BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 276
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Date of Hearing: April 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
276 (Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials) - As Amended
March 17, 2015
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|Policy |Environmental Safety and Toxic |Vote:|6 - 0 |
|Committee: |Materials | | |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill authorizes the Department of Toxic Substance Control
(DTSC), or local officer or agency, to request financial
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information from any person that is managing hazardous waste,
including those applying for permits. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes DTSC to issue an order directing compliance with a
request for information if a person intentionally or
negligently fails to provide requested information.
2)Authorizes DTSC to disclose the information under certain
circumstances to authorized representatives, contractors, or
government agencies, including the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (US EPA).
3)Requires any person providing the specified information to
DTSC to identify all of the information that is considered a
trade secret and imposes penalties for failure to comply with
the measures protecting information.
4)Allows DTSC to request information related to the ability of a
person to pay for or perform a cleanup when there is a
reasonable basis to believe there has been or may be a release
or threatened release of a hazardous substance.
5)Authorizes DTSC to require a person who has or may have
information or documents relevant to the ability of a
responsible party or liable person to pay for or perform a
cleanup to disclose the information consistent with Section
104 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,
and Liability Act (CERCLA).
6)Authorizes DTSC to impose penalties if a person intentionally
or negligently fails to furnish the required information or
makes false statements or representations.
FISCAL EFFECT:
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1)Ongoing increased costs to DTSC (Toxic Substance Control
Account) in the $200,000 per year range for the increased
workload associated with requesting, processing, and
collecting financial information.
2)Potential unknown revenue increases and cost savings (Toxic
Substance Control Account) achieved from increased collections
and avoided litigation.
COMMENTS:
1)Rationale. Existing law authorizes DTSC to ask certain
parties for information related to hazardous waste, but does
not allow DTSC to request information about the party's
finances. Financial information would demonstrate the party's
ability to pay for or perform cleanup. This lack of authority
is inconsistent with federal law, which permits the US EPA to
request financial information from potential responsible
parties.
Currently, DTSC must sue parties to obtain the relevant
financial information. The authority provided in this bill
will expedite the cost recovery process by obviating the need
for costly litigation and increasing DTSC's ability to recover
costs effectively.
2)Background. On August 7, 2014, the Bureau of State Audits
(BSA) released a report on DTSC's cost recovery. The BSA
found that long-standing shortcomings with DTSC's recovery of
costs have resulted in millions of dollars in unbilled and
billed but uncollected cleanup costs dating back to 1987.
The report determined DTSC was limited in its ability to
recover costs effectively because it lacks the authority to
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require a potentially responsible party to provide information
related to the financial ability to pay cleanup costs.
According to the Auditor, the ability to require this type of
information will better inform decision making about whether
to file cost recovery actions by differentiating between
parties capable of paying for cleanup costs and others. This
bill is consistent with the Auditor's recommendation.
3)CERCLA. Under CERCLA, the US EPA has authority to request
financial information from potentially responsible parties.
The US EPA typically uses a tiered approach when invoking this
authority. First, the US EPA will ask a party if it has the
ability to pay or perform a cleanup. If the party does have
that ability, then the US EPA typically does not ask for
further information. If the party indicates it cannot pay or
perform a cleanup, then the US EPA will request information
supporting that claim, including, but not limited to, bank
statements, financial statements, proposed budgets, and market
appraisals.
4)Related Legislation. Related Legislation. In addition to this
bill, the Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic
Materials has introduced the following bills to address the
shortcomings found in the BSA report:
a) AB 274 (ESTM) allows DTSC to not expend resources to
pursue an uncollectible account, as defined.
b) AB 274 (ESTM) allows DTSC to not expend resources to
pursue an uncollectible account, as defined.
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c) AB 275 (ESTM) revises DTSC's statute of limitation for
cost recovery.
All four bills will be heard in this Committee on April 15,
2015
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081