BILL NUMBER: AB 440 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 24, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gatto
( Principal coauthor: Assembly Member
Mullin )
FEBRUARY 15, 2013
An act to add Chapter 6.10 (commencing with Section 25403) to
Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to hazardous
substances.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 440, as amended, Gatto. Hazardous substances: releases: local
agency cleanup or remedy.
Existing law dissolved redevelopment agencies and community
development agencies, as of February 1, 2012, and provides for the
designation of successor agencies, as defined. Existing law requires
successor agencies to wind down the affairs of the dissolved
redevelopment agencies and to, among other things, perform
obligations required pursuant to any enforceable obligation,
including, but not limited to, any obligations under the Polanco
Redevelopment Act to remedy or remove the release of hazardous
substances within a project area consistent with state and federal
laws, as specified.
Existing law, the Carpenter-Presley-Tanner Hazardous Substance
Account Act, imposes liability for hazardous substance removal or
remedial actions and requires the Department of Toxic Substances
Control to adopt, by regulation, criteria for the selection and for
the priority ranking of hazardous substance release sites for removal
or remedial action under the act.
This bill would authorize a local agency to take any action
similar to that under the Polanco Redevelopment Act that the local
agency determines is necessary, consistent with other state and
federal laws, to remedy or remove a release of hazardous substances
within the boundaries of the local agency, pursuant to the procedures
specified in the bill.
The bill would require the Department of Toxic Substances Control
and the California regional water quality control board to adopt and
post cleanup guidelines for the taking of a remedial and
removal or remedial action. A local agency would
be required to submit for approval a cleanup plan to the regional
board or a removal or remedial action plan to the
department before taking action. The bill would require a local
agency to take specified actions with regard to providing an
opportunity for the public and other public agencies to participate
in decisions regarding the proposed removal or remedial action plan
or cleanup plan. The bill would allow the local agency to take
those remedial or removal or remedial
actions only under specified conditions with regard to the
responsible party for the release, unless the local agency is taking
action to investigate or conduct feasibility studies concerning a
release or determines that conditions require immediate action.
The bill would allow the local agency to designate another agency,
in lieu of the department or the regional board, to review and
approve a cleanup plan or removal or remedial action plan
and to oversee the remediation or removal of hazardous substances
from a hazardous substance release site, under certain conditions.
The bill would immunize a local agency that remedies or removes a
hazardous substance release, pursuant to those provisions, from
liability under specified state laws, if the action is in accordance
with a cleanup plan or removal or remedial action plan
prepared by a qualified independent contractor, as defined, and
approved by the department, a regional board, or the designated
agency, and the remedial or removal or
remedial action is undertaken and properly completed. The bill
would authorize the recovery by a local agency of cleanup and
remedial costs from the liable responsible
party.
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. Chapter 6.10 (commencing with Section 25403) is added
to Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER 6.10. HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE RELEASE CLEANUP
25403. For purposes of this article, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:
(a) "CUPA" means the Certified Unified Program Agency certified to
implement the unified program pursuant to Chapter 6.11 (commencing
with Section 25404).
(b) "Department" means the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
(c) "Designated agency" means an agency designated by the local
agency pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (d) of Section
25403.1.
(d) "Director" means the Director of Toxic Substances Control.
(e) "Hazardous substance" means a hazardous substance as defined
in subdivision (h) of Section 25281, and any reference to hazardous
substance in the definitions referenced in this section shall be
deemed to refer to hazardous substance, as defined in this
subdivision.
(f) "Local agency" means a county, a city, or a housing authority,
as provided in Section 34240.
(g) "Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock
company, business concern, partnership, limited liability company,
association, and corporation, including, but not limited to, a
government corporation. "Person" also includes any local agency,
county, district, commission, the state or any department, agency, or
political subdivision thereof, any interstate body, and the federal
government or any department or agency thereof to the extent
permitted by law.
(h) "Phase I environmental assessment" has the same meaning as
defined in Section 25200.14, except with respect to a hazardous
substance.
(i) "Qualified independent contractor" means an independent
contractor who is any of the following:
(1) An engineering geologist who is certified pursuant to Section
7842 of the Business and Professions Code.
