San Bernardino County Municipal Code Art. 9 Out-of-County

§ 33.08150 Findings and Determinations.

The Board of Supervisors finds and determines that:

(a) (1) County refuse disposal sites generally located in the mountain and some portions of the desert areas of the County are maintained and operated primarily through land use fees paid by the residents of these areas.

(2) Refuse from outside the County has historically been discharged at some of these sites in sufficient quantities to substantially increase the ongoing costs of operation and maintenance of the sites while concurrently shortening the usable life of the sites.

(3) There are limited feasible and economically viable methods available to collect fees for disposal of out-of-county refuse at these sites and, to the extent such methods exist, they do not protect the existing capacity of the County Solid Waste Disposal System.

(b) (1) County refuse disposal sites located in the valley area and the balance of the desert area of the County are financed through fees received upon delivery to a site determined by weight of the refuse.

(2) Rapid development of the valley area has created a historic shortage of landfill capacity in the valley area. While expansion of the capacity within the County’s Disposal Systems has currently alleviated this problem to a certain extent, the continued rapid development of the valley and desert is expected to continue which, in turn, will continue to exert pressure on the landfill capacity within the County’s Solid Waste Disposal System.

(3) It is necessary to manage the valley and desert area waste stream and the acceptance for disposal of waste generated outside of the County in order to achieve optimum life of the disposal sites within the County’s Solid Waste Disposal System.

(4) Discharge of unlimited waste originating out of County shortens landfill life and effects (and if unchecked, impedes) short- and long-range planning of waste disposal.

(c) The small remote community of Wrightwood in Los Angeles County bordering the County of San Bernardino near the Phelan Transfer Station is geographically, historically, and uniquely dependent on the Phelan Transfer Station (and previously the Phelan Disposal Site) for its disposal service and the County of San Bernardino is currently capable of supplying this minimal service. Likewise, although a portion of the Joshua Tree National Monument is situated in Riverside County, refuse collected in the Monument has historically been taken to the Twentynine Palms Disposal Site (now to the Twentynine Palms Transfer Station which replaced the Disposal Site) for disposal; the County of San Bernardino is currently capable of supplying this minimal service.

(d) The exportation of refuse generated by several west valley cities located in San Bernardino County to landfills located outside of this County has created unused, and therefore excess, capacity at the Colton Landfill and has also created the possibility that the remaining capacity of the Colton Landfill will not be utilized in the most operationally efficient manner. Operational inefficiency will result in higher costs of operation and, given a fixed solid waste disposal fee, correspondingly less revenue for system liabilities. refuse collected by haulers serving communities outside of San Bernardino County could be disposed at the Colton Landfill, offsetting the loss of the refuse resulting from the exportation of the refuse from certain west valley cities. Accepting such refuse for disposal at the Colton Landfill will help insure sufficient daily refuse to help insure the efficient operation of the Colton Landfill. The County of San Bernardino is capable of supplying this minimal service, since it will help insure the efficient utilization of the remaining capacity of the Colton Landfill by replacing refuse lost to exportation.

(e) The exportation of refuse generated by several west valley cities located in San Bernardino County to landfills located outside of this County, together with the expansion of landfilling capacity within the County’s Solid Waste Disposal System, has created some excess capacity within the County’s Solid Waste Disposal System. Limited amounts of refuse collected by haulers serving communities outside of San Bernardino County could be disposed of within the County’s Disposal System, in part offsetting the loss of the refuse resulting from the exportation of the refuse from certain west valley cities and also helping to supply the funds necessary to continue the efficient and environmentally appropriate operation of the County’s Solid Waste Disposal System. The County of San Bernardino is currently capable of supplying a limited amount of disposal service for out of County generated waste, with that amount being determined and controlled through the County’s discretion in entering into written contract(s) setting out the amount of out of County waste which may be disposed, the disposal facility at which such waste can be disposed and the fee to be paid for such disposal.

(Am. Ord. 3145, passed - -1987; Am. Ord. 3396, passed - -1990; Am. Ord. 3471, passed - -1991; Am. Ord. 3553, passed - -1993; Am. Ord. 3711, passed - -1998; Am. Ord. 3931, passed - -2004)

§ 33.08151 Discharge of Out-of-County Refuse.

It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge at any County refuse disposal site any matter of any kind whatsoever the source of which is outside of San Bernardino County, except:

(a) That persons residing In dwellings within that area of Los Angeles County described below and known as the Wrightwood Community may discharge solid waste at the Phelan Transfer Station on payment of fees specified in § 16.0222(j) of the San Bernardino County Code. Service area description: Swallow Hill Drive, Logwood, Red Start, Blue Jay, Bobolink, Rapid Grove, Timberline Drive, Raven, Cardinal Road and Flume Canyon (the foregoing constituting all of the roads in the Wrightwood Community).

(b) That the refuse hauler serving the Joshua Tree National Monument may discharge solid waste collected in the portion of the monument located in Riverside County at the Twentynine Palms Transfer Station on payment of all fees applicable to the discharge of such solid waste (determined as though such solid waste was generated in San Bernardino), as specified in § 16.0222 of the San Bernardino County Code.

(c) That refuse haulers (including operators of transfer stations, material recovery facilities or like facilities) or refuse generators may discharge solid waste generated in counties other than San Bernardino County at facilities within the County Solid Waste Disposal System, if and only to the extent provided for in a written contract entered into with the County allowing for such disposal, on payment of all fees applicable to the discharge of such solid waste, as specified in § 16.0222 of the San Bernardino County Code (including as specified in the required written contract).

