Historically, trying to collaborate with South Coast AQMD felt like wading through an endless bureaucratic swamp. Common-sense, innovative changes to Orange County’s waste infrastructure were frequently delayed by regulation, leaving critical upgrades on hold.
As Board members of the AQMD and elected officials, reforming this relationship has become a top priority of ours so taxpayers didn’t have to absorb unnecessary burdens and expenses.
That era of gridlock is over, thanks to a renewed spirit of collaboration and hard-fought advocacy. We have unlocked a partnership that empowers Orange County to lead rather than wait. Through this collaboration, we recently obtained approval of nine permits that had languished for two years.
The recent passage of long-awaited rule changes
The recent passage of long-awaited rule changes and permits is saving Orange County taxpayers $5 million on a hyper-speed composting system that doubles capacity. This extends the life of our landfills.
Securing a regulatory breakthrough was no easy feat—it required months of intense negotiation and collaboration. But crossing the finish line is incredibly gratifying. With the new rules in place, Orange County can now deploy Covered Aerated Static Pile (CASP) composting, which speeds up six months of composting into eight weeks.
This technology seals the organic material under specialized Teflon-style covers, pumps in air to supercharge the natural decomposition and cuts emissions by a staggering 90%. This is like taking 40,000 vehicles off the road.
California’s strict SB 1383 mandate legally requires all
California’s strict SB 1383 mandate legally requires all municipalities to aggressively slash organic waste sent to landfills. Orange County is fortunate to have its own composting process at landfills, alle
The new law will dramatically increase our green intake, making the CASP system mandatory, not a luxury.
An archaic regional regulation threatened to penalize us, declaring that non-permanent covered piles were not exempt from major mitigation fees. Without a rule change, compliance would have forced the county to cough up the staggering $5 million in unnecessary regulatory expenses.
We refused to let Orange County taxpayers absorb
We refused to let Orange County taxpayers absorb that cost. By successfully working with AQMD on this rule, we got the penalty removed entirely and saved our residents millions. Now, we are free to fully deploy this speedy composting system, which seals organic material under specialized covers and pumps in oxygen to supercharge natural decomposition.
This project allows OCWR to continue providing free compost to all participating residents. The compost was also used to renovate OC Animal Care’s doggie play yards and can be shared with other parks in the county.
In addition, this progress also shows how much the relationship between Orange County and AQMD has changed. Rather than allowing regulatory issues to stall county projects indefinitely, we are now working together to identify solutions, move permits forward, and ensure our important environmental infrastructure is built responsibly.
Together with Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Chaffee,
Together with Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Chaffee, we hosted AQMD leadership on a tour of the Bowerman Landfill in Irvine to see the compost process first hand.
We are urgently working to clear a backlog of additional 53 pending permits dating back six years. Some of these requests are for landfill blowers designed to capture gas before it reaches residential neighborhoods. We are anxious to get AQMD’s final sign-off so we can install this equipment and support the community.
But wait there’s more – Orange County is also looking at opportunities to capture methane produced at our landfills and convert it into usable energy. Instead of allowing that re
The county’s relationship with AQMD is bringing
The county’s relationship with AQMD is bringing in new investments into Orange County. AQMD has awarded $756,000 in INVEST CLEAN funding to install Level 3 chargers at each of our three active landfills and helping OC Waste & Recycling continue transitioning its medium- and heavy-duty fleet to zero-emission vehicles.
We are also hopeful that OCWR will receive approximately $4 million in rebates through AQMD’s upcoming TEAM program to support the purchase of additional electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.
Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen has been on the AQMD Board of Directors since 2025.
Yorba Linda Mayor Carlos Rodriguez has been an AQMD Board member since 2020.
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