(2) A geologist who is registered pursuant to Section 7850 of the
Business and Professions Code.
(3) A civil engineer who is registered pursuant to Section 6762 of
the Business and Professions Code.
(j) "Regional board" means a California regional water quality
control board.
(k) "Release" means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring,
emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching,
dumping, or disposing into the environment.
(l) (1) "Remedy" or "remove" means an action to assess, evaluate,
investigate, monitor, remove, correct, clean up, or abate a release
of a hazardous substance or to develop plans for those actions.
(2) "Remedy" includes all of the following:
(A) Those actions that are consistent with a permanent remedy,
that are taken instead of, or in addition to, removal actions in the
event of a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance
into the environment. "Remedy" also includes those actions specified
in Section 9601 of Title 42 of the United States Code, except that
any reference in Section 9601 of Title 42 of the United States Code
to the President, relating to determinations regarding the relocation
of residents, businesses, and community facilities shall, for the
purposes of this chapter, be deemed to be a reference to the
Governor, and any other reference in that section to the President
shall, for the purposes of this chapter, be deemed a reference to the
Governor, or the director, if designated by the Governor.
(B) Those actions that are necessary to monitor, assess, and
evaluate a release or a threatened release of a hazardous substance.
(C) Site operation and maintenance.
(3) "Remove" includes the cleanup or removal of released hazardous
substances from the environment or the taking of other actions as
may be necessary to prevent, minimize, or mitigate damage that may
otherwise result from a release or threatened release. "Remove"
includes those actions specified in Section 9601 of Title 42 of the
United States Code.
(m) "Responsible party" means a person described in subdivision
(a) of Section 25323.5 of this code or subdivision (a) of Section
13304 of the Water Code.
(n) "State board" means the State Water Resources Control Board.
25403.1. (a) (1) A local agency may take any action that the
local agency determines is necessary and that is consistent with
other state and federal laws to remedy or remove a release of
hazardous substances on, under, or from property within a local
agency's boundaries, whether the local agency owns that property or
not, in accordance with the requirements of this chapter. When taking
action pursuant to this chapter, if the local agency does not own
property that is the subject of the removal or remedial action, the
local agency has the right of entry upon that property, if, upon
providing notice to the owner of that property in
accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b)
, the owner of the property does not respond to the notice
or the local agency deems t he response inadequate
.
(2) (A) The department and regional board
shall adopt and post on that agency's Internet Web site general
cleanup guidelines with regard to taking action to remedy or remove a
release pursuant to this chapter.
(B) Paragraph (A) does not prohibit the department or the regional
board from approving site-specific cleanup guidelines, with regard
to taking an action to remedy or remove a release pursuant to this
chapter, as appropriate.
(3) The adoption and posting of general cleanup guidelines
pursuant to this section shall not be deemed the adoption of a
regulation for purposes of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code and
shall be exempt from those provisions.
(4) A local agency shall, before taking action to remedy or
remove the release, do both all of the
following:
(A) Have a removal or remedial action plan or cleanup
plan prepared, pursuant to those guidelines, by an independent
qualified contractor.
(B) Submit a cleanup plan to the regional board or a removal
or remedial action plan to the department for approval.
(C) Comply with the public participation requirements specified in
Section 25403.7.
(5) The regional board or the department shall respond to the
local agency's request for approval of a cleanup plan or removal
or remedial action plan within 60 days of the receipt of the
plan.
(6) Within 60 days after approval of the cleanup plan or
removal or remedial action plan, pursuant to applicable
statutes and regulations, the director, or the regional board, as
appropriate, shall acknowledge, in writing, that upon proper
completion of the remedial or removal or
remedial action in accordance with the plan, the immunity
provided by Section 25403.2 shall apply to the local agency
.
(7) The local agency shall notify the department and local health
and building departments and the regional board,
board of any cleanup activity pursuant to this section at
least 30 days before the commencement of the activity.
(8) If an action taken by a local agency or a responsible party to
remedy or remove a release of a hazardous substance does not meet,
or is not consistent with, a cleanup plan approved by the regional
board or a removal or remedial action plan approved by the
department, the department or the regional board that approved the
cleanup plan or removal or remedial action plan may
require the responsible party or local agency to take, or
cause the taking of, additional action to remedy or remove the
release, as provided by applicable law.