(d) In no event, however, will any solid waste generated outside of San Bernardino County be accepted for disposal at any County landfill or other disposal site, to the extent that the disposal of such waste would violate the provisions of Public Resources Code § 41903.

(Am. Ord. 3148, passed - -1987; Am. Ord. 3230, passed - -1988; Am. Ord. 3376, passed - -1990; Am. Ord. 3396, passed - -1990; Am. Ord. 3471, passed - -1991; Am. Ord. 3711, passed - -1998; Am. Ord. 3931, passed - -2004)

§ 33.08152 Posting of Restriction.

Each entrance to County sites shall be posted by a sign of such size and appearance as to give notice of the use restriction contained in this Chapter.

(Am. Ord. 3145, passed - -1987; Am. Ord. 3396, passed - -1990; Am. Ord. 3471, passed - -1991; Am. Ord. 3553, passed - -1993; Am. Ord. 3711, passed - -1998)

§ 33.08153 Penalty.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this Article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor which upon conviction thereof shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $500.00 or by imprisonment in the County jail for a period not exceeding six months or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Am. Ord. 3145, passed - -1987; Am. Ord. 3396, passed - -1990; Am. Ord. 3471, passed - -1991; Am. Ord. 3553, passed - -1993; Am. Ord. 3711, passed - -1998)

ARTICLE 9.5

§ 33.08155 Prohibition on Acceptance at or Delivery of Waste or Related Material to an Unauthorized Facility; Definitions; Application of Prohibition.

(a) No person shall accept waste or related material at or deliver waste or related material to an unauthorized facility.

(b) As used in this Article 9.5, the following words shall have the following meanings.

(1) Facility. A facility is any property (including solely developed real estate, solely undeveloped real estate and real estate which is in part developed and in part undeveloped), regardless of its nature of ownership or the nature of the right giving rise to its use, which is being used as a place for the acceptance, delivery and/or processing of waste or related material.

(2) Governmental Approval. Governmental approval means any permit, license, authorization or land-use approval required under Federal, State or local law (including regulation) to be obtained from the Federal, State or local government in order for a facility to accept waste or related material of the type being accepted and/or for the processing of the waste or related material being accepted in the manner it is being processed.

(A) A governmental approval includes, but is not limited to, a solid waste facility permit (Public Resources Code §§ 40000 et seq.), a permit from an air board, a waste discharge requirement, a building permit, a general plan land use district amendment, a conditional use permit or other land use approval.

(B) In order for such permit, license, authorization or land-use approval to be considered valid for the purposes of accepting and/or delivering waste or related material within the meaning of this Article 9.5:

(i) It must be issued either with respect to the facility (e.g., land-use approval) or, where applicable, to the facility operator with respect to the facility (e.g., a solid waste facility permit);

(ii) It must be issued with respect to the type of waste or related material being delivered, accepted and/or processed;

(iii) It must be issued with respect to the type of processing the waste or related material is being subjected to at the facility; and

(iv) It must be current and not subject to any suspension or other regulatory or judicial process which impairs the right of the operator of the facility to accept or perform processing on the waste or related material sought to be delivered to the facility.

(3) Processing. Processing involves any use, consumption, containerization, storage or disposal of waste or related material at the facility, including, but not limited to, its use, consumption, containerization, storage or disposal in: manufacturing; fabricating; construction; operation of a vermicomposting or vermiculture facility; or (within the meaning of Public Resources Code §§ 40000 et seq.) the biomass conversion, composting, disposal, processing, recycling, source reduction or transformation of solid waste, recyclable material or green waste.

(4) Unauthorized Facility. An unauthorized facility means a facility which does not possess a governmental approval for either or both:

(A) Accepting waste or related material of the type being delivered and accepted at the facility; or

(B) Processing the waste or related material being delivered and accepted in the manner it is being processed at the facility.

(5) Waste or Related Material. Waste or related material means solid waste as defined in Public Resources Code § 40191, recyclable material and green waste, whether or not the recyclable material and green waste are source separated or otherwise segregated from other waste material, hazardous waste (as defined in Public Resources Code § 40141) and medical waste (as defined in Health and Safety Code § 117690).

(c) The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to acceptance and delivery of waste or related material to an unauthorized facility:

(1) Located wholly within the unincorporated portion of San Bernardino County; or

(2) Located such that the waste or related material is being delivered, accepted or being subjected to processing (or any combination of the foregoing) on a portion of the unauthorized facility which is within the unincorporated portion of San Bernardino County.

(Ord. 3683, passed - -1997)

§ 33.08156 Authority.

Pursuant to the authority cited in Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 3 of the San Bernardino County Code and other relevant State and local law, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors authorized the Chief of the County Fire Department (CFD) or the Chief of the Division of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) of the Public Health Department and the Enforcement Officers of the CFD or the DEHS of the County of San Bernardino to enforce the provisions of this Article 9.5 within this jurisdiction. Such authority includes the right to enter land for investigation, posting or serving notice, or to cause abatement of public nuisances.

(Ord. 3683, passed - -1997)

§ 33.08157 Penalty.

It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision of this Article 9.5. In addition to those listed herein or elsewhere provided by law, all enforcement procedures, remedies and penalties of San Bernardino County Code Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 3 (Authority and Administration) shall apply to this Article 9.5 and violation of any provision of this Article 9.5

(Ord. 3683, passed - -1997)

§ 33.08158 Severability.

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Article 9.5 is for any reason held to be invalid, preempted or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Article 9.5. The Board of Supervisors of the County of San Bernardino hereby declares that it would have adopted the ordinance establishing this Article 9.5 and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion may be declared invalid, preempted or unconstitutional.

(Ord. 3683, passed - -1997)