Bill Text: GA SB78 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Georgia Voluntary Remediation Program Act; define certain terms; provide for power/duties of Environmental Protection Div. director
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 5-1)
Status: (Passed) 2010-05-27 - Effective Date [SB78 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2009-SB78-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Georgia Voluntary Remediation Program Act; define certain terms; provide for power/duties of Environmental Protection Div. director
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 5-1)
Status: (Passed) 2010-05-27 - Effective Date [SB78 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2009-SB78-Introduced.html
10 SB
78/AP
Senate
Bill 78
By:
Senators Tolleson of the 20th, Golden of the 8th, Wiles of the 37th, Stoner of
the 6th, Hudgens of the 47th and others
AS
PASSED
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to hazardous waste, so as to establish the Voluntary
Remediation Program Escrow Account; to change certain provisions relating to the
voluntary remediation program; to provide for definitions; to amend certain
definitions relating to hazardous waste; to update certain provisions to make
such provisions consistent with federal regulations; to amend Chapter 41 of
Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to lead poisoning
prevention, so as to extensively revise the provisions of Article 1 of said
chapter relating to identification and abatement of lead hazards; to define
terms; to amend provisions relating to renovation activities which are
regulated; to change provisions relating to training, certification, licensure,
and regulation of persons performing renovation activities; to provide for
related matters; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
3 of Chapter 8 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to hazardous waste, is amended in Part 3, relating to the Georgia Voluntary
Remediation Program for hazardous waste, by revising subsection (a) of Code
Section 12-8-104, relating to powers and duties of the director, as
follows:
"(a)
The director shall have the power and duty:
(1)
To make determinations, in accordance with procedures and criteria enumerated in
this part, as to whether a property qualifies and an applicant is eligible for
the voluntary remediation program;
(2)
To approve, in accordance with procedures and criteria enumerated in this part
and rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this part, voluntary
remediation plans;
(3)
To approve, in accordance with procedures and criteria enumerated in this part
and rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this part, compliance status
reports;
(4)
To concur with certifications of compliance;
(5)
To collect
application
fees from participants
assess,
receive, administer, and disperse funds obtained from application and
reimbursement fees for the purpose of carrying out the duties and powers under
this part;
(6)
To enter into such agreements and contracts as required to accomplish the
purposes of this part; and
(6)(7)
To grant waivers of all or any portion of the fees provided by this part for any
small business or for any county, municipality, or other political subdivision
of this state."
SECTION
2.
Said
part is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"12-8-104.1.
(a)
There is established the Voluntary Remediation Escrow Account. The director
shall serve as the trustee of the escrow account. The account shall consist of
the application fees and reimbursement fees collected by the director pursuant
to this part and pursuant to Code Section 12-8-209, and such fees shall be held
in an interest bearing account.
(b)
The director is authorized to expend the principal balance of the escrow account
for costs incurred in administering the voluntary remediation program including
reimbursing state contractors used in the administration of such program. The
director is also authorized to expend interest earned on the account for the
administration of the voluntary remediation program; provided, however, that
interest funds collected must be expended within the same fiscal year in which
the interest was earned and any interest not so expended shall be deposited in
the state treasury. Any unused funds remaining following the conclusion of a
project shall be deposited in the general
treasury."
SECTION
3.
Said
part is further amended by replacing "remediation plan" with "investigation and
remediation plan" wherever such term occurs
in:
(1) Code Section 12-8-107, relating to the submission of voluntary remediation plans, enrollment, proof of assurance, termination, and compliance status reports; and
(2) Code Section 12-8-108, relating to standards and policies considered in investigation of voluntary remediation property.
(1) Code Section 12-8-107, relating to the submission of voluntary remediation plans, enrollment, proof of assurance, termination, and compliance status reports; and
(2) Code Section 12-8-108, relating to standards and policies considered in investigation of voluntary remediation property.
SECTION
4.
Said
article is further amended in Part 1, relating to hazardous waste management, by
revising Code Section 12-8-62, relating to definitions, as follows:
"12-8-62.
As
used in this part, the term:
(1)
'Board' means the Board of Natural Resources of the State of
Georgia.