(9) If an administering agency for the site has been designated
pursuant to Section 25262, the department or the regional board may
impose any requirements for additional action pursuant to paragraph
(8) only as provided in Sections 26263 and 25265.
(10) If methane or landfill gas is present, the local agency shall
obtain written approval from the Department of Resources Recycling
and Recovery prior to taking action authorized under this
subdivision.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), a local agency may take
the actions specified in subdivision (a) only under one of the
following conditions:
(1) There is no responsible party for the release identified by
the local agency.
(2) Both of the following apply:
(A) A party determined by the local agency to be a responsible
party for the release has been notified by the local agency, or has
received adequate notice from the department, a regional board, the
California Environmental Protection Agency, or other governmental
agency with relevant authority, and has been given 60 days to respond
and to propose a removal or remedial action plan or
cleanup plan and schedule.
(B) The responsible party specified in subparagraph (A) has not
agreed within an additional 60 days to implement a plan and schedule
to remedy or remove the release that meets both of the following
requirements:
(i) The plan and schedule are acceptable to the local agency.
(ii) The local agency makes a finding that the plan and schedule
are consistent with the intended use of the property.
(3) (A) The party determined by the local agency to be the
responsible party for the hazardous substance release entered into an
agreement with the local agency to prepare a removal or
remedial action plan or cleanup plan for approval by the department,
the regional board, or the appropriate local agency, and to implement
the removal or remedial action plan or cleanup plan in
accordance with an agreed schedule, but failed to do any of the
following:
(i) Prepare the removal or remedial action plan or
cleanup plan.
(ii) Implement the removal or remedial action plan or
cleanup plan in accordance with the agreed schedule.
(iii) Otherwise failed to carry out the removal or
remedial action in an appropriate and timely manner.
(B) An action taken by the local agency pursuant to this paragraph
shall be consistent with any agreement between the local agency and
the responsible party and with the requirements of the state agency
or the local agency that approved or will approve the removal or
remedial action plan or cleanup plan and is overseeing or will
oversee the preparation and implementation of the removal or
remedial action plan.
(c) Subdivision (b) does not apply to either of the following:
(1) A local agency taking actions to investigate or conduct
feasibility studies concerning a release.
(2) A local agency taking the actions specified in subdivision (a)
if the local agency determines that conditions require immediate
action.
(d) (1) A local agency may designate another agency, in lieu of
the department or the regional board, to review and approve a cleanup
plan or a removal or remedial action plan and to oversee
the remediation or removal of hazardous substances from a specific
hazardous substance release site if the agency is designated as the
administering agency under Section 25262. In that event, the
designated agency shall conduct the oversight of the removal or
remedial action in accordance with Chapter 6.65 (commencing
with Section 25260), and all provisions of that chapter shall apply
to the removal or remedial action.
(2) A local agency may designate another agency to review and
approve a cleanup plan or a removal or remedial action
plan for a site and oversee the remediation and removal action at the
site if all of the following conditions exist:
(A) The designated agency is certified as a CUPA.
(B) The site is an underground storage tank site subject to
Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 25280).
(C) The designated agency is certified pursuant to Section
25297.01 and the state board has entered into an agreement with that
agency pursuant to Section 25297.1.
(D) The designated agency determines that the site is within the
guidelines and protocols established in, and pursuant to, the
agreement specified in subparagraph (C).
(E) The designated agency consents to the designation.
(3) Within 60 days after approving a cleanup plan or a
removal or remedial action plan pursuant to paragraph (1) or
(2), the designated agency shall issue a notice that, upon proper
completion of the removal or remedial or removal
action plan, the immunity specified in Section 25403.2
shall apply to the local agency . If the
designated agency was formed by the local agency, the cleanup plan or
removal or remedial action plan shall also be subject to
the approval of the department or regional board.
(4) (A) An agency may not consent to the designation pursuant to
paragraph (1) or (2) unless the designated agency determines that it
has adequate staff resources and the requisite technical expertise
and capabilities available to adequately supervise the removal
or remedial action.
