§ 521-12 Enforcement Agency | Humboldt County Code

521-12. Enforcement Agency.

(a) The Department of Health and Human Services, Environmental Health Division, Department of Public Works and Department of Building and Planning shall be enforcement agencies in accordance with the provisions of the California Public Resources Code Section 40181.

(b) Administration and Enforcement Responsibility. The administration and enforcement of this chapter shall be the responsibility of the County and enforcement may be undertaken by the County and/or its designee.

(1) The County is authorized to conduct inspections and investigations, at random or otherwise, of any collection container, collection vehicle loads, or transfer, processing or disposal facility for materials collected from generators, or source separated materials, to confirm compliance with this chapter by organic waste generators, commercial businesses (including multifamily residential dwellings), property owners, commercial edible food generators, haulers, self-haulers, food recovery services, and food recovery organizations, subject to applicable laws. This section does not allow the County to enter the interior of a private residential property for inspection. If entry for an inspection is refused by an owner, occupant or agent, the County may still inspect the property after obtaining an inspection warrant.

(2) An entity regulated under this chapter shall provide or arrange for access during all inspections (with the exception of private residential property interiors) and shall cooperate with the County during such inspections and investigations. Such inspections and investigations may include confirmation of proper placement of materials in containers, edible food recovery activities, records, or any other requirement of this chapter described herein. Failure to provide or arrange for access to an entity’s premises or access to records for any inspection or investigation is a violation of this chapter and may result in penalties as described herein.

(3) Any records obtained by the County during its inspections and other reviews shall be subject to the requirements and applicable disclosure exemptions of the Public Records Act as set forth in Government Code Section 6250 et seq.

(4) The County is authorized to conduct any inspections or other investigations as reasonably necessary to further the goals of this chapter, subject to applicable laws.

(5) Compliance Reviews. At least annually, the County and/or County designee shall complete a compliance review of all solid waste collection accounts for commercial businesses that are subject to its authority and that generate two (2) cubic yards or more per week of solid waste, including organic waste. The County and/or County designee shall annually either conduct route reviews or waste evaluations consistent with California Code of Regulations Section 18984.5(c). The County and/or County Designee shall also determine compliance with organic waste generator requirements set forth in California Code of Regulations Section 18984.9(a) and self-haul requirements set forth in Section 18988.3.

(1) The County and/or County designee will monitor compliance with this chapter through compliance reviews, route reviews, investigation of complaints, and inspections. Subsection (c) of this section establishes the County’s right to conduct inspections and investigations. Complaints regarding noncompliance with this chapter may be submitted to the County anonymously.

(2) Upon discovery of a violation of this chapter, the County and/or County designee shall first provide reasonable notice of and an opportunity to correct prior to imposing penalties. Notices may be provided via cart tag or other posting on the property in a conspicuous place.

(3) After notice and opportunity to correct, the County and/or County designee may issue citations and penalties pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 1.08 for uncorrected violations.

(4) For incidences of prohibited container contaminants found in containers, County and/or County designee may issue a warning or notice to any generators found to have prohibited container contaminants in a container. Such notice will be provided via a cart tag or other communication immediately upon identification of the prohibited container contaminants or within one (1) day after determining that a violation has occurred, and pursuant to any additional applicable requirements of a franchise agreement. If the County and/or County designee observes prohibited container contaminants in a generator’s containers on more than one (1) occasion, County and/or County designee may assess contamination processing fees or contamination penalties on the generator.

(5) With the exception of violations of generator contamination of container contents addressed in subsection (d)(4) of this section, the County and/or County designee shall issue a notice of violation requiring compliance within sixty (60) days of issuance of the notice. The County and/or County designee may extend the compliance deadline if it finds that there are extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the respondent that make compliance within the deadlines impracticable, including but not limited to the following:

(A) Acts of God such as earthquakes, wildfires, flooding, and other emergencies or natural disasters;

(B) Delays in obtaining discretionary permits or other government agency approvals; or

(C) Deficiencies in organic waste recycling infrastructure or edible food recovery capacity and the County is under a corrective action plan with CalRecycle pursuant to Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 18996.2 due to those deficiencies.

(6) Absent compliance by the respondent within the deadline set forth in the notice of violation, the County may commence an action to impose penalties, via an administrative citation and fine, pursuant to Humboldt County Code and the penalty amounts stated therein. The County’s procedures on imposition of administrative fines are hereby incorporated in their entirety, as modified from time to time, and shall govern the imposition, enforcement, collection, and review of administrative citations issued to enforce this chapter and any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter, except as otherwise indicated in this chapter. Notices shall be sent to the party responsible for paying the collection services, or, if no address is available, to the owner at the address of the dwelling or commercial property or to the mailing address as shown in the County’s last equalized property tax assessment roll, depending upon available information.

(7) Starting on the effective date of the ordinance amending this chapter in its entirety and through December 31, 2023, the County and/or County designee shall provide educational material describing the applicable requirements of this chapter in response to violations and stating that compliance is required and that violations may be subject to administrative civil penalties starting on January 1, 2024.