(2)
'Designated hazardous waste' means any solid waste identified as such in
regulations promulgated by the board. The board may identify as 'designated
hazardous waste' any solid waste which the board concludes is capable of posing
a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment
when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of or otherwise
managed, based on the factors set forth in regulations promulgated by the
administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to
the federal act which are codified as 40 C.F.R. Section 261.11(a)(3), in force
and effect on February 1,
1996
2010,
if such solid waste contains any substance which is listed on any one or more of
the following lists:
(A)
List of Hazardous Constituents, codified as 40 C.F.R. Part 261, Appendix VIII,
in force and effect on February 1,
1996
2010;
(B)
Ground-water Monitoring List, codified as 40 C.F.R. Part 264, Appendix IX, in
force and effect on February 1,
1996
2010;
(C)
List of Hazardous Substances and Reportable Quantities, codified as 40 C.F.R.
Table 302.4, and all appendices thereto, in force and effect on February 1,
1996
2010;
(D)
List of Regulated Pesticides, codified as 40 C.F.R. Part 180, in force and
effect on February 1,
1996
2010;
(E)
List of Extremely Hazardous Substances and Their Threshold Planning Quantities,
codified as 40 C.F.R. Part 355, Appendix A, in force and effect on February 1,
1996
2010;
or
(F)
List of Chemicals and Chemical Categories, codified as 40 C.F.R. Part 372.65 in
force and effect on February 1,
1996
2010.
(3)
'Director' means the director of the Environmental Protection Division of the
Department of Natural Resources.
(4)
'Disposal' means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking,
or placing of any solid waste or hazardous waste into or on any land or water so
that such solid waste or hazardous waste or any constituent thereof may enter
the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters,
including ground waters.
(5)
'Division' means the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of
Natural Resources.
(6)
'Federal act' means the federal Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended,
particularly by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (Public Law
94-580, 42 U.S.C. Section 6901, et seq.), as amended, particularly by but not
limited to the Used Oil Recycling Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-463), the Solid
Waste Disposal Act Amendments of 1980 (Public Law 96-482), the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (Public Law
96-510), the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (Public Law 98-616),
and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (Public Law
99-499), as amended.
(7)
'Final disposition' means the location, time, and method by which hazardous
waste loses its identity or enters the environment, including, but not limited
to, disposal, disposal site closure and post closure, resource recovery, and
treatment.
(8)
'Guarantor' means any person, other than the owner or operator, who provides
evidence of financial responsibility for an owner or operator pursuant to this
article.
(9)
'Hazardous constituent' means any substance listed as a hazardous constituent in
regulations promulgated by the administrator of the United States Environmental
Protection Agency pursuant to the federal act which are in force and effect on
February 1,
1996
2010,
codified as Appendix VIII to 40 C.F.R. Part 261—Identification and Listing
of Hazardous Waste.
(10)
'Hazardous waste' means any solid waste which has been defined as a hazardous
waste in regulations promulgated by the administrator of the United States
Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the federal act which are in force
and effect on
January 1,
2006
February 1,
2010, codified as 40 C.F.R. Section 261.3
and any designated hazardous waste.
(11)
'Hazardous waste facility' means any property or facility that is intended or
used for storage, treatment, or disposal of hazardous waste.
(12)
'Hazardous waste generation' means the act or process of producing hazardous
waste.
(13)
'Hazardous waste management' means the systematic recognition and control of
hazardous wastes from generation to final disposition or disposal, including,
but not limited to, identification, containerization, labeling, storage,
collection, source separation, transfer, transportation, processing, treatment,
facility closure, post closure, perpetual care, resource recovery, and
disposal.
(14)
'Land disposal' means any placement of hazardous waste in a landfill, surface
impoundment, waste pile, injection well, land treatment facility, salt dome
formation, salt bed formation, or underground mine or cave.
(15)
'Large quantity generator' means a hazardous waste generator who generates 2.2
pounds or more of acute hazardous waste or 2,200 pounds or more of hazardous
waste in one month, as defined in the Rules for Hazardous Waste Management,
Chapter 391-3-11, of the Board of Natural Resources.
