Unified Program

CalEPA oversees California’s Unified Program. The program protects Californians from hazardous waste and hazardous materials by ensuring local regulatory agencies consistently apply statewide standards when they issue permits, conduct inspections and engage in enforcement activities. The Unified Program is a consolidation of multiple environmental and emergency management programs Read more about the Unified Program

California Code of Regulations, title 27 (27 CCR) Regulation Changes

The California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) proposes to amend California Code of Regulations, (CCR), title 27, Division 1, Subdivision 4, Chapter 1, sections 15110 – 15330, and Appendices A – D. These proposed regulations include significant changes that impose new reporting and procedural requirements and details, as well as non-significant amendments that are considered administrative in nature and improve the organizational structure of existing requirements and clarify existing elements of reports and forms.

Notice of Public Hearing and Administrative Documents
CalEPA will hold a virtual public hearing to receive public comment on the proposed changes to 27 CCR. For more details on the public hearing and access to the recommended changes to the regulations, please visit the Unified Program Regulations 45-Day Public Notice and Comment Period webpage.

Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD) Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) Proposed Program Change

The LAFD CUPA has notified CalEPA of a proposed change to their Unified Program. LAFD CUPA is proposing to replace the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) as administrator of the Hazardous Waste Generator and Onsite Hazardous Waste Treatment (Hazardous Waste Generator) program element in the City of Los Angeles.

Administrative Documents
Please visit the LAFD CUPA Proposed Program Change Administrative Record webpage.

Electronic Reporting

Effective January 1, 2009, all regulated businesses and local Unified Program Agencies (UPAs) are required to submit Unified Program information electronically, either to the local regulatory agency or to the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS). CERS supports electronic data exchange among businesses, UPAs, state agencies, and U.S. EPA. Read more about Electronic Reporting.

CUPA Performance Evaluations

A periodic performance evaluation of each CUPA is conducted to ensure adequate and effective implementation of the Unified Program by the local agency. Read more about the CUPA performance evaluation process, evaluation schedule, and evaluation results.

State Surcharges

The State Surcharges, paid by all businesses regulated under applicable program elements of the Unified Program, are used to fund the reasonable costs for all State Agencies with Unified Program Responsibilities. CUPAs are responsible for billing and collecting the state surcharges from each regulated business or facility as part of the Single Fee System. State Surcharges for Unified Program elements are as follows:

Oversight: $84.00 per business/facility. The increase to the “Oversight” portion of the annual State Surcharge raised the fee from $49 to $84, with the increase allocated as follows:
- $27 for the California Environmental Reporting Systems (CERS) NextGen project
  - California is responsible for the implementation and overall maintenance of the CERS and has determined that the current CERS must be updated in order to continue providing an effective and stable service to all stakeholders. Therefore, CalEPA has, in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, initiated the CERS NextGen project to plan and implement this crucial system update. It is estimated that the project will cost approximately 14.1 million dollars and is expected to be completed in Fiscal Year 2024/2025.
- $8 to address the structural deficit related to the State Certified Unified Program Account
  - Based on fiscal analysis performed by the CalEPA Deputy Secretary for Fiscal and Administrative Programs, Unified Program staff, and the California Air Resources Board accounting staff, it was determined that beginning in Fiscal Year 2021/2022, the budget appropriation for the State Certified Unified Program Account exceeds the projected revenues by over $1,000,000.
Underground Storage Tank Program: $20.00 per tank
California Accidental Release Prevention Program: $270.00 per regulated business
Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act Program: $26.00 per tank facility
Refinery Safety: Assessed to Refinery Facilities according to the daily barrel capacity (DBC)
- $45,000 – Tier 1 (equal to or greater than 200,000 DBC)
- $27,500 – Tier 2 (100,000 to 199,999 DBC)
- $13,750 – Tier 3 (50,000 to 99,999 DBC)
- $3,500 – Tier 4 (Less than 50,000 DBC)

For additional information regarding the state surcharge, please send requests to CUPA@calepa.ca.gov.