(8) In addition to the remedies provided above, any person violating any provision of this chapter is guilty of an infraction and subject to the penalties provided for by law for infractions unless declared to be a misdemeanor or felony under State law. In addition to the remedy available herein, the County may exercise any and all powers authorized by any other provision of law to enforce this chapter including, but not limited to, the declaration of a public nuisance and the abatement thereof and injunctive remedies. The full costs of enforcement of this chapter shall be recoverable by the County against persons who are in violation of provisions of this chapter. County may pursue civil actions in the California courts to seek recovery of unpaid administrative citations. County may choose to delay court action until such time as a sufficiently large number of violations, or cumulative size of violations exist such that court action is a reasonable use of County staff and resources.

(1) General Exceptions and/or Exemptions. Exceptions and/or exemptions from the regulations noted herein may be granted by the Board. A request for such exception and/or exemption must be in writing and submitted to the Board, in form and content as determined by the Board and is based upon a finding that such exception or exemption is in the public interest.

(A) Nothing in this section allows the County to exempt a business subject to the requirements of Section 42649.81 of the Public Resources Code from compliance with that section.

(B) At least every five (5) years from the date of issuance, the County and/or County designee shall verify through inspection that commercial businesses that are meeting de minimis and physical space waivers for compliance consistent with the requirements of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 18984.11.

(C) Nothing in this section precludes the County from charging a fee for reviewing and issuing waivers as described in this section.

(D) De Minimis Waiver. Pursuant to Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 18984.11(a)(1), the County may waive a commercial business’s obligation (including multifamily residential dwellings) to comply with some or all of the organic waste requirements of this chapter if the commercial business provides documentation or the County has evidence demonstrating that:

1. The commercial business’s total solid waste collection service is two (2) cubic yards or more per week and organic waste subject to collection in a blue container or green container as specified in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 18984.1(a) comprises less than twenty (20) gallons per week per applicable container of the business’s total waste.

2. The commercial business’s total solid waste collection service is less than two (2) cubic yards per week and organic waste subject to collection in blue container or a green container as specified in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 18984.1(a) comprises less than ten (10) gallons per week per applicable container of the business’s total waste.

(E) Physical Space Waiver. Pursuant to Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 18984.11(a)(2), the County may waive a commercial business’s or property owner’s obligation to comply with some or all of the organic waste collection service requirements of this chapter if the commercial business or property owner provides documentation, or the County has evidence from its staff, a hauler, licensed architect, or licensed engineer demonstrating that the premises lack adequate space for any of the organic waste container configurations allowed under this chapter.

(F) Collection Frequency Waiver. Pursuant to Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 18984.11(a)(3), the County may allow the owner or tenant of any residence, premises, business establishment or industry that subscribes to a three (3) container organic waste collection service to arrange for the collection of solid waste once every fourteen (14) days; provided, that:

1. The County, or its authorized hauler, demonstrates to the enforcement agency, as defined in Public Resources Code 40130 that less frequent collection than required by Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 17331 will not cause receiving solid waste facilities, operations, or both to be in violation of applicable state minimum standards described in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 20510 et seq. or 17200 et seq.

(f) Refuse Cleanup. The County is authorized and empowered to require the owner of any private property within the County to remove and to properly dispose of refuse located on such property, having determined that the accumulation of such refuse or improper disposal of such refuse is dangerous or injurious to public health and safety and as such can be deemed a nuisance. The County is authorized and empowered to utilize all the provisions contained in the Humboldt County Code and State law to enforce the provisions of this chapter.

(g) Interfering With Container Prohibited. No person other than the owner, the owner’s agent, an employee of the County or an employee of the franchised collector shall tamper with any refuse or recyclable container or the contents thereof.

(h) Unauthorized Person Placing Refuse in Container. No person other than the owner may place any refuse in a refuse container, bin or drop box without expressed permission of the owner.

(i) Interfering With Removal Prohibited. No person shall by any means hinder, obstruct, or interfere with the removal or transportation of refuse or recyclables by a franchised collector.

(j) Placing Residential and Commercial Solid Waste in Street-Side Litter Container Prohibited. No person shall place refuse generated in a residential unit or commercial premises in a street-side litter container. “Street-side litter container” means a container placed near or in the right-of-way for the public’s convenient disposal of incidental refuse.

(k) Appeals. Unless otherwise provided for by law, any person who is dissatisfied with any decision or ruling of the County on or with the directives or decisions of the County may appeal to the Board, which shall have the power to hear and determine such appeal. Said appeal shall be taken by filing with the Clerk of the Board a notice of appeal within ten (10) days after the date of such decision or ruling. The notice shall be signed by the appellant or his/her attorney and shall be sufficient if it states in substance that the appellant appeals from a specified decision or ruling. A notice of appeal shall be liberally construed in favor of its sufficiency. No later than thirty (30) days after receipt of said notice of appeal, the Board shall set the matter for public hearing and shall cause public notice of such public hearing to be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the County at least ten (10) days before the date of said hearing stating the time and place of hearing, the decision or ruling appealed from and the name of the appellant or appellants. At said hearing the appellant shall present a statement of the grounds for appeal and evidence in support of the appeal in such form as the Board may require. Appeals filed pursuant to this section shall be accomplished by a fee in the amount set by resolution of the Board. (Repealed and reenacted by Ord. 2696, § 2, 6/14/2022)