(16)
'Manifest' means a form or document used for identifying the quantity and
composition, and the origin, routing and destination, of hazardous waste during
its transportation from the point of generation, through any intermediate
points, to the point of disposal, treatment, or storage.
(17)
'Organization' means a legal entity, other than a government agency or
authority, established or organized for any purpose, and such term includes a
corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, joint stock company,
foundation, institution, trust, society, union, or any other association of
persons.
(18)
'Person' means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation
(including a government corporation), partnership, association, municipality,
commission, or political subdivision, or any agency, board, department, or
bureau of this state or of any other state or of the federal
government.
(19)
'Serious bodily injury' means a bodily injury which involves a substantial risk
of death, unconsciousness, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious
disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily
member, organ, or mental faculty.
(20)
'Solid waste' means solid waste as defined by regulations promulgated by the
administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to
the federal act which are in force and effect on February 1,
1996
2010,
codified as 40 C.F.R. Sections 261.1, 261.2(a)-(d), and 261.4(a).
(21)
'Storage' means the containment or holding of hazardous waste, either on a
temporary basis or for a period of years, in such a manner as not to constitute
disposal of such hazardous waste.
(22)
'Transport' means the movement of hazardous waste from the point of generation
to any point of final disposition, storage, or disposal, including any
intermediate point.
(23)
'Treatment' means any method, technique, or process, including neutralization,
designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character or
composition of any hazardous waste so as to neutralize such waste or so as to
render such waste nonhazardous, safe for transport, amenable for recovery,
amenable for storage, or reduced in volume. Such term includes any activity or
processing designed to change the physical form or chemical composition of
hazardous waste so as to render it nonhazardous.
(24)
'Waste reduction' means a practice, other than dewatering, dilution, or
evaporation, by an environmental waste generator, including changes in
production technology, materials, processes, operations or procedures or use of
in-process, in-line, or closed loop recycling according to standard engineering
practices, that reduces the environmental and health hazards associated with
waste without diluting or concentrating the waste before release, handling,
storage, transport, treatment, or disposal of the waste. The term does not
include a practice applied to environmental waste after it is generated and
exits a production or commercial operation. Waste reduction shall not in any
way be inferred to promote, include, or require:
(A)
Waste burning in industrial furnaces, boilers, or cement kilns;
(B)
Transfer of an environmental waste from one environmental medium to another
environmental medium (otherwise known as waste shifting);
(C)
Conversion of a potential waste into another form for use in a production
process or operation without serving any substantial productive
function;
(D)
Off-site waste recycling; or
(E)
Any other method of end-of-pipe management of environmental
wastes."
SECTION
5.
Said
article is further amended in Part 2, relating to hazardous site response, by
revising Code Section 12-8-92, relating to definitions, as follows:
"12-8-92.
Unless
otherwise defined in this part, the definition of all terms included in Code
Section 12-8-62 shall be applicable to this part. As used in this part, the
term:
(1)
'Corrective action contractor' means any person contracting with the division to
perform any activities authorized to be paid from the hazardous waste trust
fund.
(2)
'Environment' means:
(A)
The navigable waters, the waters of the contiguous zone, and the ocean waters of
which the natural resources are under the exclusive management authority of the
United States under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act;
and
(B)
Any other surface water, ground water, drinking water supply, land surface or
subsurface strata, or ambient air within the United States or under the
jurisdiction of the United States.
(3)
'Facility' means:
(A)
Any building, structure, installation, equipment, pipe or pipeline, pipe into a
sewer or publicly owned treatment works, well, pit, pond, lagoon, impoundment,
ditch, landfill, storage container, motor vehicle, rolling stock, or aircraft;
or
(B)
Any site or area where a hazardous waste, hazardous constituent, or hazardous
substance has been deposited, stored, disposed of, placed, or has otherwise come
to be located.
This
term does not include any consumer product in consumer use but does include any
vessel.
