2001 Annual Report: Solid Waste Facilities

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• Facility Loans
• Solid Waste Site Cleanup
• Farm and Ranch Grants
• Closed, Illegal, and Abandoned Sites

Facility Loans
Facility compliance loans can help bring solid waste operations into compliance with the Board’s regulations through interest-free funding of corrective actions. In January 2001 the Board approved seven loans—five to public agencies and two to private operators—totaling almost $2.9 million. These loans were the first ones approved under new authority granted by the Legislature in 1999 (AB 992, Wayne, Chapter 496, Statutes of 1999).

In response to recommendations in the Bureau of State Audits report, the Board is recommending new legislation establishing a zero-interest rate loan program for the closure of solid waste landfills. The program targets active, small, rural unlined landfills that must be closed to mitigate potential environmental and public health concerns. With zero-interest rate loans, the Board hopes to provide a financial incentive package that will help fund the elimination of such landfills to protect the public and environment in years to come.

Solid Waste Site Cleanup
An integral function of the Board involves the cleanup of illegal and/or abandoned dumpsites around the state to protect the public and environment. The Board has fortified the program by leveraging of its funds through partnerships with public agencies and responsible parties under Board-managed cleanups. Outreach and assistance to public agencies were enhanced this year and included a training program on illegal dumping attended by over 220 local, State, and federal agencies, and the startup of the new closed, illegal, and abandoned site program.

In 2001, the Board funded 15 cleanup projects totaling nearly $6.4 million with more than $1 million in grants to local agencies. Projects include a number of significant and sensitive sites:

• A matching grant to the City of San Diego to assist in the cleanup of the 38th and Redwood Streets Burn Dump. This project will clean up eight residential properties in a low-income area impacted by lead contamination and radioactive materials.
• Matching grants to the cities of Malibu and Santa Monica to remove trash from Malibu Lagoon and Ballona Creek. These two projects significantly expanded the Board's efforts in cleaning up stormwater-derived trash and other pollutants contaminating urban streams and beaches in Southern California.
• Multiple sites on Table Bluff Indian tribal lands in Humboldt County. This project is an innovative partnership between the Board and the tribal government to help correct long-standing solid waste problems. The Board will clean up multiple dumpsites in support of the tribal government, which recently established solid waste services, enforcement, and recycling programs.

Farm and Ranch Grants

Since January 1, 2001, the Board has significantly increased resources committed to outreach and assistance for potential applicants—limited in statute to city and county agencies—for grants to clean up illegal dumping on agricultural lands. The Board awarded a total of nearly $400,000 in farm and ranch grants in 2001 to help rural landowners rid their properties of illegally dumped trash in the cities of Clearlake, Fontana, and Los Angeles as well as the counties of Amador, Imperial, Kings, Lassen, Madera, San Bernardino, Yolo, and Yuba.

Closed, Illegal, and Abandoned Sites
In 2001, the Board investigated and prioritized more than 500 old burn dumpsites in the state through its closed, illegal, and abandoned sited program. Approximately 50 of these sites have been targeted for further detailed investigation and cleanup work based on site information and inspections by local enforcement agencies (LEA). All sensitive land use properties on or adjacent to the sites were identified. This effort significantly enhances the efforts of the Cal/EPA Burn Dump Work Group to facilitate regulation and cleanup of burn dumps. The Board also assisted LEAs in a number of closed, illegal, and abandoned site inspection and enforcement cases.

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