(B) If an agency has been designated pursuant to paragraph (2),
the department or a regional board may require the designated agency
to withdraw from the designation or stop taking
that action pursuant to that designation , after
providing the designated agency with adequate notice, if both of the
following conditions are met:
(i) The department or a regional board determines that the agency'
s designation was not consistent with paragraph (2), or makes one of
the findings specified in subdivision (d) of Section 101480.
(ii) The department or a regional board determines that it has
adequate staff resources and capabilities available to adequately
supervise the removal or remedial action, and assumes that
responsibility.
(C) This paragraph does not prevent a regional board from taking
an action pursuant to Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of
the Water Code.
(5) If an agency has been designated pursuant to paragraph (1) or
(2), the designated agency may, after providing the local agency with
adequate notice, withdraw from its designation or stop taking action
pursuant to that designation after making one of the
findings specified in subdivision (d) of Section 101480.
(e) (1) To facilitate remedial planning, the local agency may
require the owner or operator of a site within the local agency's
jurisdictional boundaries to provide the local agency with all
existing environmental information pertaining to the site, including
the results of any phase I or subsequent environmental assessment,
any assessment conducted pursuant to an order from, or agreement
with, any federal, state, or local agency, and any other
environmental assessment information, except that which is determined
to be privileged.
(2) A person requested to furnish the information pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall be required only to furnish that information that
may be within that person's possession or control, including actual
knowledge of information within the possession or control of any
other party. If environmental assessment information is not
available, the local agency may require the owner of the property to
conduct, and to pay the expenses of conducting, an assessment in
accordance with standard real estate practices for conducting phase I
or phase II environmental assessments. If the local agency
conducts the phase I or phase II environmental assessment because the
owner or operator failed to provide this information, the local
agency shall have a right of entry, upon reasonable notice, to enter
the property and conduct the phase I or phase II environmental
assessment. The local agency may recover the costs of the phase I or
phase II environmental assessment in accord ance with
Section 25403.5.
25403.2. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, except as
otherwise provided in this chapter, a local agency that undertakes
and completes an action, or causes another person to undertake and
complete an action pursuant to Section 25403.1 for which a finding of
completion is made pursuant to subdivision (b), to remedy or remove
a hazardous substance release on, under, or from property within
the local agency's boundaries, in accordance with a cleanup
plan or removal or remedial action plan prepared by a
qualified independent contractor and approved by the department, a
regional board, or the designated agency, in accordance with Section
25403.1 , is not liable, with respect to that release
only, pursuant to any of the following:
(A) Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code.
(B) Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100), Chapter 6.7
(commencing with Section 25280), Chapter 6.75 (commencing with
Section 25299.10), or Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 25300), of
Division 20.
(C) Any other state or local law imposing liability for
remedial or removal or remedial actions to
releases of hazardous substances.
(2) If the removal or remedial action was also
performed pursuant to Chapter 6.65 (commencing with Section 25260) of
Division 20, and a certificate of completion is issued pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 25264, the immunity from local agency
action provided by the certificate of completion, as specified in
subdivision (c) of Section 25264, shall apply to the local agency, in
addition to the immunity conferred by this section.
(3) In the case of a removal or remedial action
performed pursuant to Chapter 6.65 (commencing with Section 25260) of
Division 20, and for which the administering agency is a local
agency, the limitations on the certificate of completion set forth in
paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision (c) of Section
25264 are limits on any immunity provided for by this section and
subdivision (c) of Section 25264.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of law or policy providing for
certification by a person conducting a remedial or
removal or remedial action that the action has been
properly completed, a determination that a remedial or
removal or remedial action has been properly
completed pursuant to this section shall be made only upon the
affirmative approval of the director, the regional board, or the
designated agency, as appropriate. The department or regional board,
as appropriate, shall, within 60 days of the date it finds that a
remedial or removal or remedial action
has been completed, notify the local agency in writing that the
immunity provided by this section is in effect. If another agency is
designated to oversee the remedial or removal
or remedial action pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of
subdivision (d) of Section 25403.1, the designated agency shall issue
a notice within 60 days of the date it finds that a
remedial or removal or remedial action has been
completed.
