On September 19, 2011, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board) adopted emergency regulations revising the core regulatory fee schedules contained in Title 23, Division 3, Chapter 9, Article 1, Sections 2200 and 2200.6, and adding Section 2200.7 of the California Code of Regulations.  In California all regulations must be approved by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) before becoming effective.  

The State Board approved the fee increases proposed by staff and, after approval by the Office of Administrative Law, fees will increase for all storm water Industrial, Construction & Municipal Permits, retroactive to July 1, 2011.

To view the fee schedule proposed to the Board, go to http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/resources/fees/index.shtml under Annoucements & select Board Meeting Agenda Items for the adoption of regulatory fees for Water Quality and Water Rights Programs ( http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/board_info/agendas/2011/sep/agnd091911.pdf ), Item 9, Change Sheet #1.  Please note that some minor modifications were made to the resolution adopted by the State Board but the final language is not, yet available.  The resolution modifications had no impact on the adopted fee rates.

The Division of Administrative Services – Fee Branch, is responsible for setting and collecting fees for the Water Quality Program. If you have questions regarding Water Quality Fees, please email Fee_Branch@waterboards.ca.gov or phone (916) 341-5247.

• A total aboveground oil or oil product storage capacity at the facility of more than 1,320 gallons, or
• A total underground, buried storage capacity of more than 42,000 gallons.
• Only containers with a capacity of 55 gallons or greater are counted in the calculation of aboveground storage capacity.

Commonly overlooked is the capacity of equipment that uses oil or oil products, which must be considered as well as general storage.

Plans need to be reviewed at least every 5 years, and effective November 1, 2011, must incorporate changes made to the regulation.

Contact CDMS to help evaluate if you need a plan, need assistance in developing a plan, or need your plan certified by a Professional Engineer.

The EPA estimates that the reporting burden for preparation of this report is an average of 16.4 hours. Let CDMS prepare your reports accurately and for less cost than it would take to complete them in-house. Contact us to receive a quotation for preparing this report, and get on our schedule to meet the March 1st deadline.

For more information, or to request a quote, go to http://www.cdms.com/our-services/hazardous-material-regulatory-support/reporting-plans/hazardous-waste-biennial-reports

If you are permitted under the California Stormwater General Permit, don’t forget to collect your samples over two rain events this rainy season.

CDMS can provide sampling kits to make sampling easy.  Contact one of our offices to find out more.

The Form R report is required if any of the over 600  listed chemicals or substances are used as raw material, or as an ingredient in a material, over the reporting threshold for that chemical.

Common and often overlooked reportable materials include:

• Lead
• Metals including Copper, Chrome, Nickel, Zinc (stainless steel includes several reportable materials)
• Nitric Acid
• Sulfuric Acid

The annual public burden related to Form R reporting, as stated by the EPA, is estimated to average 29.6 hours per response for non-PBT chemicals and 51.3 hours per response for PBT chemicals.

The penalties for failing to submit this report on time are be significant, it is rare that non filers are not assessed a fine.  The EPA does have some provisions for self-disclosure of non compliance in which fines can be eliminated provided certain conditions are met.

For more information or to request a quote go to: http://www.cdms.com/our-services/hazardous-material-regulatory-support/reporting-plans/tri-form-r-reports/

CDMS can assist with the reporting and self-disclosure.

Qualifying facilities include those that generated more than 13.2 tons of hazardous waste in 2010.  Wastes that are considered are both RCRA and non-RCRA waste, and are generated on site (even if the generated waste is then treated and/or not manifested).  A common mistake is to not include hazardous waste water that is treated on site and discharged to the sewer, as this waste water does qualify as hazardous waste generated.

For more information go to http://www.cdms.com/our-services/hazardous-material-regulatory-support/reporting-plans/waste-minimization-plans/

If you need assistance determining if you are required to address Waste Minimization requirements, or to learn how CDMS can address the requirements for you, please contact one of our offices.

Seminar Locations and Dates

Dublin, CA: Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Long Beach, CA: Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Download the Sign-Up Form

Who Needs It

Federal Department of Transportation regulation 49CFR § 172.704 HM126F requires that employers who are are involved in the following activities train employees:

• Transporting hazardous materials in commerce;
• Causing hazardous materials to be transported or shipped in commerce; or
• Representing, marking, certifying, selling, offering, reconditioning, testing, repairing, or modifying containers, drums, or packaging as qualified for use in the transportation of hazardous materials.

Note that this includes those who offer for shipment, as well as those who actually physically transport the waste.  Facilities that have waste hauled from their site by an outside waste hauler are required to train employees in the HM126f training.

Employees who must be trained include those that, during the course of employment:

• Loads, unloads, or handles hazardous materials;
• Test, recondition, repair, modify, mark, or otherwise represent containers, drums or packaging as qualified for use in the transportation of hazardous materials;
• Prepare hazardous materials for transportation;
• Are responsible for safety of transportation;
• Are responsible for safety of transporting hazardous materials or
• Operate a vehicle used to transport hazardous materials.

This can include purchasing personnel, employees that label the shipping containers, waste handlers, and those employees that are signing the hazardous waste manifests.

Newly hired employed t employees must be trained within 90 days of their employment.  Retraining must be taken every 3 years.

CDMS Training

The course will address the requirements for the Safe Transportation of Hazardous Materials training and include the following modules:

• General Awareness

• Function Specific Training

• Safety Training

• Security Awareness Training

The session is approximately 6 hours in length.

A site is a RCRA Large Quantity Generator (LQG) for 2009 if the site met any of the following criteria:

• The site generated, in any single calendar month, 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs.) or more of RCRA non-acute hazardous waste; or
• The site generated, in any single calendar month, or accumulated at any time, more than 1 kg (2.2 lbs.) of RCRA acute hazardous waste; or
• The site generated, in any single calendar month, or accumulated at any time, more than 100 kg (220 lbs.) of spill cleanup material contaminated with RCRA acute hazardous waste.