The Unified Program
Californians are protected from hazardous waste and hazardous materials by a Unified Program that ensures consistency throughout the state in regard to administrative requirements, permits, inspections, and enforcement. CalEPA oversees the statewide implementation of the Unified Program and its 81 certified local government agencies, known as Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPAs), which apply regulatory standards established by five different state agencies. Read more about the Unified Program.
Electronic Reporting
Effective January 1, 2009, all regulated businesses and local government Unified Program Agencies (UPAs) are required to submit Unified Program information electronically, either to the local regulatory agency or to the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS). CERS supports electronic data exchange among businesses, local governments and U.S. EPA. Read more about Electronic Reporting.
CUPA Performance Evaluations
CalEPA conducts periodic performance evaluations of its CUPAs to ensure each local agency is effectively protecting Californians from hazardous waste and hazardous materials according to the requirements of the Unified Program. Read more about the performance evaluation process, evaluation schedule, and evaluation results.
State Surcharges
The State Surcharges affecting each entity regulated under the Unified Program are used to fund the costs of all State Agencies with Unified Program responsibilities. Certified Unified Program Agencies are responsible for billing and collecting the state surcharges from each regulated business or facility as part of the Single Fee System. Beginning fiscal year 2014-2015, a new Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA) surcharge was approved in the amount of $26.00 per regulated tank facility. The new APSA surcharge covers the necessary and reasonable costs incurred by the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to perform duties and responsibilities to implement, maintain and oversee the APSA program. State Surcharges are set as follows:
- Oversight ($49.00 per business/facility) Note: CUPAs who have not completed three annual billing cycles of the electronic reporting surcharge must continue to assess and collect from their regulated businesses the $25 Electronic Reporting Surcharge until they complete three full billing cycles.
- Underground Storage Tank ($20.00 per tank)
- California Accidental Release Prevention Program ($270.00 per regulated business)
- Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act ($26.00 per tank facility)
Unified Program News
Upcoming Meeting:
CalEPA Considers Imperial County Fire Department Application to be County CUPA
Dec. 13, 2018
Public Notice in English
Public Notice in Spanish (en español)
Application in English (PDF, 23.3 MB)
CalEPA Regulated Site Portal
This website combines information about environmentally regulated facilities and sites statewide from multiple state and federal data sources into a single searchable database and interactive map. Information on the CalEPA Regulated Site Portal comes from five sources: California Environmental Reporting System, EnviroStor, GeoTracker, the California Integrated Water Quality System (CIWQS) and the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).
CERS 3.0 Development and Implementation A CERS 3.0 Workgroup formed in 2014 to evaluate the CERS reporting system and improve its usability and reporting features. The workgroup consisted of eight subcommittees, comprised of over 75 representatives from state and local regulators, business users (including environmental and public interests), technical advisory groups, and data services vendors. The workgroup developed approximately 150 suggested enhancements to the CERS system, and during a 3-day workshop in June 2015, a data steering committee supported 110 of those suggestions for further review and potential implementation. Learn more about the process at CERS Central.
- Summary of CERS 3.0 Enhancements Reviewed by the Data Steering Committee (PDF)
- CERS 3.0 Enhancements Supported by the Data Steering Committee (PDF)
Unified Program Listservs