(c) Upon proper completion of a remedial or
removal or remedial action, as specified in subdivision
(b), the immunity from action provided by the certificate of
completion provided pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 25264 and
the immunity provided by this section extends to all of the
following, but only for the release or releases specifically
identified in the approved cleanup or removal or remedial
action plan and not for any subsequent release or any release not
specifically identified in the approved cleanup plan or removal
or remedial action plan:
(1) An employee or agent of the local agency, including an
instrumentality of the local agency authorized to exercise some, or
all, of the powers of a local agency within, or for the benefit of, a
local agency and an employee or agent of the instrumentality.
(2) A person that enters into an agreement with a local agency for
the development of property, if the agreement requires the person to
acquire property affected by a hazardous substance release or to
remove or remedy a hazardous substance release with respect to that
property.
(3) A person that acquires the property after a person has entered
into an agreement with a local agency for development of the
property, as described in paragraph (2).
(4) A person that provides financing to a person specified in
paragraph (2) or (3).
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, the immunity provided by this
section does not extend to any of the following:
(1) A person that was a responsible party for the release before
entering into an agreement, acquiring property, or providing
financing, as specified in subdivision (c).
(2) A person specified in subdivision (a) or (c) for any
subsequent release of a hazardous substance or any release of a
hazardous substance not specifically identified in the approved
cleanup plan or removal or remedial action plan.
(3) A contractor who prepares the cleanup plan or removal or
remedial action plan, or conducts the removal or remedial
action.
(4) A person that obtains an approval of a cleanup plan or
removal or remedial action plan pursuant to Section 25403.1, or
a finding, as specified in subdivision (b), by fraud, negligent or
intentional nondisclosure, or misrepresentation, and a person that
knows before the approval or determination is obtained or before the
person enters into an agreement, acquires the property or provides
financing, as specified in subdivision (c), that the approval or
determination was obtained by these means.
(e) The immunity provided by this section is in addition to any
other immunity provided by law to a local agency.
(f) This section does not impair any cause of action by a local
agency or any other party against the person responsible for the
hazardous substance release that is the subject of the removal or
remedial action taken by the local agency or other person immune from
liability pursuant to this section.
(g) This section does not apply to, or limit, alter, or restrict,
an action for personal injury or wrongful death.
(h) This section does not limit liability of a person described in
paragraph (3) or (4) of subdivision (d) for damages under the
federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec. 9601 et seq.).
(i) This section does not establish, limit, or affect the
liability of a local agency for a release of a hazardous substance
that is not investigated or remediated pursuant to this section or
Chapter 6.65 (commencing with Section 25260).
25403.3. The immunity provided for by Section 25403.2 is only
conferred if both of the following apply:
(a) The action is in accordance with a cleanup plan or
removal or remedial action plan prepared by a qualified
independent contractor and approved by the department, a regional
board, or the designated agency, as appropriate, pursuant to Section
25403.1.
(b) The remedial or removal or remedial
action is found to have been undertaken and properly completed,
as specified in subdivision (b) of Section 25403.2.
25403.4. The local agency shall reimburse the department or the
regional board for costs incurred in reviewing or approving cleanup
or removal or remedial action plans pursuant to this
chapter.
25403.5. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, if a
local agency undertakes action to investigate or characterize
property, or to remedy or remove, or to require others to
remedy or remove, including compelling a responsible party through a
civil injunctive action, to remedy or remove a release of
hazardous substance, the responsible party shall be liable to the
local agency for the costs incurred in the action. A local agency may
not recover the costs of goods and services that were not procured
in accordance with procurement procedures, where applicable. The
amount of the costs shall include the interest on the costs accrued
from the date of expenditure and reasonable attorney's fees and shall
be recoverable in a civil action. Interest shall be calculated based
on the average annual rate of return on a local agency's investment
of surplus funds for the fiscal year in which costs were incurred.
(b) The only defenses available to a responsible party shall be
the defenses specified in subdivision (b) of Section 25323.5.
(c) A local agency may recover any costs incurred to develop and
to implement a cleanup plan or removal or remedial action
plan approved pursuant to this chapter, to the same extent the
department is authorized to recover those costs. The scope and
standard of liability for cost recovery pursuant to this section
shall be the scope and standard of liability under the federal
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
of 1980, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec. 9601 et seq.) as that act would
apply to the department. However, any reference to hazardous
substance in that act shall be deemed to refer to hazardous substance
as defined in Section 25403.
