In 1991, California's environmental authority was unified in a single Cabinet level agency—the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA). CalEPA's mission is to restore, protect and enhance the environment, to ensure public health, environmental quality and economic vitality.

Californians are protected from hazardous waste and materials by a Unified Program that ensures consistency throughout the state in regard to administrative requirements, permits, inspections, and enforcement. CalEPA oversees the program as a whole, and certifies 83 local government agencies known as Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPA) to implement the hazardous waste and materials standards set by five different state agencies. Read more about the Unified Program.