(4)
'Hazardous substance' means any substance listed on the List of Hazardous
Substances and Reportable Quantities, codified as 40 C.F.R., Part 302, Table
302.4, in force and effect on February 1,
1996
2010,
or any substance listed on the List of Extremely Hazardous Substances and Their
Threshold Planning Quantities, codified as 40 C.F.R., Part 355, Appendix A, in
force and effect on
January 1,
2006
February 1,
2010.
(5)
'Inventory' means the hazardous site inventory compiled and updated by the
division pursuant to Code Section 12-8-97.
(6)
'Onshore facility' means any facility of any kind including, but not limited to,
motor vehicles and rolling stock located in, on, or under any land or
nonnavigable waters within the United States.
(7)
'Owner' or 'operator' means:
(A)
In the case of a vessel, any person owning, operating, or chartering by demise
such vessel;
(B)
In the case of an onshore facility or an offshore facility, any person owning or
operating such facility; and
(C)
In the case of any facility, title or control of which was conveyed due to
bankruptcy, foreclosure, tax delinquency, abandonment, or similar means to a
unit of state or local government, any person who owned, operated, or otherwise
controlled activities at such facility immediately beforehand.
Such
term does not include a person who holds indicia of ownership primarily to
protect said person's security interest in the facility or who acts in good
faith solely in a fiduciary capacity and who did not actively participate in the
management, disposal, or release of hazardous wastes, hazardous constituents, or
hazardous substances from the facility. Such term does not include a unit of
state or local government which acquired ownership or control involuntarily
through bankruptcy, tax delinquency, abandonment, or other circumstances in
which the government involuntarily acquires title by virtue of its function as
sovereign; provided, however, that this exclusion shall not apply to any state
or local government which has caused or contributed to the release of a
hazardous waste, hazardous constituent, or hazardous substance from the
facility.
(8)
'Person' means an individual, trust, firm, joint-stock company, corporation,
partnership, association, authority, county, municipality, commission, political
subdivision of this state, or any agency, board, department, or bureau of any
other state or of the federal government.
(9)
'Person who has contributed or who is contributing to a release'
means:
(A)
The owner or operator of a facility;
(B)
Any person who at the time of disposal of any hazardous waste, hazardous
constituent, or hazardous substance owned or operated any facility at which such
hazardous waste, hazardous constituent, or hazardous substance was disposed
of;
(C)
Any person who by contract, agreement, or otherwise arranged for disposal or
treatment of or arranged with a transporter for transport for disposal or
treatment of hazardous wastes, hazardous constituents, or hazardous substances
owned or possessed by such person or by any other party or entity at any
facility owned or operated by another party or entity and containing such
hazardous wastes, hazardous constituents, or hazardous substances. A person who
arranged for the recycling of recovered materials consisting solely of scrap
paper, scrap plastic, scrap glass, scrap textiles, scrap rubber other than whole
tires, scrap metal or spent lead-acid, nickel-acid, nickel-cadmium, and other
batteries, and not consisting of any residue from a pollution control device,
shall not be deemed to have arranged for treatment or disposal under this
subparagraph; and
(D)
Any person who accepts or accepted any hazardous wastes, hazardous constituents,
or hazardous substances for transport to disposal or treatment facilities or
sites selected by such person, from or at which facility or site there is a
release of a hazardous waste, a hazardous constituent, or a hazardous
substance.
(10)
'Pollution prevention' means:
(A)
The elimination at the source of the use, generation, or release of hazardous
constituents, hazardous substances, or hazardous wastes; or
(B)
Reduction at the source in the quantity and toxicity of such
substances.
(11)
'Release' means any intentional or unintentional act or omission resulting in
the spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging,
injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing into the environment,
including without limitation the abandonment or discarding of barrels,
containers, and other closed receptacles, of any hazardous waste, hazardous
constituent, or hazardous substance; provided, however, that such term shall not
include any release which results in exposure to persons solely within a
workplace, with respect to a claim which such persons may assert against the
employer of such persons; emissions from the engine exhaust of any motor
vehicle, rolling stock, aircraft, vessel, or pipeline pumping station; or the
normal application of fertilizer.
