Tiered Permit Program - Onsite Treatment of Hazardous Waste

 

Hazardous waste treatment is any method, technique, or process designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological composition of any hazardous waste or reduces its harmful characteristics and may reduce the volume of the hazardous waste. Examples of treatment include the following processes:

  • Filtering, Ion Exchange, Reducing, Adjusting pH, Shredding, Separating, Biological Degradation, Evaporating, Drying, Mixing, Crushing, Grinding, Compacting, Absorbing, Electrowinning, and Gravity setting.

If a facility generates a hazardous waste and it wants to reduce the amount of waste for disposal purposes by one of the above methods, the facility will be required to obtain a Tiered Permit from the CUPA and be subject to the associated requirements.

Some common industries that fall under Tiered Permitting are metal plating and commercial laundry service facilities.

There are five tiers for treatment of hazardous waste. The State of California Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) has regulatory oversight for the two top tiers Full Permit and Standardized Permit facilities. The three lower tiers - Permit By Rule (PBR), Conditional Authorization (CA), and Conditionally Exempt (CE) are regulated by the local administering agency. In Glenn County, the local administering agency is the CUPA.

pyramid diagram of the five tiers for treatment of hazardous waste