Bill Text: CA AB2712 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Hazardous materials: Orange County Water District: groundwater remediation.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-08-25 - Read second time. Ordered to third reading. [AB2712 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB2712-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 2712	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Daly
   (Principal coauthor: Senator Correa)

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act to add Chapter 6.655 (commencing with Section 25268.1) to
Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to hazardous
materials.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2712, as introduced, Daly. Hazardous materials: Orange County
Water District.
    (1) Under existing law, the Site Designation Committee in the
California Environmental Protection Agency is authorized to designate
an administering agency for oversight of a remedial action to a
hazardous substance release. Existing law requires the administering
agency to supervise the site investigation and remedial action
conducted by the responsible party and, upon determining that the
site investigation and remedial action has been satisfactorily
completed, to issue a certificate of completion to the responsible
party.
   This bill would impose requirements on the Orange County Water
District when conducting a remediation project at a hazardous waste
release site located in the district and would prohibit the district
from implementing a remediation project unless the plan for the
proposed remediation project is approved pursuant to the specified
procedures. The bill would require the district to develop a plan for
a proposed remediation project and to submit the plan, for review
and approval, to the Department of Toxic Substances Control, a
California regional water quality control board, or a certified
unified program agency, as specified. If the regulatory agency does
not approve the plan, the bill would allow the district to submit the
plan to the site designation committee for review. The site
designation committee would be required to disapprove the plan,
approve the plan, or conditionally approve the plan.
    If the regulatory agency disapproves the plan and the plan is not
submitted for review, or if the site designation committee
disapproves the plan, the bill would prohibit the district from
seeking cost recovery from a responsible party for the hazardous
materials release site pursuant to specified state and local laws.
The bill would also prohibit the district from seeking that cost
recovery with regard to the parts of a conditionally approved plan
that were revised or deleted by the site designation committee.
   The bill would impose a state-mandated local program by requiring
the district and a certified unified program agency to take specified
actions.
   (2) The bill would declare that a special law is necessary and
that a general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of
Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution.
   (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
   With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Chapter 6.655 (commencing with Section 25268.1) is
added to Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 6.655.  ORANGE COUNTY WATER DISTRICT REMEDIATION


   25268.1.  For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:
   (a) "CUPA" means a certified unified program agency certified to
implement the unified program pursuant to Chapter 6.11 (commencing
with section 25404).
   (b) "Department" means the Department of Toxic Substances Control.

   (c) "District" means the Orange County Water District, established
pursuant to the Orange County Water District Act (Chapter 924 of the
Statutes of 1933).
   (d) "Hazardous materials release site" has the same meaning as
defined in subdivision (e) of Section 25260.
   (e) "Plan" means the plan for the proposed remediation project
submitted to the regulatory agency pursuant to Section 25268.2.
   (f) "Regional board" means a California regional water quality
control board.
   (g) "Regulatory agency" or "appropriate regulatory agency" means
the department, or the CUPA or the regional board that is responsible
for overseeing the implementation of a remediation project by the
district.
   (h) "Remediation project" means a project that consists of either,
or both, of the following:
   (1) A remedial action, as defined in subdivision (g) of Section
25260.
   (2) A site investigation, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section
25260.
   (i) "Responsible party" means a person described in subdivision
(a) of Section 25323.5 of this code or subdivision (a) of Section
13304 of the Water Code.
   (j) "Site designation committee" means the committee established
pursuant to Section 25261.
   25268.2.  (a) The district shall comply with the requirements of
this chapter when conducting a remediation project at a hazardous
materials release site located in the district and shall not
implement a remediation project unless the plan for the proposed
remediation project is approved by the appropriate regulatory agency
pursuant to this section or by the site designation committee
pursuant to Section 25268.3.
   (b) If the board of the district elects to implement a remediation
project, the board shall approve the remediation project and notify
the appropriate regulatory agency that will be overseeing the
district's implementation of the remediation project.
   (c) The district shall develop a plan for the proposed remediation
project and shall submit the plan for the proposed remediation
project to the appropriate regulatory agency, for review and approval
by the appropriate regulatory agency.
   (d) (1) If the regulatory agency does not approve the plan, the
regulatory agency and the district shall promptly meet and confer to
resolve the regulatory agency's objections.
   (2) If, after conducting the meeting specified in paragraph (1),
the regulatory agency does not approve the plan, the district may
submit the plan for the proposed remediation project to the site
designation committee for review pursuant to Section 25268.3.
   (3) If the district does not submit the disapproved plan to the
site designation committee, the district shall not seek cost recovery
from a responsible party for the hazardous materials release site
pursuant to the provisions specified in paragraphs (1) to (3),
inclusive of subdivision (a) of Section 25268.4.
   25268.3.  (a) The site designation committee shall review a plan
submitted to it for a proposed remediation project pursuant to the
procedures specified in this section.
   (b) The district and the regulatory agency may present any
relevant information to the site designation committee and shall be
given a reasonable opportunity to be heard.
   (c) After reviewing the plan, the site designation committee shall
take one of the following actions, impartially and by a majority
vote:
   (1) Disapprove the plan.
   (2) Approve the plan.
   (3) Conditionally approve the plan. The proposed conditions may
require the district to revise the plan to delete any part of the
plan to which the regulatory agency objected.
   25268.4.  (a) If the site designation committee disapproves the
plan pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 25268.3,
the district shall not seek cost recovery from a responsible party
for the hazardous materials release site pursuant to any of the
following:
   (1) Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code.
   (2) Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100), Chapter 6.7
(commencing with Section 25280), Chapter 6.75 (commencing with
Section 25299.10), or Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 25300).
   (3) Any other state or local law imposing liability for cleanup of
releases of hazardous materials.
   (b) If the site designation committee deletes any part of the plan
as a condition for approval, pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subdivision (c) of Section 25268.3, and the district proceeds with
the project as conditionally approved, the district shall not seek
cost recovery from a responsible party for the hazardous materials
release site pursuant to the provisions specified in paragraphs (1)
to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a), with regard to the parts of
the plan that were revised or deleted by the site designation
committee.
  SEC. 2.  The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is
necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the
meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution
because the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the California
regional water quality control board, and the certified unified
program agency for the County of Orange have provided and continue to
provide oversight for groundwater cleanups at many sites in north
and central Orange County, and the Orange County Water District has
undertaken investigations and planning for several potential
groundwater cleanup projects covering large parts of those same
areas, creating the potential for conflicting and inconsistent
regulation of businesses and landowners in those parts of Orange
County that may be responsible for conducting groundwater
investigations and cleanups at their sites.
  SEC. 3.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because, in that regard, a local agency or school district
has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments
sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by
this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.

   However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code.