(a)  Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), the operator of a solid waste disposal site shall submit to the district on or before July 1, 1987, a solid waste air quality assessment test report that contains all of the following:

(1)  Test results to determine if there is any underground landfill gas migration beyond the solid waste disposal site’s perimeter.

(2)  Analyses for specified air contaminants in the ambient air adjacent to the solid waste disposal site to determine the effect of the site on air quality.

(3)  Chemical characterization test results to determine the composition of gas streams immediately above the solid waste disposal site, or immediately above the solid waste disposal site and within the solid waste disposal site, as appropriate, as determined by the district.

(4)  Any other information that the district board requires, by emergency regulation.

The solid waste air quality assessment test report shall be prepared in accordance with the guidelines developed by the state board pursuant to subdivision (d).

(b)  The operator of an inactive solid waste disposal site shall complete and submit the screening questionnaire, developed pursuant to subdivision (e), to the district on or before November 1, 1986, unless the operator is required to submit a report containing the same information specified in subdivision (a) pursuant to a federal, state, or district order, or unless exempted pursuant to subdivision (c). The district shall evaluate the submitted screening questionnaires in accordance with the guidelines developed pursuant to subdivision (e) and shall determine whether the operator of the site is required to submit all, or a portion of, the information required to be reported in a solid waste air quality assessment test report. The district shall notify the operator in writing on or before January 1, 1987, of the information identified in subdivision (a) to be submitted for the site. After receiving this notification, the operator of the inactive solid waste disposal site shall submit a solid waste air quality assessment test report containing the required information on or before January 1, 1988, to the district.

(c)  A district may exempt from subdivisions (a) and (b) a solid waste disposal site or inactive solid waste disposal site that has accepted or now contains only inert and nondecomposable solids. To receive an exemption, the operator of the site shall submit, on or before November 1, 1986, a copy of all permits, all waste discharge requirements pertinent to the site, and any other data necessary for the district to determine whether an exemption should be granted to the site.

(d)  On or before February 1, 1987, the state board, in coordination with the districts, shall develop and publish test guidelines for the solid waste air quality assessment report specifying the air contaminants to be tested for and identifying acceptable testing, analytical, and reporting methods to be employed in completing the report.

(e)  On or before October 1, 1986, the state board, in coordination with the districts, shall develop and publish a screening questionnaire for inactive solid waste disposal sites and guidelines for evaluating the questionnaire by the districts pursuant to subdivision (b). The screening questionnaire and guidelines shall require an inactive solid waste disposal site to be evaluated based on the nature and age of materials in the site, the quantity of materials in the site, the size of the site, and other appropriate factors. The guidelines for evaluating the screening questionnaire shall require a district to weigh heavily the proximity of the site to residences, schools, and other sensitive areas, and to pay particular attention to potential adverse impacts on facilities such as hospitals and schools, and on residential areas, within one mile of the site’s perimeter.

(f)  A district may reevaluate the status of a solid waste disposal site, including sites exempted pursuant to subdivision (c), and require the operator to submit or revise a solid waste air quality assessment test report after January 1, 1987. The district shall give written notification to the operator of the solid waste disposal site that a solid waste air quality assessment test report is to be submitted, or that the existing report is to be revised, and the date by which the report is to be submitted.

(g)  A district shall evaluate any solid waste air quality assessment test reports submitted pursuant to subdivisions (a), (b), and (f), and determine if the report’s testing, analytical, and reporting methods comply with the guidelines developed pursuant to subdivision (d). If the district determines that the solid waste air quality assessment test report complies with the guidelines, it shall evaluate the data. If the district determines, after evaluation of the report and consultation with the state department and the California Integrated Waste Management Board, that levels of one or more specified air contaminants pose a health risk to human beings or a threat to the environment, the district shall take appropriate remedial action.

(h)  If a district determines that a solid waste air quality assessment test report does not comply with the guidelines developed pursuant to subdivision (d), the district shall provide the operator of the site with a written notice specifying the inadequacies of the report and shall require the operator to correct the deficiencies and resubmit the report by a date determined by the district.

(i)  For the purpose of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)  “Inactive solid waste disposal site” means a solid waste disposal site that has not received any solid waste for disposal after January 1, 1984.

(2)  “Landfill gas” means any untreated, raw gas derived through a natural process from the decomposition of organic waste deposited in a solid waste disposal site or from the evolution of volatile species in the waste.

(3)  “Operator” means the person who operates or manages, or who has operated or managed, the solid waste disposal site. If the operator of the solid waste disposal site no longer exists, or is unable, as determined by the district, to comply with the requirements of this section, “operator” means any person who owns or who has owned the solid waste disposal site.

(4)  “Perimeter” means the outer boundary of the entire solid waste disposal site property.

(5)  “Solid waste disposal site” means a place, location, tract of land, area, or premises in use, or which has been used, for the landfill disposal of solid waste, as defined in § 40191 of the Public Resources Code, or hazardous waste, as defined in § 40141 of the Public Resources Code, or both.

(6)  “Specified air contaminants” means substances determined to be air contaminants by the state board in coordination with the districts. The state board and the districts shall consider determining the following compounds to be air contaminants for purposes of this paragraph: benzene, chloroethene, 1,2-dibromoethane, 1,2-dichloroethane benzyl chloride, chlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene, 1,1-dichloroethene, dichloromethane, formaldehyde, hydrogen sulfide, tetrachloroethylene, tetrachloromethane, toluene, 1,1,1-trichloroethan e, trichloroethylene, trichloromethane, xylene, and any other substance deemed appropriate by the state board or a district.

(Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 343, Sec. 18. Effective January 1, 2001.)