SUNSHINE CANYON LANDFILL LOCAL ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
The Sunshine Canyon Landfill Local Enforcement Agency (SCL LEA) is an entity that was created to be the primary local agency that provides the regulatory permitting, enforcement, and operational compliance oversight for the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Cal Recycle (formerly California Integrated Waste Management Board).
Part of Sunshine Canyon Landfill is located within the City of Los Angeles and part within the County of Los Angeles. The City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles entered into a Joint Exercise of Powers (JPA) Agreement for the creation of this new local enforcement agency, the Sunshine Canyon Landfill Local Enforcement Agency (SCL LEA), in the County and City of Los Angeles.
The SCL LEA activities focus on the permitting, inspection, and enforcement of state laws and regulations of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill (SCL). Allied Waste, operating as Browning Ferris Industries, owns the Sunshine Canyon Landfill Incorporated (BFI).
The City of Los Angeles City Council and the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors designated SCL LEA as the enforcement agency for all certification types including the permitting, inspection and enforcement of regulations of solid waste disposal, materials recovery, recycling, composting, transformation and conversion technology operations which may occur at the Sunshine Canyon Landfill.
A. ABOUT THE SCL LEA
On June 6, 2008, the Sunshine Canyon Landfill Local Enforcement Agency (SCL LEA) submitted the Designated Information Package (DIP) for the certification as the local enforcement agency for the Sunshine Canyon Landfill. The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB, now Cal Recycle) approval of the Enforcement Program Plan (EPP) and conditional approval of the SCL LEA was received in August 2008. The EPP is the operational manual of the SCL LEA. The EPP is updated each year by the SCL LEA and reviewed/approved by Cal Recycle. In December 10, 2010, the SCL LEA received final approval from Cal Recycle.
B. GOAL of SCL LEA
The goal of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill Local Enforcement Agency Program is to insure that all solid waste facilities are properly established, operated and managed in a manner that protects the public health, the environment, and maximizes the safety of workers, the public, and agency personnel.
C. OBJECTIVES of SCL LEA
The objectives of the SCL LEA program are to assure compliance with federal and state ordinances and regulations within its authority by means of periodic inspections, audits, and operational reviews.
D. SCL LEA RESPONSIBILITY TO PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Public health, environmental protection and safety impacts to be controlled in whole or in part by the SCL LEA are:
· Spread of illness or injury through contamination of air, water and disease carrying vectors
· Propagation of vectors
· Prevention of the receipt and disposal of hazardous materials
· Control of nuisances such as dust, odor, litter, noise, and visual or aesthetic degradation
· Public health and environmental impacts due to dust, mists, vapors and offsite migration of landfill gases
· Control of disease causing agents
· Solid waste inspection personnel safety and health
· Prevention of impacts to natural resources including wildlife and natural vegetation
· Facility emergency contingency planning, preparedness and response
E. SCL LEA ENFORCEMENT AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES:
1) Maintain the local enforcement agency designation from the City of Los Angeles and from the County of Los Angeles, as well as certification by the California Integrated Waste Management Board (now Cal Recycle)
2) Maintain operations within acceptable parameters as determined by standards found in the Public Resources Code and the California Code of Regulations
3) Routinely inspect the Sunshine Canyon Landfill to insure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local regulations
4) Provide outreach and facilitation for the resolution of community based issues involving the Sunshine Canyon Landfill
5) Provide SCL LEA management and staff with ongoing training programs which will develop and/or provide the SCL LEA personnel with the technical expertise needed for its operations
6) Establish a system for solid waste and environmental information retrieval and dissemination for facility operators, program staff, public, and other interested parties
7) Establish a permitting system consistent with State regulations
8) Establish a procedure to receive and respond to complaints of non-compliance at the Sunshine Canyon Landfill and ensure follow-up on all complaints received
9) Establish a system which tracks complaints and assures investigations of complaints are responded to within 24 hours (excluding weekends)
10) Perform quality assurance reviews which consist of audits, field visits, program reviews and interviews with periodic reports to the Board of Directors, and follow up to assure corrections
11) Develop an environmental sustainability program plan and implement practices to minimize the SCL LEA’s operational carbon footprint.
12) Develop an environmental baseline metric and monitor and evaluate the progress, as part of an annual environmental management system (EMS) report
13) Provide training on emerging topics, e.g., environmental sustainability, various types of conversion technologies and “technology transfer”
F. ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY OF THE SCL LEA
Division 30 of the Public Resources Code (PRC) sets forth, the types of cases, which involve the SCL LEA and/or Hearing Panel. This division provides enforcement authority to the SCL LEA regarding denial, suspension or revocation of permits. It also provides for review of the SCL LEA actions by the Hearing Panel. Administrative enforcement is also covered in this division. Hearings including SCL LEA enforcement activities, or lack thereof, are authorized by PRC section 44307. More details of the Hearing Panel are provided in the SCL LEA Enforcement Program Plan (EPP). A downloadable copy of the EPP is available in the "Documents" section of this website. .
The SCL LEA is authorized to take any or all legal or equitable actions, including but not limited to injunction and specific performance, necessary or permitted by State law. The SCL LEA has the authority to pursue legal measures to mitigate any violation of the State minimum standards or Solid Waste Facility Permit (SWFP) conditions. This authority includes the ability to require a facility to cease and desist any unlawful operations, or to cleanup any solid waste not disposed of in accordance with all applicable regulations.
The SCL LEA may also pursue civil action to recover fines associated with a particular violation. The SCL LEA has the ability to modify, suspend, or revoke a permit if a facility has violated any of its’ conditions, depending on the risk to health, safety or the impact on the environment. In addition, the SCL LEA may take into consideration the repeated or chronic nature of the violation or if the operator has provided incorrect, inaccurate or misleading information which led to the approval and/or development of the permit and/or its conditions.
The intent of the enforcement actions is to require the operator to take whatever steps are necessary to achieve compliance with all applicable regulations and/or permit conditions.
CALRECYCLE EVALUATION OF SCL LEA AS LOCAL ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR SUNSHINE CANYON LANDFILL
SCL LEA received the Final Evaluation Report from CalRecycle on September 11, 2013 for the performance period covering July 31, 2010 through August 2, 2013. CalRecycle recognized SCL LEA for implementing an effective program that successfully addresses its LEA duties and responsibilities.