Colusa County Grand Jury
2016-2017
Findings & Recommendations
6 findings
F1:
The Environmental Health Division was aware of the existence of the composting facility as early as June 2016, based on the complaints received by county departments and listed in an agency-provided timeline of events.
F2:
Environmental Health made its first documented outreach to the compost facility management in September 2016, outlining the need for CalRecycle permits as well as the potential need for a wastewater discharge permit from the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).
F3:
Based on the December 21, 2016 emails from the compost facility's management, Environmental Health was aware that there were approximately 25,000 cubic yards of compostable material on site. As such, the site would have required a full Solid Waste Facility permit.
F4:
Based on the information already in their possession, Environmental Health was aware that the composting facility was required to have its necessary permits (both CalRecycle and SWRCB permits) before commencing operations.
F5:
From September 2016 to April 2017, the compost facility was allowed to operate as an unpermitted solid waste facility, which was the source of significant public concern insofar as an odor nuisance and wastewater discharge hazard. Environmental Health's position on the compost facility's operation was to gain cooperative compliance instead of compliance through enforcement action. In that period, there was no significant movement by the facility's management to comply with the permit requirements. 2016-17 Colusa County Grand Jury Final Report
Related Recommendations (2)
R2:
The Environmental Health Division should develop policies and practices to commence enforcement action more quickly in cases of non-compliance.
R3:
In cases of facilities or operations that are in the process of obtaining needed permits, Environmental Health should set firm deadlines for compliance, prioritizing public health and safety over "cooperative compliance."
F6:
Because of the lack of progress on the needed permit requirements, Environmental Health's position switched from 'cooperative compliance' to active enforcement. Final warnings were given in March 2017. In April 2017, an Order to Cease and Desist was issued.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2:
The Environmental Health Division should develop policies and practices to commence enforcement action more quickly in cases of non-compliance.
Additional Recommendations
1
Not linked to specific findings.
R1:
The Grand Jury recommends that the Environmental Health Division of the Planning and Building Department formulate a policy wherein facilities or operations that need official permits under its jurisdiction are identified.
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.