Amended in Senate June 2, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 273

Introduced by Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials (Assembly Members Alejo (Chair), Dahle (Vice Chair), Gonzalez, McCarty, and Ting)

February 11, 2015

An act to amend Sections 25187.2, 25360, and 25360.1 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to hazardous waste and substances.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 273, as amended, Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. Hazardous waste and substances: corrective action: liability.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control to issue an order under the hazardous waste control laws requiring that a violation be corrected and imposing a civil penalty to specified persons, including a person who has violated various provisions regulating hazardous waste or provisions concerning removal and remedial actions for hazardous substance releases. A person who is issued that order is required to pay for oversight of the removal or remedial action.

Existing law, the Carpenter-Presley-Tanner Hazardous Substance Account Act, authorizes the department to take or oversee removal and remedial actions related to the release of hazardous substances. Existing law authorizes the Attorney General to recover from the liable person, as defined, the costs incurred by the department or a California regional water quality control board in carrying out the act and begin delete requires that end delete begin insert subjects end insert any monetary obligation owed to the department pursuant to the act or the hazardous waste control laws begin delete be subject end delete to a specified rate of interest earned in the Surplus Money Investment Fund. Existing law authorizes the department to waive the interest if the obligation is satisfied within 60 days of the date of the invoice.

This bill would begin delete require a person to pay for oversight of any corrective action required of the person with respect to hazardous waste, and would authorize the recovery by the Attorney General of costs incurred with regard to carrying out or overseeing a removal action, a remedial action, or a corrective action under the act or under the hazardous waste control laws. The end delete begin insert explicitly apply each of these provisions regarding a person’s liability for cost recovery to the release of hazardous end insert begin insert waste end insert begin insert constituents into the environment. The bill would also explicitly make the costs of response or corrective action recoverable. end insert

begin insert The end insert bill would require a monetary obligation owed to the department under the act or these laws to be subject to an interest rate of 10% per annum, or, in the case of local governments, 7% per annum. The bill would instead require the department to waive the interest if the obligation is satisfied within 60 days or if the begin delete person end delete begin insert person, within 45 days of receiving an invoice, end insert provides notice to the department disputing the begin delete obligation, for a period determined as specified. end delete begin insert obligation. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 25187.2 of the Health and Safety Code
is amended to read:

25187.2.  

If a person is required to take corrective action with
respect to hazardous waste, that person shall pay for oversight of
the corrective action. This section does not prohibit the department
or unified program agency from assessing any other penalty or
recovering any costs for oversight of a removal or remedial action,
pursuant to any other provision. Nothing in this section limits the
due process requirements of Section 25187.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 25187.2 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert
begin insert is amended to read: end insert

25187.2.  

If begin delete a removal or remedial action end delete begin insert an end insert order begin insert or agreement end insert
issued begin insert by the department end insert pursuant to Section 25187 to a potentially
responsible party requires a person to take corrective action with
respect to begin insert a release of end insert hazardous waste begin insert or hazardous waste
constituents into the environment end insert , that person shall pay for
begin delete oversight of the removal or remedial action. This section does not
prohibit the department or unified program agency from assessing
any other penalty or recovering any costs for oversight of a removal
or remedial action, pursuant to any other provision. Nothing in
this section limits the due process requirements of Section 25187. end delete
begin insert the department’s costs incurred in overseeing or carrying out the
corrective action. end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 25360 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

25360.  

(a) A cost incurred by the department or regional board
in carrying out or overseeing a begin delete removal action, a remedial action, end delete
begin insert response end insert or a corrective action under this chapter or Chapter 6.5
(commencing with Section 25100) shall be recoverable pursuant
to state or federal law by the Attorney General, upon the request
of the department or regional board, from the liable person or
persons. The amount of any response begin insert or corrective end insert action costs
that may be recovered pursuant to this section shall include interest
on any amount paid.

(b) A person who is liable for begin insert response or corrective action end insert
costs incurred at a site shall have the liability reduced by any
reimbursements that were paid by that person for that site pursuant
to Section 25343.

(c) The amount of begin delete cost determined pursuant to this section end delete
begin insert response or corrective action costs incurred by the department or
regional board end insert shall be recoverable at the discretion of the
begin delete department, end delete begin insert department or regional board, end insert either in a separate
action or by way of intervention as of right in an action for
contribution or indemnity. Nothing in this section deprives a party
of any defense that the party may have.

(d) Moneys recovered by the Attorney General pursuant to this
section shall be deposited in the state account.

SEC. 3.  

Section 25360.1 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

25360.1.  

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a monetary
obligation to the department pursuant to Chapter 6.5 (commencing
with Section 25100) or this chapter shall be subject to interest from
the date of the demand at an interest rate of 10 percent per annum,
except that, for local governments, the interest rate shall be 7
percent per annum.

(b) The department shall waive the interest described in
subdivision (a) if the obligation is satisfied within 60 days from
the date of invoice. If, within begin delete 60 end delete begin insert 45 end insert days of receiving an invoice,
the liable person or persons provide written notice to the
department disputing the monetary obligation specified in the
invoice, or a portion thereof, the department shall waive the interest
until the dispute is begin delete resolved, or 180 days from the date the
department received the written notice disputing the obligation,
whichever occurs first. If the dispute is not resolved within that
180 days, then upon the accrual of 180 days, the liable person or
persons shall pay the obligation specified in the invoice, including
interest, or seek judicial or other legal relief, as appropriate. end delete
begin insert resolved. end insert