California Code of Regulations › Title 22 - Social Security › Division 4.5 - Environmental Health Standards for the Management of Hazardous Waste › Chapter 22 - Enforcement, Inspections, and Informant Rewards › Article 3 - Assessment of Administrative Penalties › Section 66272.62 - Determining the Initial Penalty for Each Violation

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) The Enforcement Agency shall determine an
				  initial penalty for each violation, considering potential harm and the extent
				  of deviation from hazardous waste management requirements. The Enforcement
				  Agency shall use the matrix set forth in Subsection
				  66272.62(d) to
				  determine the initial penalty for each violation.
(b) Potential Harm of the Violation
(1) The Enforcement Agency shall consider
				  potential harm to public health and safety and the environment when using the
				  matrix.
(2) The categories for
				  degree of potential harm are defined as follows:
(A) Major -- The characteristics and/or
				  amount of the substance involved present a major threat to human health or
				  safety or the environment and the circumstances of the violation indicate a
				  high potential for harm or, in the case of a violation of financial
				  requirements, coverage is lacking or substantially below the required amount or
				  it is certain or probable that the coverage would be absent or
				  inadequate;
(B) Moderate -- The
				  characteristics and/or amount of the substance involved do not present a major
				  threat to human health or safety or the environment, and the circumstances of
				  the violation do not indicate a high potential for harm or, in the case of a
				  violation of financial requirements, coverage is significantly below the
				  required amount or it is possible that the coverage would be absent or
				  inadequate;
(C) Minimal -- The
				  threat presented by the characteristics and the amount of the substance or by
				  the circumstances of the violation are low or, in the case of a violation of
				  financial requirements, coverage is slightly below the required amount or it is
				  unlikely that the coverage would be absent or inadequate.
(3) In determining the degree of potential
				  harm, the Enforcement Agency shall consider the following factors:
(A) The characteristics of the substance
				  involved,
(B) The amount of the
				  substance involved,
(C) The extent
				  to which human life or health is threatened,
(D) The extent to which animal life is
				  threatened,
(E) The extent to which
				  the environment is threatened, and
(F) The extent to which potable water
				  supplies are threatened.
(4) Potential harm for violations or
				  financial requirements shall be determined by considering the amount of
				  closure, postclosure, or corrective action costs for which there is no
				  financial assurance or the amount of required liability coverage that is
				  absent, and the likelihood that injury or damages, if they occur, will not be
				  compensated due to an inadequacy in the coverage.
(5) A violation must involve the actual
				  management of hazardous waste including the absence of adequate financial
				  assurance for closure, postclosure, corrective action or financial liability
				  coverage, as distinguished from being a "record-keeping" violation, for the
				  violation to have a major potential for harm. "Record-keeping," for purposes of
				  this article, means a requirement to record information, to retain records, and
				  to have documents available for inspection. "Record-keeping" does not include a
				  substantive requirement such as the requirement to have a contingency plan, a
				  waste analysis plan, or a closure plan. The following examples illustrate what
				  is considered "record-keeping" and what is considered a violation that could
				  have a major potential for harm.
(A) A failure
				  to record inspections that were in fact completed is a record-keeping violation
				  and would not have a major potential for harm. A failure to conduct inspections
				  according to the schedule is not a record-keeping violation and could have a
				  major potential for harm depending on the circumstances.
(B) A failure to retain a copy of a manifest
				  is a record-keeping violation and would not have a major potential for harm. A
				  failure to use a manifest for a shipment of hazardous waste is not a
				  record-keeping violation and could have a major potential for harm depending on
				  the circumstances.
(C) A failure to
				  have available for inspection a waste analysis plan that does in fact exist is
				  a record-keeping violation and would not have a major potential for harm. A
				  failure to have a waste analysis plan, or a failure to have a waste analysis
				  plan available to staff who are to implement the plan, is not a record-keeping
				  violation and could have a major potential for harm depending on the
				  circumstances.
(6)
				  Financial violations that are strictly paperwork errors or omissions that do
				  not affect actual functioning of adequate financial assurance for closure,
				  postclosure, corrective action, or financial liability coverage are
				  record-keeping violations. Violations involving the absence of adequate
				  financial assurance for closure, postclosure, corrective action, or financial
				  liability coverage are hazardous waste management violations, not
				  record-keeping violations.
(7)
				  Groundwater monitoring record-keeping is a fundamental part of the groundwater
				  monitoring requirements. Groundwater monitoring record-keeping violations may
				  have a major, moderate, or minimal potential for harm. The category selected
				  for potential harm shall be based on the extent to which the violation may lead
				  directly to environmental harm, have a potential for harm, or cause an
				  inability to detect releases to groundwater.