SECTIONS 65959-65959.3 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 65959-65959.3

65959. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the
California Environmental Protection Agency was established to enhance
the state's protection of the environment by, among other things,
more effectively coordinating the permit actions of the departments
or boards within the agency which issue environmental permits and by
ensuring timely responses to applicants for permits in order to
reduce costs associated with compliance with the state's
environmental protection statutes and programs. It is the intent of
this article to provide a mechanism by which the California
Environmental Protection Agency may further this objective of
environmental protection by bringing relevant agencies together to
foster the integration of requests for information, promote speedy
and cost-effective compliance, and synchronize, to the maximum extent
feasible, the environmental permit requirements imposed on
applicants by the departments or boards within the agency.

65959.1. For purposes of this article, "environmental permit" means
any permit issued by the Department of Toxic Substances Control for
the storage, treatment, handling, or disposal of hazardous waste, as
defined in Section 25117 of the Health and Safety Code, or any waste
discharge requirements issued by the State Water Resources Control
Board or a California regional water quality control board.

65959.2. (a) At the request of an applicant for more than one
environmental permit, the Secretary for Environmental Protection may,
using existing staff and budgetary resources, convene a permitting
team for the project composed of permit writers and other appropriate
personnel from the board or department responsible for review of the
project and the issuance of an environmental permit. The permitting
team shall identify all statutory and regulatory requirements for the
issuance of the environmental permits and provide that information
to the applicant in order to facilitate, to the maximum extent
feasible, the uniform, consistent, and expeditious processing of
environmental permit applications.
(b) At the request of the applicant, the Secretary for
Environmental Protection may solicit the participation of relevant
federal, state, and local agencies on the permitting team to
facilitate cooperation, reduce duplication, and assist in conflict
resolution.

65959.3. This article does not confer any new or additional
authority over the issuance of environmental permits on the
California Environmental Protection Agency or diminish in any way the
existing authority of any other state or local agency.