The perfecting of an appeal shall not stay enforcement of the judgment or order in the trial court if the judgment or order appealed from, or the administrative order which is the subject of the trial court proceeding, was issued pursuant to either of the following:
§ 917.15.Enforcement Not Stayed As to Certain Health and Safety Code Orders
Title 13. Appeals In Civil Actions · Chapter 2. Stay of Enforcement and Other Proceedings · Last amended 2024 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 917.15 removes the automatic stay for trial-court orders enforcing certain Health and Safety Code directives — hazardous-substance removal or remedial action orders and hazardous waste compliance orders — so an appeal from those orders does not by itself pause the obligation to comply.
Full Text of § 917.15
(a) Section 78870 of the Health and Safety Code and ordered a responsible party to take appropriate removal or remedial actions in response to a release or a threatened release of a hazardous substance.
(b) Section 25181 of the Health and Safety Code and ordered the party to comply with Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code or any rule, regulation, permit, covenant, standard, requirement, or order issued, adopted or executed pursuant to that Chapter 6.5.
Plain-English Summary
Two categories of orders lose the automatic stay entirely under this section. The first covers orders issued under Health and Safety Code § 78870, which direct a responsible party to take removal or remedial action after a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance. The second covers orders under Health and Safety Code § 25181, which direct compliance with the state's hazardous waste control law or with a related rule, regulation, permit, covenant, standard, requirement, or order issued under that law.
Unlike § 917.1 through § 917.9, § 917.15 doesn't offer the appellant a way to buy a stay by posting an undertaking. An appeal from one of these orders doesn't stop enforcement while it's pending. An appellant who needs relief has to look elsewhere in this chapter — to the trial court's own discretionary power to stay enforcement under § 918, or to a writ of supersedeas from the reviewing court under § 923.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does appealing a hazardous-substance cleanup order pause the duty to comply?
No. Section 917.15 removes the automatic stay for orders issued under Health and Safety Code § 78870 or § 25181, so enforcement continues during the appeal.
Can an appellant post a bond to get a stay under § 917.15?
What two kinds of orders does this section reach?
Orders directing removal or remedial action for a hazardous substance release under Health and Safety Code § 78870, and orders directing compliance with the hazardous waste control law or related requirements under Health and Safety Code § 25181.
How does § 917.15 fit with the general automatic-stay rule?
Section 916 makes automatic stays the default but expressly excepts the sections in this chapter, and § 917.15 is one of those listed exceptions.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2022 ch 258 (AB 2327),s 9, eff. 1/1/2023, op. 1/1/2024. Added by Stats. 1985, Ch. 1492, Sec. 1.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
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