This section requires people who discharge waste or plan to discharge waste, either within California or outside but affecting California waters, to report it to a regional board. Exceptions are made if requirements are waived. Annual fees are charged to cover regulatory costs, with rates adjusted per the state budget. Specific rules apply to operators of injection wells and feeding operations, taking into account factors like size and type of operation. Funds collected are used solely for regulatory purposes. For mining waste, additional reports on waste characteristics and potential environmental impacts are necessary. Users of recycled water from certified suppliers may not need to file some reports.

The state board must set a fee to cover the costs of handling and enforcing "no exposure" certifications for facilities under a stormwater permit. The money collected from these fees will go into the Waste Discharge Permit Fund.

Every year by January 1st, the state board must give a report to the Governor and the Legislature explaining how the annual fees collected under Section 13260 are being used.

If you don't provide a required report or fee when asked by a regional board, it's a misdemeanor crime, and you could also face fines. Administrative fines can be up to $1,000 per day from the regional or state board unless the state board has already fined you for the same issue. A court can impose fines up to $5,000 per day.

If you discharge hazardous waste or lie on such reports, it's also a misdemeanor, and you could face larger fines. Administrative fines can be up to $5,000 per day, and court fines can go up to $25,000. This doesn't apply to certain waste governed by other specific regulations.

This law allows the Attorney General, when asked by a regional or state board, to go to court and request an order that forces someone to follow Section 13260 if they aren't already doing so. The court can issue different types of orders, like temporary or permanent, to ensure compliance.

This law section outlines how regional boards in California manage wastewater discharges, excluding those into community sewer systems. They set conditions based on the area's current state, protect water uses, meet quality goals, and address other waste impacts. They also aim to prevent nuisances and follow water control plans.

The regional boards have the flexibility to establish timelines for compliance and adjust requirements as needed. Even if no discharge report is filed, they may still set requirements. Requirements are reviewed regularly and can be revised if necessary.

Waste discharge into state waters is a privilege, not a right, and should not create a vested right to continue. Regional boards can include these regulations in a recycling permit for water suppliers or distributors.

The boards can also issue general discharge requirements for similar discharges — similar operations, waste types, and treatment standards — when it's more effective than individual rules.

Before a regional board can approve or change rules about how mining waste is disposed of, it must first make sure that the waste management plan prevents pollution or contamination of state waters, especially after the mining waste site is closed.

If you're running a facility that treats hazardous groundwater, you might not need a hazardous waste permit, but only if you stick to certain rules. First, the groundwater must be extracted to meet specific water pollution standards, like cleanup orders or approved plans. Your facility must also follow certain operating practices, such as keeping detailed records and logs, and handling all waste properly for three years.

If you stop using any treatment equipment, you have to clean it up thoroughly. Just be sure all hazardous waste management rules are followed, and the groundwater must be treated at the extraction site. Finally, you can't use this exemption if your treatment is part of a corrective action plan.

This law emphasizes the importance of pollution prevention as the first step in reducing pollution and managing waste. It defines pollution prevention as any action that reduces the use or generation of harmful substances or pollutants in water, and outlines methods such as input changes, operational improvements, changes in production processes, and product reformulation. Dischargers, such as entities needing a pollutant discharge permit, may be required to create pollution prevention plans under certain conditions, such as being a chronic violator or contributing to toxic hot spots. These plans need to include detailed analyses and descriptions of pollution sources, prevention methods, goals, and compliance with existing environmental laws.

Publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) and industrial dischargers may also have to create pollution prevention plans. The public can review these plans, except for trade secret information. The state board or regional board can establish action schedules based on these plans and impose civil penalties for non-compliance. Dischargers can modify their plans if certain negative impacts are demonstrated, but must propose alternative measures. The state board sets the format for these plans, ensuring all required factors are addressed.

This law focuses on reducing water pollution through pollution prevention as the primary step. Pollution prevention involves actions that decrease the use or generation of pollutants in water, such as changing raw materials, improving site management, altering production processes, and reformulating products. It specifically excludes strategies that just move pollution from water to other mediums unless proven beneficial.

Entities that discharge pollutants, known as dischargers, might have to create and execute a pollution prevention plan if they frequently break rules or contribute to pollution hotspots. Such plans involve analyzing pollutants, assessing prevention methods, setting goals, and balancing costs and benefits. The law provides entities the option to adjust plans if they negatively impact operations or are impractical but requires supervision and approval for such changes. Civil penalties can be imposed for non-compliance with these plans.

This law outlines requirements for waste discharge related to injection wells that handle hazardous waste. When a regional board creates or updates these requirements, they must use information from a specific report assessing the area's groundwater condition. The waste discharge guidelines must ensure that the state's waters are protected from pollution.

Additionally, if the state board wants to take control of the Underground Injection Control Program from the EPA, this request should not cover oil, gas, or geothermal wells, as these are managed by another division.

