Amended in Senate August 19, 2015

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, instead of to removal and remedial actions, 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 remedial action, or for the recovery of specified administrative costs, 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 allow an action for the recovery of the costs of carrying out or overseeing 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, withinbegin delete threeend deletebegin insert 3end insert 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 Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100), or as
8otherwise authorized by law, shall be commenced within three
9years after completion of all response or corrective actions has
10been certified by the department or a regional board.

11(B) If operation and maintenance is required as part of the
12response or corrective action, the action for recovery of costs
13 incurred by the department or a regional board shall be commenced
P3    1within three years after completion of operation and maintenance
2has been certified by the department or a regional board.

3(2) No action described in paragraph (1) may be brought that,
4as of December 31, 2015, had not been commenced by the
5department within three years after the certification of the
6completion of the removal or remedial action.

7(b) An action under subdivision (c) of Section 25352 for costs
8incurred by the department for the purposes specified in subdivision
9(a) or (b) of Section 25352 shall be commenced within three years
10after certification by the department of the completion of the
11activities authorized under subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section
1225352.

13(c) In an action described in subdivision (a) or (b) for recovery
14of response or corrective action costs, oversight costs, or damages,
15where the court has entered a judgment for past costs or damages,
16the court shall also enter an order reserving jurisdiction over the
17case and the court shall have continuing jurisdiction to determine
18any future liability and the amount of the future liability. The
19department or regional board may immediately enforce the
20judgment for past costs and damages. The department or the
21regional board may apply for a court judgment for further costs
22and damages that have been incurred during the response or
23corrective action, operation and maintenance, or during the
24performance of the activities authorized by Section 25352, but the
25application shall be made not later than three years after the
26certification of completion of the response or corrective action,
27operation and maintenance, or activities authorized pursuant to
28Section 25352.

29(d) An action may be commenced under Section 25360 or
30subdivision (c) of Section 25352 at any time prior to expiration of
31the applicable limitations period provided for by this section.

begin insert

32(e) This section does not apply to a cost recovery action brought
33by a regional board under the Water Code.

end insert
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’sbegin delete actions,end deletebegin insert actionsend insert shall be required to
40pay only for 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 Sectionbegin delete 25000),end deletebegin insert 25100),end insert or the federal act may seek
11contribution or indemnity from any person who is liable pursuant
12to this chapter. An action to enforce a claim may be brought as a
13cross-complaint by any defendant in an action brought pursuant
14to Section 25360 or this section, or in a separate action after the
15person seeking contribution or indemnity has paid response or
16corrective action costs in accordance with this chapter, Chapter
176.5 (commencing with Sectionbegin delete 25000),end deletebegin insert 25100),end insert or the federal act.
18A plaintiff or cross-complainant seeking contribution or indemnity
19shall give written 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 quantitybegin delete generators,end deletebegin insert generatorsend insert are
7collected and ultimately transferred to an authorized hazardous
8waste treatment, storage, 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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