(a) The department shall review each plan submitted pursuant to Section 25246 and shall approve the plan if it finds that the plan complies with the regulations adopted by the department and complies with all other applicable state and federal regulations.

(b) The department shall not approve the plan until at least one of the following occurs:

(1) The plan has been approved pursuant to Section 13227 of the Water Code.

(2) Sixty days expire after the owner or operator of an interim status facility submits the plan to the department. If the department denies approval of a plan for an interim status facility, this 60-day period shall not begin until the owner or operator resubmits the plan to the department.

(3) The director finds that immediate approval of the plan is necessary to protect public health, safety, or the environment.

(c) Any action taken by the department pursuant to this section is subject to Section 25204.5.

(d) (1) To the extent consistent with the federal act, the department shall impose the requirements of a hazardous waste facility postclosure plan on the owner or operator of a facility through the issuance of an enforcement order, entering into an enforceable agreement, or issuing a postclosure permit.

(A) A hazardous waste facility postclosure plan imposed or modified pursuant to an enforcement order, a permit, or an enforceable agreement shall be approved in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).

(B) Before the department initially approves or significantly modifies a hazardous waste facility postclosure plan pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall provide a meaningful opportunity for public involvement, which, at a minimum, shall include public notice and an opportunity for public comment on the proposed action.

(C) For the purposes of subparagraph (B), a “significant modification” is a modification that the department determines would constitute a class 3 permit modification if the change were being proposed to a hazardous waste facilities permit. In determining whether the proposed modification would constitute a class 3 modification, the department shall consider the similarity of the modification to class 3 modifications codified in Appendix I of Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 66270.1) of Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations. In determining whether the proposed modification would constitute a class 3 modification, the department shall also consider whether there is significant public concern about the proposed modification, and whether the proposed change is so substantial or complex in nature that the modification requires the more extensive procedures of a class 3 permit modification.

(2) This subdivision does not limit or delay the authority of the department to order any action necessary at a facility to protect public health or safety.

(3) If the department imposes a hazardous waste facility postclosure plan in the form of an enforcement order or enforceable agreement, in lieu of issuing or renewing a postclosure permit, the owner or operator who submits the plan for approval shall, at the time the plan is submitted, enter into a cost reimbursement agreement pursuant to Section 25205.7 and upon commencement of the postclosure period shall pay the fee required by paragraph (9) of subdivision (c) of Section 25205.4. For purposes of this paragraph and paragraph (9) of subdivision (c) of Section 25205.4, the commencement of the postclosure period shall be the effective date of the postclosure permit, enforcement order, or enforceable agreement.

(4) In addition to any other remedy available under state law to enforce a postclosure plan imposed in the form of an enforcement order or enforcement agreement, the department may take any of the following actions:

(A) File an action to enjoin a threatened or continuing violation of a requirement of the enforcement order or agreement.

(B) Require compliance with requirements for corrective action or other emergency response measures that the department deems necessary to protect human health and the environment.

(C) Assess or file an action to recover civil penalties and fines for a violation of a requirement of an enforcement order or agreement.

(e) Subdivision (d) does not apply to a postclosure plan for which a final or draft permit has been issued by the department on or before December 31, 2003, unless the department and the facility mutually agree to replace the permit with an enforcement order or enforceable agreement pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (d).

(f) On or before January 1, 2018, the department shall adopt regulations to impose postclosure plan requirements pursuant to subdivision (d).

(g) If the department determines that a postclosure permit is necessary to enforce a postclosure plan, the department may, at any time, rescind and replace an enforcement order or an enforceable agreement issued pursuant to this section by issuing a postclosure permit for the hazardous waste facility, in accordance with the procedures specified in the department’s regulations for the issuance of postclosure permits.

(h) Nothing in this section may be construed to limit or delay the authority of the department to order any action necessary at a facility to protect public health or safety, or the environment.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 676, Sec. 1.5. (SB 1325) Effective January 1, 2017.)