Inyo County Municipal Code Ch. 7.11 Monitoring and Diversion of Construction and Demolition Debris

For the purposes of this chapter the following definitions apply:

"Applicant"

means any individual, firm, limited liability company, association, partnership, political subdivision, government agency, municipality, industry, public or private corporation, or any other entity what-soever who applies to the county for applicable permits to undertake any construction, demolition, or renovation project within the county.

"Contractor"

means any person or entity holding, or required to hold, a contractor's license of any type under the laws of the state of California, or who performs (whether as contractor, subcontractor or owner-builder) any construction, demolition, remodeling, or landscaping service relating to buildings or accessory structures in Inyo County.

"Construction"

means all building, landscaping, remodeling, addition, removal or destruction.

"Construction and demolition debris"

includes:

Discarded materials generally considered to be not water soluble and non-hazardous in nature, including, but not limited to, steel, glass, brick, concrete, asphalt material, metal, pipe, gypsum, wallboard, and lumber from the construction or destruction of a structure as part of a construction or demolition project or from the renovation of a structure and/or landscaping, and including rocks, soils, tree remains, trees, and other vegetative matter that normally results from land clearing, landscaping and development operations for a construction or demolition project;

Clean cardboard, paper, plastic, wood, and metal scraps from any construction or demolition project;

De-minimis amounts of other non-hazardous wastes that are generated at construction or demolition projects.

"Demolition"

means the decimating, razing, ruining, tearing down or wrecking of any facility, structure, pavement or building, whether in whole or in part, whether interior or exterior.

"Divertible materials"

includes:

Masonry building materials generally used in construction including, but not limited to, asphalt, concrete, rock, stone, and brick;

Wood materials including any and all dimensional lumber, fencing or construction wood that is not chemically treated, creosoted, pressure treated, contaminated or painted;

Vegetative materials including trees, tree parts, shrubs, stumps, logs, brush or any other type of plants that are cleared from a site for construction or other use;

Metals including all metal scrap such as, but not limited to, pipes, siding, window frames, doorframes and fences;

Roofing materials including wood shingles as well as asphalt, stone and slate based roofing material.

"Divert"

means to prevent material from being disposed in a landfill, through eventual recycling or reuse.

"Project"

means any activity involving construction, demolition, or renovation, and which requires issuance of a permit from the county of Inyo.

"Renovation"

means any change, addition, or modification to an existing structure.

(Ord. 1140 § IV, 2009)

A. Inyo County Integrated Waste Management (IWM) shall monitor the amount of construction and demolition material accepted at the county landfills, when open, on a daily basis.

B. IWM shall attempt to identify users of county landfills who periodically deliver multiple truckloads of construction and demolition debris to the landfills.

C. IWM shall provide notice to such users that the county landfills must comply with peak daily limits and may be forced to close earlier than posted hours if it appears that the intake of additional solid waste may exceed the peak daily limits.

D. The Inyo County Public Works Building and Safety Department (ICBS) shall notify IWM when an application for a construction or demolition project, which may generate more than eighteen cubic yards of construction and demolition debris, is submitted. ICBS shall provide a copy of the permit application to IWM for review.

E. IWM will visit the project site and discuss with the permit applicant the plans for managing construction and demolition debris, including the best management methods to dispose of or recycle the debris.

F. IWM will advise the permit applicant about the peak daily limits and encourage the applicant to schedule deliveries of construction and demolition debris with IWM.

G. IWM will advise other construction entities (e.g., Inyo County Road Department, CalTrans, construction contractors, etc.), which do not apply for a building permit, about Sections 7.11.020(C) and 7.11.020(F).

(Ord. 1140 § IV, 2009)

A. Covered Projects. All construction, demolition, and renovation projects within the county of Inyo, for which a building permit is required, shall comply with this chapter if such projects exceed eighteen cubic yards per day of generated construction and demolition debris.

B. Non-Covered Projects. Construction, demolition, and renovation projects within the county that do not meet the established thresholds for "Covered Projects" are non-covered projects.

(Ord. 1140 § IV, 2009)

A. During the duration of the Covered Project, the applicant shall divert all materials from the solid waste stream that can reasonably be diverted for alternate uses and as may be required as a condition of the project's building permit, if local markets are available for the debris. To the maximum extent feasible, divertible materials shall be separated on-site if this practice leads to an increased diversion. This may include salvageable materials (e.g., appliances, dimensional lumber, concrete, brick, asphalt, cardboard, scrap metal, wood waste, vegetative waste and roofing material).

B. In permits for Covered Projects, ICBS shall insert the following statement or an applicable variation thereof:

During the project, the Contractor will be responsible for compliance with Chapter 7.11 of the Inyo County Code, regarding diversion of construction and demolition debris. Consistent with the Code, the Contractor shall separate material that can reasonably be diverted and for which local markets are available. Such materials may include appliances, dimensional lumber, concrete, brick, asphalt, cardboard, scrap metal, wood waste, vegetative waste and roofing material.

C. Although it may not be an explicit condition of the building permit, contractors working on "noncovered projects" are encouraged to divert material from construction and demolition projects to the maximum extent practicable in accordance with this chapter.

D. All applicants are encouraged to contact their waste service provider or IWM for suggestions about how to minimize disposal costs and maximize diversion. Applicants shall be familiar with other requirements governing the disposal of solid waste in California, including identification of materials that are prohibited from disposal in municipal landfills.

E. This chapter does not require the use of specific waste service providers or require disposal of waste or divertible material at the Bishop-Sunland Landfill, Independence Landfill, Lone Pine Landfill, Shoshone Landfill, or Tecopa Landfill.

(Ord. 1140 § IV, 2009)

A. Application. If an applicant for a Covered Project experiences unique circumstances that the applicant believes make it infeasible to comply with established diversion requirements, the applicant may request, in writing, an exemption from one or all of the waste diversion requirements during the construction and demolition permit process.

B. Meeting with Inyo County Integrated Waste Management. IWM shall review exemption request information provided by the applicant and may meet with the applicant to assess alternative ways of meeting waste diversion requirements. Based on the information supplied by the applicant, IWM shall determine whether it is possible for the applicant to meet any or all of the diversion requirements of the project.

C. Granting of Exemption. If it is determined that it is infeasible for the applicant to meet all of the diversion requirements specified herein, IWM shall determine alternate permit conditions and will inform the applicant, in writing, of any such alternative requirements.

(Ord. 1140 § IV, 2009)

Failure to comply with diversion requirements as stated in the approved construction and demolition permit will be handled by IWM in accordance with established departmental enforcement practices and procedures.

(Ord. 1140 § IV, 2009)

IWM will periodically evaluate this chapter to determine its effectiveness in reducing the amount of construction and demolition debris deposited in county landfills. If IWM determines that additional construction and demolition debris can reasonably be diverted beyond that which is required herein, it will consider amending these provisions and implement additional measures to divert more materials. In making this determination, IWM will consider issues such as the amount of construction and demolition debris being placed in landfills, the volume of construction and demolition debris being generated, availability of markets for various types of construction and demolition debris, the extent to which construction and demolition debris contributes to the county overall waste stream, and any other barriers and opportunities that applicants may face.

(Ord. 1140 § IV, 2009)