(d) An action for recovery of the costs of a remedy or removal
undertaken by a local agency under this section shall be commenced
within three years after completion of the remedy or removal.
(e) The action to recover costs provided by this section is in
addition to, and is not to be construed as restricting, any other
cause of action available to a local agency.
25403.6. (a) Except as provided in Section 25403.4,
notwithstanding any other state law or policy, a local agency that
undertakes and completes a removal or remedial action, or
otherwise causes a removal or remedial action to be
undertaken and completed pursuant to this chapter shall not be liable
based on its ownership of property after a release occurred, for any
costs that any responsible party for that release incurs to
investigate or remediate the release or to compensate others for the
effects of that release.
(b) Except as provided in Section 25403. 2, this article does not
limit the powers of the state board or a regional board to enforce
Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code.
25403.7. A local agency shall comply with all the following
requirements with regard to providing public participation when
taking action pursuant to this chapter:
(a) The local agency shall provide an opportunity, when preparing
the removal or remedial action plan or cleanup plan, for the public
and for other public agencies to participate in decisions regarding
the removal or remedial action, taking into consideration the nature
of the community interest.
(b) Thirty days before submitting the removal or remedial action
plan or cleanup plan for approval, the local agency shall take all of
the following actions:
(1)
Notify all other appropriate public agencies, including, but not
limited to, the department or the regional board, if not required to
approve the plan, regarding the proposed removal or remedial action
plan or cleanup plan.
(2) Place a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the
area of the property, including, but not limited to, a
community-based newspaper, as appropriate.
(3) Post notice of the proposed removal or remedial action plan or
cleanup plan on the property.
(c) All of the following methods for public participation shall be
used to notify the public of the proposed removal or remedial action
plan or cleanup plan:
(1) Thirty days' prior public notice in a factsheet format of the
proposed removal or remedial action plan or cleanup plan, in English
and in any other language commonly spoken in the area of the
property.
(2) Access, at both the local agency and at local repositories, to
the proposed removal or remedial action plan or cleanup plan,
property assessment, addenda, and any other supporting documentation,
including materials listed as references in the removal or remedial
action plan or cleanup plan and property assessment.
(3) Procedures for providing a reasonable opportunity to comment
on the plan and related documents specified in paragraph (2).
(d) If a public meeting is requested, the local agency shall hold
a public meeting in the area of the property to receive comments.
(e) The local agency shall consider any comments received before
submitting the proposed removal or remedial action plan or cleanup
plan for approval.
(f) The local agency may also provide for, but is not limited to,
the use of other methods for public participation, including public
notices, direct notification of interested parties, distribution of
electronic copies of the removal or remedial action plan or cleanup
plan, property assessment addenda, and other supporting
documentation, including materials listed as references in the
removal or remedial action plan or cleanup plan and property
assessment, electronic comment forms, and forming advisory groups, as
appropriate, to disseminate information and assist the local agency
in gathering public input, holding additional public meetings or
public hearings, and providing an opportunity to comment on the
proposed removal or remedial action plan or cleanup plan prior to
approval.
(g) The local agency, as part of its communications with affected
communities, shall provide information regarding the process by which
decisions about the property are made and the recourse that is
available for those who may disagree with an agency decision.
(h) The local agency shall consider the issue of environmental
justice, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 65040.12 of the
Government Code, for communities most impacted, including low-income
and racial minority populations, before submitting the removal or
remedial action plan or cleanup plan for approval.
(i) To the extent possible, the local agency shall coordinate its
public participation activities with those undertaken by other
jurisdictions and agencies associated with the property, to avoid
duplication.
(j) It is the intent of the Legislature that the public
participation process established pursuant to this section ensures
full and robust participation of a community affected by this
chapter.
24303.7. 25403.8. The Legislature
finds and declares that this chapter is the policy successor to the
Polanco Redevelopment Act (Article 12.5 (commencing with Section
33459) of Part 1 of Chapter 4 of Division 24) and shall be
interpreted and implemented consistent with that act. It is
further the intent of the Legislature that any judicial construction
or interpretation of the Polanco Redevelopment Act also apply to this
chapter.