of the lead
and responsible agencies for the project, the proponent, the local
assessment committee, and the interested public, for the purpose of
determining the issues which concern the agencies that are required
to approve the project and the issues which concern the public. The
meeting shall take place in the jurisdiction where the application
has been filed.
(f) Following the meeting required by subdivision (e), the
proponent and the local assessment committee appointed pursuant to
subdivision (d) shall meet and confer on the specified hazardous
waste facility project proposal for the purpose of establishing the
terms and conditions under which the project will be acceptable to
the community.
(g) (1) If the local assessment committee finds that it requires
assistance and independent advice to adequately review a proposed
hazardous waste facility project, it may request technical assistance
grants from the local agency to enable the committee to hire a
consultant. The committee may use technical assistance grant funds
made available to it to hire a consultant to do either, or both, of
the following:
(A) Assist the committee in reviewing and evaluating the
application for the project, the environmental documents prepared for
the project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act
(Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources
Code) and any other documents, materials, and information that are
required by a public agency in connection with the application for a
land use decision or a permit.
(B) Advise the local assessment committee in its meetings and
discussions with the facility proponent to seek agreement on the
terms and conditions under which the project will be acceptable to
the community.
(2) The local agency shall require the proponent of the proposed
hazardous waste facility project to pay a fee equal to the amount of
any technical assistance grant provided the local assessment
committee under paragraph (1). The funds received as a result of the
imposition of the fee shall be used to make technical assistance
grants exclusively for the purposes described in paragraph (1).
(3) The local agency shall deposit any fee imposed pursuant to
paragraph (2) in an account created in the city or county treasury,
maintain records of all expenditures from the account, and return any
unused funds and accrued interest to the project proponent upon
completion of the review of the proposed hazardous waste facility
project.
(h) If the local assessment committee and the proponent cannot
resolve any differences through the meetings, the Office of Permit
Assistance may assist in this resolution pursuant to Section 25199.4.
(i) This section applies only to a specified hazardous waste
facility project.