Butte County Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Butte County Solid Waste Collection, Management and Recycling Ordinance.

(Ord. No. 3336, § 2, 5-27-97)

The Board of Supervisors of Butte County finds as follows:

A. It is necessary, in order to preserve the environment and protect the health and safety and quality of life of the residents of Butte County, to provide for an efficient solid waste management system which includes collection of solid waste and recyclable materials.

B. It is desirable that all generators of solid waste and recyclable materials within the County are included in such collection system.

C. A stable revenue source is necessary to provide solid waste management and recycling services as required by Federal and State mandates.

D. It is necessary for the collection system to be managed in a manner which will encourage the reduction, recycling, or reuse of solid waste to conserve water, energy, and other natural resources, to protect the environment, and to meet the diversion requirements mandated by the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989.

E. It is desirable for the County to have centralized facilities available to the public for the processing and disposal of solid waste so that such facilities can operate in a cost effective manner which will encourage their use, discourage illegal dumping, and spread the cost of the use thereof among the users and members of the public who benefit from the use thereof.

F. It is desirable for solid waste collection services to be available, on a voluntary basis, to the maximum possible number of residents of the County.

G. It is necessary, in view of the following findings, to require solid waste collector licensees to deliver solid waste to a solid waste facility or facilities owned by the County:

1. Local Interests.

a. Landfill tipping fees payable at County owned solid waste Facilities, including the Neal Road Recycling and Waste Facility, are deposited in the County's Solid Waste Management Enterprise Fund, and are used, among other purposes, to fund, fully or partially, the County's Solid Waste diversion and Household Hazardous Waste programs, and public education programs related thereto. Said programs have been established and implemented in accordance with the County's Source Reduction and Recycling Plan approved by the California Integrated Waste Management Board and with provisions of the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 ("AB 939"). The purpose of these programs is to recover recyclable materials and reduce the amount of solid waste that is disposed of in landfills and to give County residents and small businesses a safe way to dispose of Hazardous Waste. Additional programs are necessary in order to meet the requirements of AB 939 but cannot be implemented unless there is a stable flow of solid waste and a corresponding stable revenue source, which can be ensured by requiring disposal of solid waste at County-owned facilities where tipping fees will be generated.

b. A stable flow of solid waste and a corresponding stable revenue source will enhance the ability of the County to protect the public health, safety and welfare and to comply with applicable laws and regulations by developing waste management units and waste processing facilities for renewable energy at the County's Neal Road Recycling and Waste Facility.

c. The County, the City of Biggs and the City of Gridley have formed the Butte Regional Waste Management Authority to provide for coordinated solid waste diversion and recycling, including the delivery of member's solid waste to a County designated solid waste facility or facilities.

d. County has established detailed health and safety and technical performance standards for operation of its Neal Road Recycling and Waste Facility and proposed recyclable materials recovery facility. These provisions help assure that the County's solid waste is handled in a manner that will minimize the likelihood of County Superfund liability pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA"). Examples of existing operational standards and requirements include, but are not limited to: Flood, drainage and erosion control that prevent storm water runoff and pollution of water courses.

Vector and vermin control, to prevent promulgation and spread of disease. Protocols for screening incoming solid waste to exclude Hazardous Waste.

Protocols for safely handling special wastes, including cannery waste and other waste that might require immediate cover or other special handling.

Detailed requirements for covering waste on daily, interim and final basis.

In addition, the County has made and will make substantial investments at the Neal Road Recycling and Waste Facility for protective liners, leachate collection systems, and other infrastructure to provide appropriate landfill design and operation to protect the public health, safety and welfare, in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

e. A stable flow of solid waste and recyclable materials and a corresponding stable revenue source will enhance the ability of the County to ensure the continued funding of the Local Enforcement Agency (LEA), which agency has been established pursuant to applicable laws and regulations to act as the enforcement agent pertaining to solid waste regulations in the County.

f. Delivery of solid waste and recyclable materials generated in the County to County owned facilities will enable the County to establish, operate and maintain integrated waste management facilities together with the supporting administrative, enforcement and public educational infrastructure. A stable flow of solid waste and recyclable materials is essential in order to properly size and design diversion facilities, infrastructure and programs, which flow can be ensured by requiring disposal at County-owned facilities.

g. The County has the authority granted by Public Resources Code Section 40059 and Article XI, section 7 of the California Constitution, to determine whether services for the collection, transportation, processing, and disposal of solid waste in the unincorporated areas of the County of Butte are to be provided by means of nonexclusive franchise, contract, license, permit, or otherwise, either with or without competitive bidding, or if, in the opinion of the Board of Supervisors, the public health, safety, and well-being so require, by partially exclusive or wholly exclusive franchise, contract, license, or otherwise, either with or without competitive bidding.

(Ord. No. 3844, § 1, 2-11-03: Ord. No. 3336, § 2, 5-27-97)

(Ord. No. 4088, § 1, 11-4-14)

Pursuant to Public Resources Code Sections 40000 et seq., this chapter is adopted to provide for a solid waste and recyclable materials collection system which shall preserve the health and safety and provide for a stable revenue source with which the County of Butte may provide adequate management of solid waste.

(Ord. No. 3336, § 2, 5-27-97)

(Ord. No. 4088, § 2, 11-4-14)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 4088, § 3, adopted November 4, 2014, repealed § 31-4, in its entirety. Former § 31-4 pertained to effect of chapter in Chico urban area and was derived from Ord. No. 3336, § 2, adopted May 27, 1997.

The Board of Supervisors recognizes the desirability of entering into agreements with other incorporated municipal jurisdictions within the county to more fully accomplish the purposes of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 3336, § 2, 5-27-97)