SB 158: California Hazardous Waste Fees, Due Dates, and Penalties

California Senate Bill 158, enacted in 2021, rebuilt the state’s hazardous waste fee system. Under the California SB 158 hazardous waste fees framework, any site that generates five or more tons of hazardous waste in a calendar year owes a per-ton generation and handling fee, and every permitted hazardous waste facility owes an annual facility fee scaled to its type and capacity. Both fees are billed and collected by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), and both are now set each year by a new Board of Environmental Safety inside the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).1California Legislative Information. SB 158 Hazardous Waste

Who Owes the Generation and Handling Fee

The generation and handling fee applies to any generator site that produces five or more tons of hazardous waste in a calendar year. Sites below that five-ton threshold do not pay it. When SB 158 first took effect, the rate was $49.25 per ton, or any fraction of a ton, of hazardous waste generated.2California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Health and Safety Code 25205.5 – Generation and Handling Fees Starting July 1, 2023, that figure was replaced by rates set by the Board of Environmental Safety, and the board’s rate now applies to every ton, including the first five.

If a generator also holds a hazardous waste facility permit and pays the annual facility fee, it can deduct waste that only passes through its permitted facility on the way to another site for treatment, reclamation, or disposal. That carve-out keeps the same waste from being counted twice when a permitted facility handles material it did not originate.2California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Health and Safety Code 25205.5 – Generation and Handling Fees

What Permitted Facilities Pay

Permitted hazardous waste facilities pay an annual fee built from a statutory base rate of $94,910, which the board may adjust, multiplied by a factor that depends on facility type:3California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 25205.2 – Annual Facility Fee

  • Ministorage facility: 25% of the base rate.
  • Small storage facility: 100% of the base rate.
  • Large storage facility: 200% of the base rate.
  • Minitreatment facility: 50% of the base rate.
  • Small treatment facility: 200% of the base rate.
  • Large treatment facility, onsite or offsite: 300% of the base rate.
  • Disposal facility: 1,000% of the base rate.

Disposal facilities carry the heaviest fee because of the long-term liability tied to permanent waste storage. If a single permit covers activities that fall into more than one category, the operator pays only the highest applicable rate; the categories do not stack.3California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 25205.2 – Annual Facility Fee

Facility size for fee purposes is drawn from the capacity listed in the permit or interim status document. An operator can certify a lower capacity and pay at the lower tier, but only by pledging not to exceed the certified figure.4California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Health and Safety Code 25205.18 – Facility Capacity

When and How to Pay

Both fees are filed with and paid to CDTFA, not DTSC. Both also run on the same two-installment rhythm within each fiscal year, which catches out filers who expect a single annual bill or quarterly returns.

For the generation and handling fee, the prepayment covering 50% of the total is due by the last day of November, and the final payment with the return is due by the last day of February in the same fiscal year.5California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Generation and Handling Fee The facility fee splits the same way: two equal payments, one due November 30 and the other February 28 of each fiscal year.6California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Hazardous Substances Waste Fee Guide – Facility Fee When a due date falls on a weekend or state holiday, a return postmarked or received by the next business day is treated as timely.

The generation and handling fee is reported on a fiscal-year return, but the waste being reported was generated during a calendar year that straddles two fiscal years. Hazardous waste generated during calendar year 2026, for example, is reported on the fiscal year 2027-28 return, with the prepayment due November 30, 2027, and the final payment due February 28, 2028.5California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Generation and Handling Fee New filers routinely misread that lag and either prepay against the wrong year or miss the November deadline entirely.

Late Penalties and Underreporting

CDTFA applies escalating penalties to any late prepayment, late return, or late payment:7California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Hazardous Substances Waste Fee Guide

  • 30 days or fewer late: 10% penalty.
  • 31 to 60 days late: 25% penalty.
  • 61 to 90 days late: 50% penalty.
  • 91 or more days late: 100% penalty.

A separate 300% penalty applies when CDTFA determines that a filer willfully provided incorrect information or withheld information that reduced the fee owed. That penalty took effect for payments and returns due on or after November 30, 2024.7California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Hazardous Substances Waste Fee Guide Shaving reported waste volumes to lower a fee is no longer just an audit risk; a confirmed willful misstatement can leave a facility owing several times the original amount.

Who Sets the Rates Each Year

SB 158 created the Board of Environmental Safety within DTSC and handed it the authority to establish, by regulation, the schedule of rates for facility fees, generation and handling fees, and activity fees. The board can adjust those rates no more than once per year.8California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 25205.2.1 – Schedule of Rates

When it sets rates, the board must bring in enough revenue to cover DTSC’s authorized expenditures while keeping a reserve of up to 10% in the Hazardous Waste Facilities Account as a cushion against revenue dips or unexpected costs. If actual revenue in a given year runs above or below legislative appropriations, the board compensates by adjusting the next year’s rates. The board must deliver the updated rates to CDTFA by October 1 each year, which is why rate changes typically land in the fee cycle that begins with the November prepayment.8California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 25205.2.1 – Schedule of Rates Checking the current rate before each prepayment is more useful than relying on the prior year’s figure.

Federal Generator Categories Are Separate

California’s five-ton annual threshold for the generation and handling fee is a state fee trigger. It is not the same thing as a federal generator category under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which classifies sites by monthly output:

A site can land in a federal small or large quantity generator category and still produce under five tons in a calendar year, which means it owes no California generation and handling fee while remaining fully subject to federal storage, recordkeeping, and manifesting rules. The two systems answer different questions and should be tracked separately.