Local Enforcement Agency - Integrated Waste

This page will provide you with information regarding the Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) for Tulare County.

LEA operates under the auspices of the California Department of Resources, Recycling, and Recovery (CalRecycle) and regulates solid waste handling, processing, and disposal activities.  These include the operation of landfills,  transfer stations, materials recovery facilities, composting facilities, and waste to energy facilities.  Until recently, virtually all solid waste handling activities were subject to the requirement of first obtaining a "full" solid waste facility permit or an exemption from the requirement of obtaining this permit from the local enforcement agency (LEA) with jurisdiction over the proposed site.  CalRecycle must concur in the issuance of the full permit before it is issued.

CalRecycle has implemented regulations which exclude some activities from permitting requirements, allow others to operate after making a notification to the LEA, and many others to operate with less burdensome forms of a permit.  Some activities still require the full solid waste facility permit.

The five tiers of regulation for solid waste handling activities are:

  1. Excluded Solid Waste Handling

  2. Enforcement Agency Notification

  3. Registration Permit

  4. Standardized Permit

  5. Full Permit

The first two tiers do not require a solid waste facility permit, while the latter three do.  The tier in which an activity is slotted depends not only on the type of activity, but also on the type and amount of solid waste being handled.

For more information, please access the following:

California Codes Title 14 and Title 27

California Department of Resources, Recycling, and Recovery (CalRecycle)

Tulare County Local Enforcement Agency can be reached at (559) 733 6441