CHAPTER 3. Data Management [71060. - 71068.]

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC 3.

in effect

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71060. Section 71060.

The secretary shall develop and adopt information technology standards by which public agencies and regulated business entities and the other members of the regulated community may use computers and other information technology to specify, request, report, collect, communicate, process, display, disseminate, or otherwise utilize data for environmental data reporting requirements that are imposed in the course of granting permits or other authorizations to operate issued pursuant to specified provisions of state and federal law and regulations.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71061. Section 71061.

The secretary shall establish a standardized electronic format and protocol for the exchange of electronic data for the purpose of meeting environmental data reporting or other usage requirements that are imposed pursuant to all of the following laws and regulations adopted pursuant to those laws: (a) Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100), including, but not limited to, Article 6 (commencing with Section 25160), Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 25280), and Chapter 6.95 (commencing with Section 25500) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code. (b) Article 1 (commencing with Section 42300) of Chapter 4 of Part 4 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code. (c) Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code. (d) The Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 6901 et seq.). (e) The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11001 et seq.). (f) Any other law relating to environmental protection, including, but not limited to, hazardous waste, substances, and materials, as determined by the secretary.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71062. Section 71062.

The secretary shall identify the environmental data reporting or usage requirements imposed pursuant to the laws listed in Section 71061 and reflect those requirements in the elements of the standardized electronic format and protocol, develop a data dictionary that describes the characteristics of each format element and its relationship to each environmental data reporting or usage requirement, and develop evaluation criteria by which the successful use of the standardized electronic format and protocol may be measured.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71063. Section 71063.

(a) The proposed standardized electronic format and protocol required by Section 71061 and the alternative signature techniques required by Section 71066 shall be tested in the Counties of Santa Clara and San Mateo as a pilot program, for a period determined by the secretary, and at the initiative of business entity report submitters who have organized to implement electronic data interchange among themselves for other business purposes and who wish to employ the same technology for exchanging environmental data. Any of the participating business entities located within those counties who are required to comply with the environmental data reporting requirements imposed pursuant to the laws listed in Section 71061, may comply by submitting the data in the prescribed standardized electronic format. (b) The secretary shall meet the requirements of Section 71063 using resources contributed exclusively by business participants. The secretary may accept and use computer hardware, software, and support services furnished by the industry or business participants at their own cost in order for the agency to participate in the pilot program. No public funds shall be encumbered in order to conduct, or pay for, any part of the pilot program originally undertaken or provided by any business participant. The brands of products employed shall not be identified in public, nor shall their use be deemed an endorsement of any particular brand or proprietary approach to electronic data interchange.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71064. Section 71064.

(a) There is in the agency the Environmental Data Management Advisory Committee. The advisory committee shall consist of not more than seven members appointed by the secretary. The secretary shall select members who represent business, government, and environmental groups, and who have proven expertise and current knowledge in the field of electronic data exchange. (b) The advisory committee shall advise the secretary on the quickest, most effective, and least expensive alternative systems of electronic standards for formatting data. (c) The meetings of the advisory committee shall be open to the public and shall provide an opportunity for the public to be heard on matters considered by the advisory committee.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71065. Section 71065.

To the fullest extent practicable to public agencies and business entities, the secretary, in close consultation with the advisory committee, shall ensure that the standardized electronic format and protocol established pursuant to Section 71061 meets all of the following criteria: (a) The format and protocol conforms with, or is compatible with, data interchange formats and protocols already in use in the regulated community for moving data from computer to computer, so that the format and pilot program may be implemented promptly, without the need for research and development into untried formats and protocols. (b) The format and protocol works independently of the type of computer hardware, software, operating system, data storage device, and telecommunications equipment employed by prospective senders and receivers. (c) The format and protocol accommodates the addition of new or revised data element specifications without requiring users to make costly modifications to the hardware or software that they employ to submit electronic data.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71066. Section 71066.

The secretary shall prescribe one or more techniques by which a report may be signed electronically by a person who would otherwise place a written signature on a paper version of the report. The prescribed electronic signature shall be binding on all persons and for all purposes under the law as if the signature had been made in ink on the equivalent paper document. The secretary may also prescribe a paper form for signature and certification of a report submitted in the prescribed file format on tangible magnetic media, including, but not limited to, floppy disks or magnetic tape.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71067. Section 71067.

Public agencies shall continue their current data auditing practices, and shall work with data submitters to correct all kinds of data error encountered. The pilot program shall require that each participant maintain an audit trail as part of the evaluation criteria so that inspectors and other evaluators may ensure that the data submitted comport with the data received along the electronic link.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71068. Section 71068.

(a) Upon the completion of a demonstration of any standardized electronic format and protocol and alternative signature technique pursuant to this part, to the satisfaction of the advisory committee, the secretary shall adopt that electronic format and protocol standard for use as an optional alternative to submitting environmental data on paper to any state or local agency. (b) Any local agency requiring the submission of an element of environmental data not found in the data dictionary maintained by the secretary pursuant to Section 71062 may petition the secretary for inclusion of that data element. The secretary shall include an additional data item in the data dictionary only if the local agency demonstrates both of the following: (1) One of the following applies: (A) A specific requirement for that item in existing law or regulation. (B) A principle of mathematics or science that requires the collection of that data item to meet another specific purpose under the applicable law. (2) There is no other way to meet the local agency’s needs using combinations of data elements already incorporated into the data dictionary. (c) The electronic submission of environmental data to any state or local agency in accordance with the data standards adopted under this part constitutes compliance with the environmental data reporting or other usage requirements imposed pursuant to the laws specified in subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, of Section 71061, and has the same force and effect as if the data had been submitted in ink on paper. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person or state or local agency shall be required to submit or receive environmental data electronically, but every state or local agency that elects to engage in electronic data management with regard to environmental data shall employ the electronic reporting standards adopted by the secretary under this part. (e) Nothing in this section limits any existing authority of a local agency to require the submission of environmental data.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026