(a) One of the deputies to the Secretary for Environmental Protection shall be a deputy secretary for law enforcement and counsel, who, subject to the direction and supervision of the secretary, shall have the responsibility and authority to do all of the following:
(1) Develop a program to ensure that the boards, departments, offices, and other agencies that implement laws or regulations within the jurisdiction of the California Environmental Protection Agency take consistent, effective, and coordinated compliance and enforcement actions to protect public health and the environment. The program shall include training and cross-training of inspection and enforcement personnel of those boards, departments, offices, or other agencies to ensure consistent, effective, and coordinated enforcement.
(2) (A) In consultation with the Attorney General, establish a cross-media enforcement unit to assist a board, department, office, or other agency that implements a law or regulation within the jurisdiction of the California Environmental Protection Agency, to investigate and prepare matters for enforcement action in order to protect public health and the environment. The unit may inspect and investigate a violation of a law or regulation within the jurisdiction of the board, department, office, or other agency, including a violation involving more than one environmental medium and a violation involving the jurisdiction of more than one board, department, office, or agency. The unit shall exercise its authority consistent with the authority granted to the head of a department pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 11180) of Chapter 2 of Part 1.
(B) Each board, department, or office within the California Environmental Protection Agency shall participate and have representatives in the cross-media enforcement unit established pursuant to this section. The unit, including those representatives, shall undertake activities consistent with Section 71110 of the Public Resources Code and shall give priority to activities in disadvantaged communities identified by the California Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) Refer a violation of a law or regulation within the jurisdiction of a board, department, office, or other agency that implements a law or regulation within the jurisdiction of the California Environmental Protection Agency to the Attorney General, a district attorney, or city attorney for the filing of a civil or criminal action.
(4) Exercise the authority granted pursuant to paragraph (3) only after providing notice to the board, department, office, or other agency unless the secretary determines that notice would compromise an investigation or enforcement action.
(b) Nothing in this section shall authorize the deputy secretary for law enforcement and counsel to duplicate, overlap, compromise, or otherwise interfere with an investigation or enforcement action undertaken by a board, department, office, or other agency that implements a law or regulation subject to the jurisdiction of the California Environmental Protection Agency.
(c) The Environmental Protection Agency shall post on its Web site, updated no later than December 1 of each year, the status of the implementation of this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 340, Sec. 15. (SB 839) Effective September 13, 2016.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018