(12)
'Site' means that portion of the owner's contiguous property and any other
owner's property affected by a release exceeding a reportable
quantity.
(13)
'Small quantity generator' means a hazardous waste generator who generates
greater than 220 pounds but less than 2,200 pounds of hazardous waste in one
month, as provided by rules promulgated by the board in accordance with this
article."
SECTION
6.
Chapter
41 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to lead
poisoning prevention, is amended by revising Article 1, relating to general
provisions, as follows:
"ARTICLE
1
31-41-1.
This
chapter shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Lead Poisoning
Prevention Act of 1994.'
31-41-2.
(a)
The General Assembly finds that childhood lead poisoning is a devastating
environmental health hazard to the children of this state. Exposure to even low
levels of lead increases a child's risks of developing permanent reading and
learning disabilities, intelligence quotient deficiencies, impaired hearing,
reduced attention span, hyperactivity, behavior problems, and other neurological
problems. It is estimated that thousands of children below the age of six are
affected by lead poisoning in Georgia. Childhood lead poisoning is dangerous to
the public health, safety, and general welfare.
(b)
Childhood lead poisoning is the result of environmental exposure to lead. The
most significant source of environmental lead is lead-based paint, particularly
in housing built prior to 1978, which becomes accessible to children as paint
chips, house dust, and soil contaminated by lead-based paint. The danger posed
by lead-based paint hazards can be controlled by
abatement,
renovation, or interim controls of
lead-based paint or by measures to limit exposure to lead-based paint
hazards.
(c)
It is crucial that the identification of lead hazards and subsequent
implementation of interim
control,
renovation, or abatement procedures be
accomplished in a manner that does not result in additional harm to the public
or the environment. Improper lead abatement
or
renovation constitutes a serious threat to
persons residing in or otherwise using an affected structure or site, to those
performing such work, to the environment, and to the general
public.
(d)
The General Assembly finds that it is in the public interest to establish
minimum standards for the training and certification or licensure of all persons
performing lead hazard reduction
activities,
including
and
for inspections, risk assessments, and
planning and performance of interim
controls,
renovation, or abatement measures
for such
activities.
31-41-3.
As
used in this chapter, the term:
(1)
'Abatement' means any set of measures designed to eliminate lead-based paint
hazards, in accordance with standards developed by the board,
including:
(A)
Removal of lead-based paint and lead contaminated dust, the permanent
containment or encapsulation of lead-based paint, the replacement of
lead-painted surfaces or fixtures, and the removal or covering of lead
contaminated soil; and
(B)
All preparation, cleanup, disposal, and postabatement clearance testing
activities associated with such measures.
(2)
'Accessible surface' means an interior or exterior surface painted with
lead-based paint that is accessible for a young child to mouth or
chew.
(2.1)
'Board' means the Board of Natural Resources of the State of
Georgia.
(2.2)
'Child-occupied facility' means a building or portion of a building constructed
prior to 1978, visited by the same child, six years of age or under, on at least
two different days within the same week (Sunday through Saturday period),
provided that each day's visit lasts at least three hours and the combined
weekly visit lasts at least six hours. Child-occupied facilities include, but
are not limited to, day-care centers, preschools, and kindergarten
facilities.
(3)
'Department' means the Department of Natural Resources.
(4)
'Friction surface' means an interior or exterior surface that is subject to
abrasion or friction, including certain window, floor, and stair
surfaces.
(5)
'Impact surface' means an interior or exterior surface or fixture that is
subject to damage by repeated impacts, for example, certain parts of door
frames.
(6)
'Inspection' means a surface by surface investigation to determine the presence
of lead-based paint and the provision of a report explaining the results of the
investigation.
(7)
'Interim controls' means a measure or set of measures as specified by the board
taken by the owner of a structure that are designed to control temporarily human
exposure or likely exposure to lead-based paint hazards.
(8)
'Lead-based paint' means paint or other surface coatings that contain lead in
excess of limits established by board regulation.
(9)
'Lead-based paint activities' means the inspection and assessment of lead
hazards and the planning, implementation, and inspection of interim
controls,
renovation, and abatement activities
as
determined by the department
at target
housing and child-occupied
facilities.
