BILL NUMBER: AB 358 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 4, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Smyth
FEBRUARY 10, 2011
An act to amend Section 25296.25 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to hazardous substances.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 358, as amended, Smyth. Hazardous substances: underground
storage tanks: corrective action suspension.
Existing law generally regulates the storage of hazardous
substances in underground storage tanks, including requiring
underground storage tanks that are used to store hazardous substances
to meet certain requirements.
Existing law requires owners and operators of underground storage
tanks to take corrective action to an unauthorized release. The State
Water Resources Control Board is authorized to suspend corrective
action at a site, unless the board, in consultation with local
agencies and the a California regional
water quality control board (regional board), determines that a site
is an emergency site, as defined. The board is prohibited from
suspending certain activities pursuant to that authority and is
required to continue the suspension under certain conditions. The
board is required to adopt regulations to specify the conditions
under which a site is an emergency site, in that it poses either an
imminent threat to public health or safety or to the environment or a
substantial probability of causing a condition of contamination,
nuisance, or pollution.
Under the existing Barry Keene Underground Storage Tank Cleanup
Trust Fund Act of 1989, the board is authorized to expend moneys from
the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund to pay claims to aid
eligible owners and operators of petroleum underground storage tanks
who take corrective action to clean up unauthorized releases from
those tanks.
This bill would instead authorize the board to suspend
corrective action if reimbursement of a claim has been suspended
pursuant to the act, unless the board determines, without the
requirement to consult with local agencies and the regional board,
that the site presents an imminent threat to public health or safety
or to the environment. The bill would delete the prohibition on the
board from suspending those activities, would revise the conditions
under which suspension is required to be continued, and would delete
the requirement that the board adopt regulations to specify the
conditions under which a site is an emergency site
require the board to adopt these regulations specifying the
conditions under which a site is an emergency site on
January 1, 2012, as emergency regulations. The bill would exempt the
adoption of these regulations from certain requirements regarding
review by the Office of Administrative Law .
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION. 1. Section 25296.25 of the
Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
25296.25. (a) (1) Unless the board, in consultation with local
agencies and the regional board, determines that a site is an
emergency site, the board, at the request of a responsible party who
is eligible for reimbursement of corrective action costs under
Chapter 6.75 (commencing with Section 25299.10), may suspend
additional corrective action or investigation work at a site, based
on a preliminary site assessment conducted in accordance with the
corrective action regulations adopted by the board, but the board
shall not suspend any of the following activities pursuant to this
section:
(A) Removal of, or approved modifications of, existing tanks.
(B) Excavation of petroleum saturated soil or removal of excess
petroleum from saturated soil.
(C) Removal of free product from the saturated and unsaturated
zones.
(D) Periodic monitoring to ensure that released petroleum is not
migrating in an uncontrolled manner that will cause the site to
become an emergency site.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, "emergency site" means a
site that, because of an unauthorized release of petroleum, meets one
of the following conditions:
(A) The site presents an imminent threat to public health or
safety or the environment.
(B) The site poses a substantial probability of causing a
condition of contamination or nuisance, as defined in Section 13050
of the Water Code, or of causing pollution of a source of drinking
water at a level that is a violation of a primary or secondary
drinking water standard adopted by the State Department of
Public Health Services pursuant to Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 116270) of Part 12 of Division 104.
(b) The suspension shall continue until one of the following
occurs:
(1) The board provides the eligible responsible party with a
letter of commitment pursuant to Chapter 6.75 (commencing with
Section 25299.10) that the party will receive reimbursement for the
corrective action.
(2) The responsible party requests in writing that the suspension
be terminated and that the work continue.
(3) The fund established pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with
Section 25299.50) of Chapter 6.75 is no longer in existence.
(c) The (1) On
January 1, 2012, the board shall adopt emergency
regulations pursuant to Section 25299.3 that specify the conditions
under which a site is an imminent threat to public health or safety
or to the environment or poses a substantial probability of causing a
condition of contamination, nuisance, or pollution , as
specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a). The
(2) These emergency regulations shall
be adopted in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code, and for the purposes of that chapter, including Section 11349.6
of the Government Code, the adoption of these regulations is an
emergency and shall be considered by the Office of Administrative Law
as necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace,
health and safety, and general welfare. Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code, including subdivision (e) of Section 11346.1 of
the Government Code, the emergency regulations adopted pursuant to
this subdivision shall be filed with, but shall no t be
repealed by, the Office of Administrative Law and shall remain in
effect until revised by the board.
(3) The board shall not suspend
corrective action or investigation work at any site pursuant to this
section until the effective date of the emergency
regulations adopted by the board pursuant to this subdivision.
SECTION 1. Section 25296.25 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
25296.25. (a) The board may suspend additional corrective action
or investigation work at a site, at the request of a responsible
party who is eligible for reimbursement of corrective action costs
under Chapter 6.75 (commencing with Section 25299.10), if
reimbursement of a claim has been suspended pursuant to Chapter 6.75
(commencing with Section 25299.10), unless the board determines that
the site presents an imminent threat to public health or safety or to
the environment, based on a preliminary site assessment conducted in
accordance with the corrective action regulations adopted by the
board pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 25296.10.
(b) The suspension shall continue until one of the following
occurs:
(1) The board provides the eligible responsible party with notice
that the suspension of funding is lifted and that reimbursement
payments are available pursuant to a letter of commitment issued
pursuant to Chapter 6.75 (commencing with Section 25299.10).
(2) The responsible party requests in writing that the suspension
be terminated and that the work continue.
(3) The fund established pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with
Section 25299.50) of Chapter 6.75 is no longer in existence.