(a)  Except as provided in subdivisions (c) and (h), in addition to the fees specified in Section 25174.1, each operator of a facility shall pay a facility fee for each reporting period, or any portion thereof, to the board based on the size and type of the facility, as specified in Section 25205.4. On or before January 31 of each calendar year, the department annually shall notify the board of all known facility operators by facility type and size. The department shall also notify the board of any operator who is issued a permit or grant of interim status within 30 days from the date that a permit or grant of interim status is issued to the operator. The fee specified in this section does not apply to facilities exempted pursuant to Section 25205.12.

(b)  The board shall deposit all fees collected pursuant to subdivision (a) in the Hazardous Waste Control Account in the General Fund. The fees so deposited may be expended by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes specified in subdivision (b) of Section 25174.

(c)  Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a person who is issued a variance by the department from the requirement of obtaining a hazardous waste facilities permit or grant of interim status is not subject to the fee, for any reporting period following the reporting period in which the variance was granted by the department.

(d)  Operators subject to facility fee liability pursuant to this section shall pay the following amounts:

(1)  The operator shall pay the applicable facility fee for each reporting period in which the facility actually engaged in the treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste.

(2)  The operator shall pay the applicable facility fee for one additional reporting period immediately following the final reporting period in which the facility actually engaged in that treatment or storage. For the 1994 reporting period and thereafter, the facility’s size for that additional reporting period shall be deemed to be the largest size at which the facility has ever been subject to the fee. If the department previously approved a unit or portion of the facility for a variance, closure, or permit-by-rule, the facility’s size for that reporting period shall be deemed to be its largest size since the department granted the approval.

(3)  The operator of a disposal facility shall pay twice the applicable facility fee for one additional reporting period immediately following the final reporting period in which the facility actually engaged in disposal of hazardous waste.

(4)  For the 1994 reporting period and thereafter, a facility shall not be deemed to have stopped treating, storing, or disposing of hazardous waste unless it has actually ceased that activity and has notified the department of its intent to close.

(5)  If the reporting period which immediately followed the final reporting period in which a facility actually engaged in the treatment, storage, or disposal of the hazardous waste was the six-month period from July 1, 1991, through December 31, 1991, the operator shall be subject to twice the fee otherwise applicable to that operator for that reporting period under paragraphs (2) and (3).

(e)  No facility shall be subject to a facility fee for treatment, storage, or disposal, if that activity ceased before July 1, 1986, and if the fee for the activity was not paid prior to January 1, 1994.

(f)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a person who ceased actual treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste, whether generated onsite or received from offsite, before July 1, 1986, and who paid facility fees for any reporting period after that date pursuant to a decision of the State Board of Equalization, and who filed a claim for refund of those fees on or before January 1, 1994, shall be entitled to a refund of those amounts.

(g)  Facility operators who treated, stored, or disposed of hazardous waste on or after July 1, 1986, shall be subject to the provisions of this section which were in effect prior to January 1, 1994, as to payments which their operators made prior to January 1, 1994. The operators shall be subject to subdivision (d) as to any other liability for the facility fee.

(h)  A treatment facility is not subject to the facility fee established pursuant to this section, if the facility engages in treatment exclusively to accomplish a removal or remedial action or a corrective action in accordance with an order issued by the Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the federal act or in accordance with an order issued by the department pursuant to Section 25187, if the facility was put in operation solely for purposes of complying with that order. The department shall instead assess a fee for that facility for the actual time spent by the department for the inspection and oversight of that facility. The department shall base the fee on the department’s work standards and shall assess the fee on an hourly basis.

(i)  Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a facility operating pursuant to a standardized permit or grant of interim status, as specified in Section 25201.6, shall receive a credit for the annual facility fee imposed by this section for a period of time equal to the number of years that the facility lawfully operated prior to September 21, 1993, pursuant to a hazardous waste facilities permit or other grant of authorization and paid facility fees for the operation of the facility pursuant to this section.

(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 259, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1997.)