Unified Program News

Surcharge Transmittal Report Training

CalEPA’s Unified Program Title 27 regulations are expected to take effect soon and will include changes to Sections 15250, 15290, and the Surcharge Transmittal Report form. An important change to note is the requirement for CUPAs to use the most current version of the Surcharge Transmittal Report form.
CalEPA is offering training to assist CUPA staff responsible for completion of the Surcharge Transmittal Report to prepare for the upcoming changes. We will also offer a review of the best practices for filling out and submitting this required quarterly report with those directly responsible.

Training Dates:
Monday, May 8, 2023, 1:30pm to 2:30pm
Wednesday, May 10, 2023, 10:00am to 11:00am
Friday, May 12, 2023, 2:30pm to 3:30pm

Please view the flyer for the training details.
Please contact CalEPA Unified Program Fiscal Analyst Carla Bohon if you have any questions.

CERS NextGen May Townhall Meetings

The update given by CalEPA at the 2023 CUPA Conference was very popular and well-received, but many stakeholders were unfortunately not able to join us then. In response of many requests, two town-hall-style meetings will be conducted to inform those who would like to know what is happening with CERS NextGen. Come and join us on May 16^th at either 10:30 am or at 2:00 pm to learn more about the exciting CERS NextGen updates and progress made. The same information will be offered at both times and stakeholders will have an opportunity to ask any questions they have from the panel of CalEPA project team members. Check out the links below:

5/16/2023 at 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PDfq__8JTuG74qEcruUMaA

5/16/2023 at 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5p0MjODNS-SZzWncJyDgrg

CalEPA Unified Program State Surcharge Increase for FY 2021/2022

CalEPA published a final notice in the California Regulatory Notice Register on June 25, 2021, upon which the increased Unified Program surcharge amounts became effective immediately.

The increase to the “Oversight” portion of the annual State Surcharge raised the fee from $49 to $84, with the increase allocated as follows:

$27 for the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS) NextGen project
- CalEPA is responsible for the implementation and overall maintenance of the CERS and has determined that the current CERS must be updated in order to continue providing an effective and stable service to all stakeholders. Therefore, CalEPA has, in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, initiated the CERS NextGen project to plan and implement this crucial system update. It is estimated that the project will cost approximately 14.1 million dollars and is expected to be completed in Fiscal Year 2024/2025.
$8 to address the structural deficit related to the State Certified Unified Program Account
- Based on fiscal analysis performed by the CalEPA Deputy Secretary for Fiscal and Administrative Programs, Unified Program staff, and the California Air Resources Board accounting staff, it was determined that beginning in Fiscal Year 2021/2022, the budget appropriation for the State Certified Unified Program Account exceeds the projected revenues by over $1,000,000.

No later than sixty days after the effective date of the new surcharge, Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPAs) are responsible for collecting the new surcharge amount as part of their single fee system. CalEPA has requested that all CUPAs begin assessing the new surcharge in fiscal year 2021/2022, including those CUPAs that bill prior to the effective date of the new surcharge increase.

CalEPA will assess the surcharge for the CERS NextGen project for four years, beginning Fiscal Year 2021/2022. In Fiscal Year 2024/2025, CalEPA will adjust the Oversight Surcharge to only cover costs for the ongoing maintenance and operations of CERS NextGen.

Resources:

CalEPA Regulated Site Portal
The CalEPA Regulated Site Portal is a website that combines data about environmentally regulated sites and facilities in California into a single, searchable database and interactive map. The portal was created to provide a more holistic view of regulated activities statewide. By combining data from a variety of state and federal databases, the portal provides an overview of regulated activities across the spectrum of environmental programs for any given location in California. These activities include hazardous materials and waste, state and federal cleanups, impacted ground and surface waters, and toxic materials. The portal combines information from the following databases:
Cal/OSHA – Inspection and enforcement information reported to federal OSHA
CERS – The California Environmental Reporting System
CIWQS – The California Integrated Water Quality System
EIS – U.S. EPA’s Air Emission Inventory System
EnviroStor – Permitting, enforcement and cleanup activities at hazardous waste facilities and sites with known or suspected contamination
GeoTracker – Impacted groundwater sites within the state, such as leaking underground storage tanks, cleanup sites, and permitted facilities such as landfills and operating underground storage tank facilities
SMARTS – The Stormwater Multiple Application and Report Tracking System
SWIS – The Solid Waste Information System
TRI – The Toxics Release Inventory