This law allows publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) to require pollution prevention plans from significant industrial users. These plans are a part of pretreatment requirements aimed at reducing pollution before it enters the treatment facility.

Additionally, state or regional water boards must set limits on the amount of certain harmful substances that can be discharged into these public systems. These substances are identified based on toxic chemical data reported to the state, specifically if they pose a potential risk to water quality.

This law section requires regional boards to set limits on what public-owned treatment works (POTWs) can release into the environment. These limits should cover substances identified as toxic in recent reports, which could potentially exceed state water quality standards. The law emphasizes that it takes precedence over an older version of the same section included in a past legislative bill.

This law section allows for compliance checks on recycled water meant for direct drinking use or mixing with surface water to be conducted at the point where it enters a conveyance system, before it mixes with untreated water. Permission is needed from the owner of the conveyance system before allowing the discharge of recycled water. The State Water Resources Control Board's authority remains unchanged and "raw water" is defined as untreated water from natural sources.

Before any person starts a new waste discharge or changes an existing one, or builds an injection well, they must first file a report as required by another section. Actions can only proceed after specific conditions, like the issuance of discharge requirements, waivers, or certain time frames relating to environmental quality have passed. If these rules aren't followed, the Attorney General can seek court orders to stop any non-compliance.

Money collected from violations will go into a specific fund to help clean up or reduce the effects of waste on state waters.

If someone is caught discharging waste illegally after being warned in writing by the regional board, they could face misdemeanor charges and might have to pay civil penalties. Each day they keep violating counts as a separate offense.

There are two ways to handle civil penalties: a regional board can fine up to $1,000 per day, or the court can impose fines up to $5,000 per day. If hazardous waste is involved, the offender faces similar charges unless they aren't negligent, report the discharge immediately, or the board considers the violation minor.

For hazardous waste violations, penalties are higher: regional boards can impose up to $5,000 penalties daily, while the court can charge up to $25,000 daily. Some waste discharges aren't covered by these rules.

This law requires cities and counties to inform the regional board whenever a tentative subdivision map is filed or when an application for a building permit involves waste discharge, as long as it doesn't pertain to community sewer system discharges or involve buildings with five or fewer family units.

This section allows a regional board to investigate water quality and waste discharge issues for areas within its jurisdiction. The board can require people who discharge waste to provide detailed reports, as long as the need for these reports is justified and explained. These reports should not make trade secrets public but can be used by government agencies for studies and legal proceedings.

The board may inspect facilities to ensure they comply with water quality standards, with either consent, a warrant, or without either in emergencies. It can also join inspections of suspected illegal cannabis sites if waste discharge violations are involved. People who discharge waste into injection wells must provide comprehensive reports on their operations.

The state board can exercise regional board powers if it's not duplicating their efforts. Evidence used in these contexts includes any reliable information used in serious matters, regardless of its admissibility in regular court proceedings.

This law allows California regional or state boards to require information about the chemicals used in wastewater from oil or gas fields. If a company can't get chemical details from suppliers, possibly due to trade secrets, the boards can demand the suppliers to provide that information. The law assures that trade secret protections are honored if requested. Still, other collected information must be publicly available on the boards' websites. Additionally, the boards can work with the Geologic Energy Management Division to use existing data for their investigations.

This law outlines the penalties for failing to provide or falsifying required technical or monitoring reports related to water quality in California. If someone doesn't provide these reports, they can be charged with a misdemeanor, face civil penalties, and criminal fines. Reports not submitted or falsified can lead to administrative fines up to $1,000 per day, or court-imposed fines up to $5,000 per day. Those handling hazardous waste face steeper fines up to $25,000 per day, especially if done knowingly.

Funds collected from these fines are used to help clean up and prevent water pollution via the Waste Discharge Permit Fund. The state board can take over duties from regional boards if it avoids duplicating efforts.

This law allows the state or regional water boards in California to waive certain waste discharge requirements if it's in line with water quality plans and serves the public interest. These waivers can last up to five years, potentially renewable, and include conditions like monitoring to ensure effectiveness.

Monitoring can be waived if the discharge poses no significant water quality threat. Waiver conditions might include an annual fee to fund program activities. Relevant factors like size and compliance costs are considered when setting fees for agriculture and forestry operations. For certain emergencies, like disaster responses, some discharge rules can be temporarily bypassed.

Waivers in effect before certain dates may continue under specific conditions. The boards must review waivers publicly before renewal, assessing if waste discharge requirements are needed.

This section says that if a public agency leases land to another public agency or a public utility for waste disposal, the leasing agency doesn't have to file waste discharge reports. Also, they won't be subject to certain waste discharge requirements, as long as the lease doesn't prevent the lessee from meeting the waste discharge rules for the property.

