(a) With respect to any hazardous waste facility permitted pursuant to Section 25200 or granted interim status pursuant to Section 25200.5, the department may do either of the following:
(1) Enter into an agreement with the owner of the hazardous waste facility that requires the execution and recording of a written instrument that imposes an easement, covenant, restriction, or servitude upon the present and future uses of all or part of the land on which the hazardous waste facility subject to the permit or grant of interim status is located and on all or part of any adjacent land held by, or for the beneficial use of, the owners of the land on which the hazardous waste facility subject to the permit or grant of interim status is located.
(2) Impose a requirement upon the owner of the hazardous waste facility, by permit modification, permit condition, or otherwise, that requires the execution and recording of a written instrument that imposes an easement, covenant, restriction, or servitude upon the present and future uses of all or part of the land on which the hazardous waste facility subject to the permit or grant of interim status is located and on all or part of any adjacent land held by, or for the beneficial use of, the owners of the land on which the hazardous waste facility subject to the permit or grant of interim status is located.
(b) (1) The easement, covenant, restriction, or servitude imposed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be no more restrictive than needed, as determined by the department, to protect the present or future public health and safety and shall not place any restriction on any land that limits the use, modification, or expansion of an existing industrial or manufacturing facility or complex. The instrument shall be executed by all of the owners of the land and by the director, shall particularly describe the real property affected by the instrument, and shall be recorded by the owner in the office of the county recorder in each county in which all, or a portion of, the land is located within 10 days of the date of execution. The easement, covenant, restriction, or servitude shall state that the land described in the instrument has been, or will be, the site of a hazardous waste facility or is adjacent to the site of such a facility, and may impose those use restrictions as the department deems necessary to protect the present or future public health. The restrictions may include restrictions upon activities on, over, or under the land, including, but not limited to, a prohibition against building, filling, grading, excavating, or mining without the written permission of the director.
(2) A certified copy of the recorded easement, covenant, restriction, or servitude shall be sent to the department upon recordation. Notwithstanding any other law, except as provided in Section 25202.6, an easement, covenant, restriction, or servitude executed pursuant to this section and recorded so as to provide constructive notice shall run with the land from the date of recordation and shall be binding upon all of the owners of the land, their heirs, successors, and assignees, and the agents, employees, and lessees of the owners, heirs, successors, and assignees. The easement, covenant, restriction, or servitude shall be enforceable by the department pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 25180).
(c) Except as provided in subdivisions (d) and (e), any land on which is located a hazardous waste disposal facility permitted pursuant to this chapter shall be surrounded by a minimum buffer zone of 2,000 feet between the facility and the outer boundary of the buffer zone. The department may impose an easement, covenant, restriction, or servitude, or any combination thereof, as appropriate, on the buffer zone pursuant to subdivision (a). If the department determines that a buffer zone of more than 2,000 feet is necessary to protect the present and future public health and safety, the department may increase the buffer zone by restricting the disposal of hazardous waste at that facility to land surrounded by a larger buffer zone.
(d) Subdivision (c) does not apply to a property that was actually and lawfully used for the disposal of hazardous waste on August 6, 1980.
(e) If the owner of a hazardous waste disposal facility proves to the satisfaction of the department that a buffer zone of less than 2,000 feet is sufficient to protect the present and future public health and safety, the department may allow the disposal of hazardous waste onto land surrounded by a buffer zone of less than 2,000 feet.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 39, Sec. 37. (SB 1018) Effective June 27, 2012.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018