(10)
'Lead-based paint hazard' means any condition that causes exposure to lead from
lead contaminated dust, lead contaminated soil, or lead contaminated paint that
is deteriorated or present in accessible surfaces, friction surfaces, or impact
surfaces that would result in adverse human health effects as established
pursuant to Section 403 of the Toxic Substances Control Act.
(11)
'Lead contaminated dust' means surface dust in residential dwellings or in other
facilities occupied or regularly used by children that contains an area or mass
concentration of lead in excess of levels determined pursuant to Section 403 of
the Toxic Substances Control Act.
(12)
'Lead contaminated soil' means bare soil on residential real property or on
other sites frequented by children that contains lead at or in excess of levels
determined to be hazardous to human health pursuant to Section 403 of the Toxic
Substances Control Act.
(13)
'Lead contaminated waste' means any discarded material resulting from an
abatement activity that fails the toxicity characteristics determined by the
department.
(13.1)
'Lead dust sampling technician' means an individual employed to perform lead
dust clearance sampling for renovation as determined by the
department.
(14)
'Lead firm' means a company, partnership, corporation, sole proprietorship,
association, or other business entity that employs or contracts with persons to
perform lead-based paint activities.
(15)
'Lead inspector' means a person who conducts inspections to determine the
presence of lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards.
(16)
'Lead project designer' means a person who plans or designs abatement activities
and interim controls.
(17)
'Lead risk assessor' means a person who conducts on-site risk assessments of
lead hazards.
(18)
'Lead supervisor' means a person who supervises and conducts abatement of
lead-based paint hazards.
(19)
'Lead worker' means any person performing lead hazard reduction
activities.
(19.1)
'Minor repair and maintenance activities' means activities that disrupt six
square feet or less of painted surface per room for interior activities or 20
square feet or less of painted surface for exterior activities where none of the
work practices prohibited or restricted as determined by the department are used
or where the work does not involve window replacement or demolition of painted
surface areas. Jobs performed in the same room within 30 days are considered
the same job for purposes of this definition.
(19.2)
'Renovation' means the modification of any target housing or child-occupied
facility structure or portion thereof, that results in the disturbance of
painted surfaces unless that activity is performed as part of an abatement
activity. Renovation includes but is not limited to the removal, modification,
re-coating, or repair of painted surfaces or painted components; the removal of
building components; weatherization projects; and interim controls that disturb
painted surfaces. A renovation performed for the purpose of converting a
building, or part of a building into target housing or a child-occupied facility
is a renovation. Such term shall not include minor repair and maintenance
activities.
(19.3)
'Renovation firm' means a company, partnership, corporation, sole proprietorship
or individual doing business, association, or other business entity that employs
or contracts with persons to perform lead-based paint renovations as determined
by the department.
(19.4)
'Renovator' means an individual who either performs or directs workers who
perform renovations.
(20)
'Risk assessment' means an on-site investigation to determine and report the
existence, nature, severity, and location of lead-based paint hazards in or on
any structure or site, including:
(A)
Information gathering regarding the age and history of the structure and the
occupancy or other use by young children;
(B)
Visual inspection;
(C)
Limited wipe sampling or other environmental sampling techniques;
(D)
Other activity as may be appropriate; and
(E)
Provision of a report explaining the results of the investigation.
(21)
'Target housing' means any housing constructed prior to 1978, except housing for
the elderly or persons with disabilities (unless any child or children age six
years or under resides or is expected to reside in such housing for the elderly
or persons with disabilities) or any zero-bedroom dwelling.
31-41-4.
(a)
There is established the Georgia Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Program. The
Department of Natural Resources is designated as the state agency responsible
for implementation, administration, and enforcement of such program. The
commissioner may delegate such duties to the Environmental Protection
Division.