This law requires anyone who causes or allows hazardous substances or sewage to be discharged into state waters to report it immediately to the Office of Emergency Services. Notification must happen as soon as the person is aware of the discharge and can do so without interfering with cleanup efforts.

The Office of Emergency Services then alerts relevant environmental and health authorities. These authorities decide whether the public needs to be informed to protect health and safety.

If a person fails to report as required, they may be fined up to $20,000 or face up to a year in jail. However, if the notification involves cleanup or emergency response actions, it can't be used in criminal charges against the notifier, except for perjury or false statements.

This law also mandates the establishment of reportable quantities for hazardous substances and sewage, defining when reporting is necessary due to potential risks to public health or the environment. Certain exclusions apply, and notifying authorities under this law doesn't replace other notification obligations by law.

In California, if you cause or allow oil or petroleum to spill into state waters, or where it might eventually reach water, you must quickly inform the Office of Emergency Services. This rule doesn't cover spills allowed by existing discharge permits. If you fail to report a spill, you might face fines and possibly jail time. The notification won't be held against you in criminal cases, unless you lie. Notifying the regional board as specified in the California reporting rules can satisfy your duty to report. Spills of one barrel (42 gallons) or more typically require a report, unless stricter rules apply for certain waters.

This law requires each regional water board in California to create and share a quarterly report with public water system operators. The report must list any discharges of MTBE (a gasoline additive) and locations where MTBE was found in the groundwater in their area.

This law requires the state board to rank solid waste disposal sites by how much they threaten water quality. By certain deadlines, the operators of these sites must submit a water quality test to a regional board. A qualified geologist or engineer must certify these reports, which analyze nearby water and soil for hazardous waste leakage.

The regional board reviews the tests to ensure they can detect any hazardous waste leakage and, if necessary, they will demand corrections. If hazardous waste is found, they must notify environmental authorities and take remedial action. Revisions of waste discharge requirements must consider test results and other engineering data.

This law outlines procedures for operators of solid waste disposal sites in relation to water quality assessments. Before a scheduled water quality assessment, site operators can submit a questionnaire to the regional board if their site is not over 50,000 cubic yards or doesn't contain hazardous substances (aside from household ones). The board reviews these questionnaires to identify potential contamination affecting water use. If no hazardous discharge is detected, operators don't need to conduct further water quality tests. If the review is inconclusive, parts or all of the assessment test must be completed. The law also mandates the creation of a standard questionnaire by the state board to help gather necessary data, including waste types, site size, and age. Specific deadlines apply for sites seeking assessment exemptions.

Even if a solid waste site is initially exempt, a regional board in California can review and reassess its status and decide if further testing is needed to evaluate its impact on water quality. The board can request new or updated assessments from the site operator. They must provide written notification with a due date for this assessment, but they can't demand it sooner than past established deadlines.

This law clarifies who is considered the 'operator' of a solid waste disposal site in California. It states that an 'operator' is someone who currently, or in the past, managed or operated the site. If the original operator is no longer available or can't meet legal obligations, then the 'operator' is any individual who owns or has owned the site.

This law says that certain small cities in Kings County, California, don't have to submit a solid waste water quality report if they operate a specific type of landfill under certain conditions. If a city has fewer than 20,000 residents, its landfill takes in less than 20,000 tons of waste annually, sits at least 250 feet above the water table, receives less than 12 inches of rain a year, and the water isn't drinkable, they are exempt.

The landfill must already be operational with proper permits as of January 1, 1991, and must have completed initial tests showing no significant air or water contamination. If these conditions are met, the city doesn't have to do additional tests for seven years, or longer if specified.

This law section requires the state board or regional boards in California to establish general rules for handling and applying sewage sludge and other biological solids. These rules replace individual permits and set minimum standards for using these materials as fertilizers or soil amendments in agriculture, forestry, and mining. They include measures to prevent environmental issues and health hazards. The boards must also consult with other state agencies and can charge fees to cover costs. These general rules take precedence over those from other agencies unless there are specific exceptions. This law does not change the authority of agencies over composting, landfill use, incineration, or fertilizer regulations, nor does it limit local governments from regulating these activities on their lands.

This law allows public water systems in California, which are regulated by the state board, to take legal action against parties responsible for contaminating the water supply. They have the same legal rights as private landowners whose groundwater has been contaminated. The term 'responsible party' refers to the definition given in another section of the Health and Safety Code.

This California law requires a task force comprising the Department of Fish and Wildlife and other state agencies to permanently continue and expand their efforts in reducing the negative effects of cannabis cultivation on water and wildlife. These efforts now apply across the entire state.

Additionally, the state or regional water boards are instructed to manage waste from cannabis cultivation by setting rules like permits and specific waste discharge terms. These rules address various aspects like site maintenance, stream crossings, water management, and the use of chemicals and fertilizers. It also covers cleaning up and restoring affected areas.