(a) Until an integrated waste management plan has been approved by the California Integrated Waste Management Board pursuant to Division 30 (commencing with Section 40000), no person shall establish a new solid waste facility or transformation facility or expand an existing solid waste facility or transformation facility that will result in a significant increase in the amount of solid waste handled at the facility without a certification by the enforcement agency that one of the following has occurred:

(1) The facility is identified and described in, or found to conform with, a county solid waste management plan that was in compliance with statutes and regulations in existence on December 31, 1989, adopted pursuant to former Title 7.3 (commencing with Section 66700) of the Government Code as that former statute read on December 31, 1989. The conformance finding with that plan shall be in accordance with the procedure for a finding of conformance that was set forth in the plan prior to January 1, 1990.

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(2) The facility is identified and described in the most recent county solid waste management plan that has been approved by the county and by a majority of the cities within the county that contain a majority of the population of the incorporated area of the county, except in those counties that have only two cities, in which case, the plan has been approved by the county and by the city that contains a majority of the population of the incorporated area of the county.

(3) Pursuant to the procedures in subdivision (b), the facility has been approved by the county and by a majority of the cities within the county that contain a majority of the population of the incorporated area of the county, except in those counties that have only two cities, in which case, the facility has been approved by the county and by the city that contains a majority of the population of the incorporated area of the county.

(4) The facility is a material recovery facility and the site identification and description of the facility have been submitted to the task force created pursuant to Section 40950 for review and comment, pursuant to the procedures set forth in subdivision (c). For purposes of this paragraph, “material recovery facility” means a transfer station that is designed to, and, as a condition of its permit, shall, recover for reuse or recycling at least 15 percent of the total volume of material received by the facility.

(5) The facility is identified and described in the countywide siting element that has been approved pursuant to Section 41721.

(b) (1) The review and approval of a solid waste facility or transformation facility that has not been identified or described in a county solid waste management plan shall be initiated by submittal by the person or agency proposing the facility of a site identification and description to the county board of supervisors.

(2) The county shall submit the site identification and description to each city within the county within 20 days from the date that the site identification and description is submitted to the county board of supervisors. The county and each city shall approve or disapprove by resolution the site identification and description within 90 days from the date that the site identification and description are initially submitted to the county or city. Each city shall notify the county board of supervisors of its decision within that 90-day period. If the county or a city fails to approve or disapprove the site identification and description within 90 days, the city or county shall be deemed to have approved the site identification and description as submitted.

(3) If a city or county disapproves the site identification and description, the city or county shall mail notice of its decision by first-class mail to the person or agency requesting the approval within 10 days of the disapproval by the city or county, stating its reasons for the disapproval.

(4) No county or city shall disapprove a proposed site identification and description for a new solid waste facility or transformation facility or an expanded solid waste facility or transformation facility that will result in a significant increase in the amount of solid waste handled at the facility unless it determines, based upon substantial evidence in the record, that there will be one or more significant adverse impacts within its boundaries from the proposed project.

(5) Within 45 days from the date of a decision by a city or county to disapprove a site identification and description, or a decision by the board not to concur in the issuance of a permit pursuant to Section 44009, any person may file with the superior court a writ of mandate for review of the decision. The evidence before the court shall consist of the record before the city or county that disapproved the site identification and description or the record before the board in its determination not to concur in issuance of the permit. Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall govern the proceedings conducted pursuant to this subdivision.

(c) To initiate the review and comment by the task force required by paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) and subdivision (d), the person or agency proposing the facility shall submit the site identification and description of the facility to the task force. Within 90 days after the site identification and description are submitted to the task force, the task force shall meet and comment on the facility in writing. Those comments shall include, but are not limited to, the relationship between the proposed new or expanded material recovery facility and the requirements of Section 41780. The task force shall transmit those comments to the applicant, to the county, and to all of the cities in the county.

(d) On or before February 1, 1991, each county, by vote of the board of supervisors and the majority of the cities in the county containing a majority of the population of the incorporated area of the county, except in those counties that have only two cities, in which case the vote is subject to approval of the city that contains a majority of the population of the incorporated area of the county, shall adopt two resolutions after holding a public hearing. One resolution shall address solid waste transfer facilities that are designed to, and, as a condition of their permits, shall, recover for reuse or recycling less than 15 percent of the total volume of material received by the facility and that serve more than one jurisdiction. The second resolution shall address solid waste transfer facilities that are designed to, and, as a condition of their permits, shall, recover for reuse or recycling less than 15 percent of the total volume of material received by the facility and that serve only one jurisdiction. These resolutions shall specify whether the facilities shall be subject to the review and approval process described in subdivision (b) or the review and comment process described in subdivision (c). If the resolutions required by this subdivision are not adopted on or before February 1, 1991, those facilities shall be subject to the review process described in subdivision (c).

For purposes of this subdivision, a facility serves only one jurisdiction if it serves only one city, only the unincorporated area of one county, or only one city and county.

(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 183, Sec. 307. Effective January 1, 2005.)