Amended in Senate July 8, 2015

Amended in Senate June 2, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 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 subjects any monetary obligation owed to the department pursuant to the act or the hazardous waste control laws 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 explicitly apply each of these provisions regarding a person’s liability for cost recovery to the release of hazardous waste constituents into the environment. The bill would also explicitly make the costs of response or corrective action recoverable.

The billbegin delete would requireend deletebegin insert would, until June 30, 2021, subjectend insert a monetary obligation owed to the department under the act or these lawsbegin delete to be subjectend delete to an interest rate ofbegin delete 10% per annum, or, in the case of local governments,end delete 7% perbegin delete annum.end deletebegin insert annum. After that date, the bill would subject the monetary obligation to an interest rate of 10% per annum, except that, in the case of obligations of local governments, the rate after that date would remain at 7% per annum.end insert The bill wouldbegin delete insteadend delete require the department to waive the interest if the obligation is satisfied within 60 days or if the person, within 45 days of receiving an invoice, providesbegin insert specifiedend insert notice to the department disputing the obligation.

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

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

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SECTION 1.  

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

3

25187.2.  

If an order or agreement issued by the department
4pursuant to Section 25187 to a potentially responsible party
5requires a person to take corrective action with respect to a release
6of hazardous waste or hazardous waste constituents into the
7environment, that person shall pay for the department’s costs
8incurred in overseeing or carrying out the corrective action.

9

SEC. 2.  

Section 25360 of the Health and Safety Code is
10amended to read:

11

25360.  

(a) A cost incurred by the department or regional board
12in carrying out or overseeing a response or a corrective action
13under this chapter or Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100)
14shall be recoverable pursuant to state or federal law by the Attorney
15General, upon the request of the department or regional board,
16from the liable person or persons. The amount of any response or
P3    1corrective action costs that may be recovered pursuant to this
2section shall include interest on any amount paid.

3(b) A person who is liable for response or corrective action costs
4incurred at a site shall have the liability reduced by any
5reimbursements that were paid by that person for that site pursuant
6to Section 25343.

7(c) The amount of response or corrective action costs incurred
8by the department or regional board shall be recoverable at the
9discretion of the department or regional board, either in a separate
10action or by way of intervention as of right in an action for
11contribution or indemnity. Nothing in this section deprives a party
12of any defense that the party may have.

13(d) Moneys recovered by the Attorney General pursuant to this
14section shall be deposited in the state account.

15

SEC. 3.  

Section 25360.1 of the Health and Safety Code is
16amended to read:

17

25360.1.  

(a) begin deleteExcept end deletebegin insertUntil June 30, 2021, except end insertas provided
18in subdivision (b), a monetary obligation to the department pursuant
19to Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) or this chapter
20shall be subject to interest from the date of the demand at an
21interest rate ofbegin delete 10end deletebegin insert 7end insert percent perbegin delete annum, except that, for local
22governments, the interest rate shall be 7 percent per annum.end delete
begin insert annum.
23Commencing July 1, 2021, except as provided in subdivision (b),
24a monetary obligation to the department pursuant to Chapter 6.5
25(commencing with Section 25100) or this chapter shall be subject
26to interest from the date of the demand at an interest rate of 10
27percent per annum, except that, for obligations of local
28governments, the interest rate shall be 7 percent per annum.end insert

29(b) The department shall waive the interest described in
30subdivision (a) if the obligation is satisfied within 60 days from
31the date of invoice. If, within 45 days of receiving an invoice, the
32liable person or persons provide written notice to the department
33begin insert in accordance with its invoice dispute resolution proceduresend insert
34 disputingbegin insert in good faithend insert the monetary obligation specified in the
35invoice, or a portion thereof, the department shall waive the interest
36until the dispute is resolved.



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