Waste discharge permits: landfills.

Senator Padilla's waste discharge permit legislation establishes new environmental justice requirements for Class III landfill approvals in California, requiring county boards of supervisors to evaluate proposed facilities against local environmental justice standards before permits can be issued.

The bill creates a multi-step review process for new Class III landfills - defined as facilities not permitted or receiving waste before January 2026. Counties must hold public hearings to assess whether proposed landfills align with their general plan's environmental justice element. The hearing record, including a summary of potential conflicts and public comments, must be submitted to regional water boards as part of the permit application. In jurisdictions without an environmental justice element, local enforcement agencies must examine CalEnviroScreen data and community health metrics to evaluate impacts on environmental justice communities, defined as areas scoring in the 90th percentile for pollution burden.

The measure includes provisions for state reimbursement of costs incurred by counties in conducting these additional reviews and hearings. This new layer of environmental justice analysis applies specifically to the permitting of new Class III landfills, supplementing existing regulations on waste discharge permits under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act and federal Clean Water Act programs.