(b)
The Board of Natural Resources not later than one year after the effective date
of regulations promulgated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency
relating to lead paint abatement
and
renovation certification programs shall
issue regulations requiring the development and approval of training programs
for the licensing or certification of persons performing lead-based paint hazard
detection or lead-based paint activities, which may include, but shall not be
limited to, lead inspectors, lead risk assessors, lead project designers, lead
firms, lead supervisors,
and
lead workers
of such
persons, lead
dust sampling technicians, and renovators.
The regulations for the approval of training programs shall include minimum
requirements for approval of training providers, curriculum requirements,
training hour requirements, hands-on training requirements, examinations of
competency and proficiency, and training program quality control. The approval
program shall provide for reciprocal approval of training programs with
comparable requirements approved by other states or the United States. The
approval program may be designed to meet the minimum requirements for federal
approval under Section 404 of the federal Toxic Substances Control Act and the
department may apply for such approval. The department shall establish fees for
approval of such training programs.
(c)(1)
The Board of Natural Resources not later than one year after the effective date
of regulations promulgated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency
relating to lead paint abatement
and
renovation certification programs shall
establish training and licensure requirements for lead inspectors, lead risk
assessors, lead project designers, lead firms, lead supervisors,
and
lead workers,
renovators, renovation firms, and lead dust sampling
technicians. No person shall be licensed
under this chapter unless such person has successfully completed the appropriate
training program, passed an examination approved by the department for the
appropriate category of license, and completed any additional requirements
imposed by the board by regulation. The department is authorized to accept any
lead-based paint hazard training completed after January 1, 1990, in full or
partial satisfaction of the training requirements. The board may establish
requirements for periodic refresher training for all licensees as a condition of
license renewal. The board shall establish examination fees, license fees, and
renewal fees for all licenses issued under this chapter, provided that such fees
shall reflect the cost of issuing and renewing such licenses, regulating
licensed activities, and administering the program.
(2)
On and after the effective date of regulations promulgated by the board as
provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, no person shall perform or
represent that such person is qualified to perform any lead-based paint
activities unless such person possesses the appropriate licensure or
certification as determined by the board or unless such person is:
(A)
An owner performing abatement
or
renovation upon that person's own
residential property, unless the residential property is occupied by a person or
persons other than the owner or the owner's immediate family while these
activities are being performed, or a child residing in the building has been
identified as having an elevated blood lead level;
(B)
An employee of a property management company doing
routine
cleaning and repainting
minor repairs
and maintenance activities upon property
managed by that company where there is insignificant damage, wear, or corrosion
of existing lead-containing paint or coating substances; or
(C)
An owner routinely
cleaning or
repainting
doing minor
repairs and maintenance activities upon
his or her property where there is insignificant damage to, wear of, or
corrosion of existing lead-containing paint or coating substances.
(3)
A person who is employed by a state or county health department or state or
federal agency to conduct lead investigations to determine the sources of lead
poisonings, as determined by the department, shall be subject to licensing
pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection as a lead risk assessor but shall
not be required to pay any fees as otherwise required under this chapter or
under rules and regulations promulgated by the board under this
chapter.
(d)
The board shall promulgate regulations establishing standards of acceptable
professional conduct
and work
practices for the performance of
lead-based paint activities, as well as specific acts and omissions that
constitute grounds for the reprimand of any licensee, the suspension,
modification, or revocation of a license, or the denial of issuance or renewal
of a license.
(e)
Written information on the renovation must be provided by the renovation firm or
renovator to residents before beginning any renovation activities (except that
the written information may be provided after the renovation begins for
emergency renovations), in accordance with regulations promulgated by the
board.
(f)
The lead firm, renovation firm, and renovator must meet record-keeping and
reporting requirements established by regulations promulgated by the
board.
31-41-5.
The
Board of Natural Resources shall be authorized to promulgate all necessary
regulations for the implementation and enforcement of this chapter. In addition
to any action which may be taken to reprimand a licensee or to revoke or suspend
a license, any person who violates any provision of this chapter or any
regulation promulgated pursuant to this chapter or any term or condition of
licensure may be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $10,000.00, to be
imposed by the department. If any violation is a continuing one, each day of
such violation shall constitute a separate violation for the purpose of
computing the applicable civil penalty."
SECTION
7.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
8.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.