Amended in Senate July 13, 2015

Amended in Senate May 27, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 275


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

February 11, 2015


An act to amend Sections 25360.4, 25363, and 25366.5 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to hazardous substances.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 275, as amended, Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. Hazardous substances: liability recovery actions.

(1) Existing law, the Carpenter-Presley-Tanner Hazardous Substance Account Act, imposes liability for hazardous substances removal or remedial actions and requires the Attorney General to recover from the liable person, as defined, certain costs incurred by the Department of Toxic Substances Control or a California regional water quality control board, upon the request of the department or regional board. The act authorizes, except as specified, a party found liable for any costs or expenditures recoverable under the act for those actions to establish, as specified, that only a portion of those costs or expenditures are attributable to the party, and requires the party to pay only for that portion. If each party does not establish its liability, the act requires a court to apportion those costs or expenditures, as specified, among the defendants and the remaining portion of the judgment is required to be paid from the Toxic Substances Control Account. Existing law authorizes the money deposited in the Toxic Substances Control Account in the General Fund to be appropriated to the Department of Toxic Substances Control for specified purposes, including the payment of the costs incurred by the state for those actions.

This bill would specifically apply those provisions to response and corrective actions,begin insert instead of to removal and remedial actions,end insert and would delete the requirement that the remaining portion of a judgment for costs and expenditures that is not apportioned among the liable persons be paid from that account.

(2) The act requires an action brought pursuant to it for the recovery of the costs of a removal or remedialbegin delete actionend deletebegin insert action, or for the recovery of specified administrative costs,end insert to be commenced within 3 years after completion of the removal or remedial action has been certified by the department.

This bill would, except as provided, instead allowbegin insert an action for the recovery of the costs of carrying out or overseeingend insert a response or corrective action to be commenced either within that 3-year period or, if operation and maintenance is required as part of the response or corrective action, within three years after completion of operation and maintenance has been certified by the department or a regional board.

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

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

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 25360.4 of the Health and Safety Code
2 is amended to read:

3

25360.4.  

(a) (1) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B)
4and paragraph (2), an action under Section 25360 for the recovery
5of costs incurred by the department or a regional board in carrying
6out or overseeing a response or corrective action pursuant to this
7chapter or Chapterbegin delete 6end deletebegin insert 6.5end insert (commencing with Section 25100), or as
8otherwise authorized by law, begin delete or for the recovery of oversight costs
9incurred by the department in connection with a response or
10corrective action performed by the department, a regional board,
11or a responsible party,end delete
shall be commenced within three years after
12completion ofbegin delete theend deletebegin insert allend insert response or correctivebegin delete actionend deletebegin insert actionsend insert has
13been certified by thebegin delete department,end deletebegin insert department end insert or a regional board.

14(B) If operation and maintenance is required as part of the
15response or corrective action, the action for recoverybegin insert of costs
P3    1incurred by the department or a regional boardend insert
shall be
2commenced within three years after completion of operation and
3maintenance has been certified by the department or a regional
4board.

5(2) No action described in paragraph (1) may be brought that,
6as of December 31, 2015, had not been commenced by the
7department within three years after the certification of the
8completion of the removal or remedial action.

9(b) An action under subdivision (c) of Section 25352 for costs
10incurred by the department for the purposes specified in subdivision
11(a) or (b) of Section 25352 shall be commenced within three years
12after certification by the department of the completion of the
13activities authorized under subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section
1425352.

15(c) In an action described in subdivision (a) or (b) for recovery
16of response or corrective action costs, oversight costs, or damages,
17where the court has entered a judgment for past costs or damages,
18the court shall also enter an order reserving jurisdiction over the
19case and the court shall have continuing jurisdiction to determine
20any future liability and the amount of the future liability. The
21department or regional board may immediately enforce the
22judgment for past costs and damages. The department or the
23regional board may apply for a court judgment for further costs
24and damages that have been incurred during the response or
25corrective action, operation and maintenance, or during the
26performance of the activities authorized by Section 25352, but the
27application shall be made not later than three years after the
28certification of completion of the response or corrective action,
29operation and maintenance, or activities authorized pursuant to
30Section 25352.

31(d) An action may be commenced under Section 25360 or
32subdivision (c) of Section 25352 at any time prior to expiration of
33the applicable limitations period provided for by this section.

34

SEC. 2.  

Section 25363 of the Health and Safety Code is
35amended to read:

36

25363.  

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (e), a party found
37liable for costs recoverable under this chapter who establishes by
38a preponderance of the evidence that only a portion of those costs
39are attributable to that party’s actions, shall be required to pay only
40for that portion.

P4    1(b) Except as provided in subdivision (e), if the trier of fact finds
2the evidence insufficient to establish each party’s portion of costs
3under subdivision (a), the court shall apportion those costs, to the
4extent practicable, according to equitable principles, among the
5defendants.

6(c) The standard of liability for costs recoverable pursuant to
7this chapter is strict liability.

8(d) A person who has incurred response or corrective action
9costs in accordance with this chapter, Chapter 6.5 (commencing
10with Section 25000), or the federal act may seek contribution or
11indemnity from any person who is liable pursuant to this chapter.
12An action to enforce a claim may be brought as a cross-complaint
13by any defendant in an action brought pursuant to Section 25360
14or this section, or in a separate action after the person seeking
15contribution or indemnity has paid response or corrective action
16costs in accordance with this chapter, Chapter 6.5 (commencing
17with Section 25000), or the federal act. A plaintiff or
18cross-complainant seeking contribution or indemnity shall give
19written notice to the director upon filing an action or
20cross-complaint under this section. In resolving claims for
21contribution or indemnity, the court may allocate costs among
22liable parties using appropriate equitable factors.

23(e) Notwithstanding this chapter, a response action contractor
24who is found liable for any costs recoverable under this chapter
25and who establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that only
26a portion of those costs are attributable to the response action
27contractor’s actions shall be required to pay only that portion of
28the costs attributable to the response action contractor’s actions.

29

SEC. 3.  

Section 25366.5 of the Health and Safety Code is
30amended to read:

31

25366.5.  

(a) A public agency operating a household hazardous
32waste collection program or a person operating such a program
33under a written agreement with a public agency, or, for material
34received from the public as used oil, a person operating a certified
35used oil collection center as provided in Section 48660 of the
36Public Resources Code, shall not be held liable in a cost recovery
37action brought pursuant to Section 25360, including, but not limited
38to, an action to recover the fees imposed by Section 25343 or an
39action brought pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 25363, for
40waste that has been properly handled and transported to an
P5    1authorized hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility
2at a location other than that of the collection program.

3(b) For purposes of this section, “household hazardous waste
4collection program” means a program or facility, specified in
5Section 25218.1, in which hazardous wastes from households and
6conditionally exempt small quantity generators, are collected and
7ultimately transferred to an authorized hazardous waste treatment,
8storage, or disposal facility.

9(c) Except as provided in subdivision (a), this section does not
10affect or modify the obligations or liabilities of a person imposed
11pursuant to state or federal law.



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