(a) For the purposes of this section the following definitions shall apply:

(1) “Inert waste” means only rock, concrete, brick, sand, soil, ceramics, and cured asphalt. “Inert waste” does not include any waste that meets the definition of “designated waste,” as defined in § 13173 of the Water Code, or “hazardous waste” as defined in Section 40141.

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(2) “Inert waste removed from the solid waste stream and not disposed of in a solid waste landfill” means the use or placement of inert waste on property where surface mining operations, as defined in Section 2735, are being conducted, or have been conducted previously, if the use or placement is for purposes of reclamation, as defined in Section 2733, pursuant to either of the following:

(A) A reclamation plan approved under Section 2774.

(B) For surface mining operations conducted prior to January 1, 1976, an agreement with a city or county, or a permit issued by a city or county, that provides for a fill appropriately engineered for the planned future use of the reclaimed mine site.

(3) “Jurisdiction” means a city, county, or regional agency.

(b) A jurisdiction shall deduct, from the amount of disposed waste that is required to be included in the annual report submitted to the board pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 41821, inert waste removed from the solid waste stream and not disposed of in a solid waste landfill, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a). A jurisdiction shall deduct this inert waste only in accordance with the procedures specified in subdivisions (c) to (e), inclusive, commencing with the report submitted by the jurisdiction to the board for the year 2001.

(c) (1) A jurisdiction shall deduct inert waste pursuant to subdivision (b) from its reported disposal tonnage for the year 2001, and shall identify, in the jurisdiction’s annual report, that the deduction is being made pursuant to this section and the exact amount of the deduction.

(2) The board shall verify that the deduction made pursuant to paragraph (1) is consistent with the requirements of this section and the amount deducted is consistent with the amount reported through the board’s disposal reporting system. The board shall approve the deduction made by the jurisdiction upon making this verification.

(3) If the board finds that the amount deducted pursuant to paragraph (1) does not meet the requirements of this section, or if the amount deducted is not consistent with the amount reported through the board’s disposal reporting system, the board shall notify the jurisdiction of its preliminary determination and confer with representatives of the jurisdiction to reach an agreement regarding the amount of the deduction. If the jurisdiction agrees upon the amount of the deduction, the board shall approve the deduction as modified. If the board and the jurisdiction are unable to reach agreement upon the amount of the deduction, the jurisdiction may request a hearing before the board to obtain a final determination.

(d) (1) A jurisdiction shall deduct tonnage from its base-year disposal in an amount equal to the amount deducted from the jurisdiction’s 2001 disposal tonnage pursuant to this section. The jurisdiction shall not deduct an amount from its base-year disposal tonnage that is greater than the amount of disposed inert waste that was included in its most recent board-approved revised base-year approved by the board.

(2) The board shall verify that the base-year deduction made pursuant to paragraph (1) is consistent with the requirements of this section. The board shall approve the revised base-year disposal tonnage upon making this verification.

(3) If the board finds that the base-year deduction requested pursuant to paragraph (1) is not consistent with the requirements of this section, the board shall notify the jurisdiction of its preliminary determination and confer with representatives of the jurisdiction in order to reach agreement regarding the amount of the deduction. If the jurisdiction agrees upon the amount of the deduction, the board shall approve the revised base-year disposal tonnage accordingly. If the board and the jurisdiction are unable to reach agreement upon the amount of the deduction, the jurisdiction may request a hearing before the board to obtain a final determination.

(e) (1) A jurisdiction shall deduct all inert waste from its reported disposal tonnage in all of its annual reports for all subsequent years. The board shall verify this deduction pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (c).

(2) If the board approves the jurisdiction’s revised base-year disposal tonnage pursuant to subdivision (d), the revised base year disposal tonnage shall not be subsequently revised for inert waste under this section.

(f) This section does not limit the authority of the board to require any facility that uses or places inert material on property where surface mining operations are being conducted, or have been conducted previously, to report to the board on the quantities of inert material used or placed on the property for the purpose of reclamation.

(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that a city, county, or regional agency not be required to revise its source reduction and recycling element to comply with this section unless the city, county, or regional agency elects to implement this section as authorized by this section.

(h) This section shall become inoperative on the operative date of any regulation adopted by the board relating to “inert waste removed from the solid waste stream and not disposed of in a solid waste landfill,” as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), if that regulation includes procedures to facilitate the counting of the inert waste for purposes of the disposal reporting system established under Section 41821.5 when that inert waste is placed in a mine reclamation facility as fill material, and, as of January 1 immediately following that operative date, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before that January 1 deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 993, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003. Conditionally inoperative and repealed as prescribed by its own provisions.)