BILL REQ. #:  S-0646.2 



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SENATE BILL 5296
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State of Washington63rd Legislature2013 Regular Session

By Senators Ericksen, Baumgartner, Rivers, Bailey, Delvin, and Honeyford

Read first time 01/25/13.   Referred to Committee on Energy, Environment & Telecommunications.



     AN ACT Relating to the model toxics control act; amending RCW 70.105D.020 and 70.105D.030; reenacting and amending RCW 70.105D.070; adding a new section to chapter 70.105D RCW; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that there are a large number of toxic waste sites that have been identified in the department of ecology's priority list as ready for immediate cleanup. The legislature further finds that addressing the cleanup of these toxic waste sites will provide needed jobs to citizens of Washington state. It is the intent of the legislature to prioritize the spending of revenues under chapter 70.105D RCW, the model toxics control act, on cleaning up the most toxic sites, while also providing jobs in communities around the state.

Sec. 2   RCW 70.105D.020 and 2007 c 104 s 18 are each amended to read as follows:
     The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Agreed order" means an order issued by the department under this chapter with which the potentially liable person receiving the order agrees to comply. An agreed order may be used to require or approve any cleanup or other remedial actions but it is not a settlement under RCW 70.105D.040(4) and shall not contain a covenant not to sue, or provide protection from claims for contribution((, or provide eligibility for public funding of remedial actions under RCW 70.105D.070(2)(d)(xi))).
     (2) "Department" means the department of ecology.
     (3) "Director" means the director of ecology or the director's designee.
     (4) "Environmental covenant" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 64.70.020.
     (5) "Facility" means (a) any building, structure, installation, equipment, pipe or pipeline (including any pipe into a sewer or publicly owned treatment works), well, pit, pond, lagoon, impoundment, ditch, landfill, storage container, motor vehicle, rolling stock, vessel, or aircraft, or (b) any site or area where a hazardous substance, other than a consumer product in consumer use, has been deposited, stored, disposed of, or placed, or otherwise come to be located.
     (6) "Federal cleanup law" means the federal comprehensive environmental response, compensation, and liability act of 1980, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9601 et seq., as amended by Public Law 99-499.
     (7)(a) "Fiduciary" means a person acting for the benefit of another party as a bona fide trustee; executor; administrator; custodian; guardian of estates or guardian ad litem; receiver; conservator; committee of estates of incapacitated persons; trustee in bankruptcy; trustee, under an indenture agreement, trust agreement, lease, or similar financing agreement, for debt securities, certificates of interest or certificates of participation in debt securities, or other forms of indebtedness as to which the trustee is not, in the capacity of trustee, the lender. Except as provided in subsection (17)(b)(iii) of this section, the liability of a fiduciary under this chapter shall not exceed the assets held in the fiduciary capacity.
     (b) "Fiduciary" does not mean:
     (i) A person acting as a fiduciary with respect to a trust or other fiduciary estate that was organized for the primary purpose of, or is engaged in, actively carrying on a trade or business for profit, unless the trust or other fiduciary estate was created as part of, or to facilitate, one or more estate plans or because of the incapacity of a natural person;
     (ii) A person who acquires ownership or control of a facility with the objective purpose of avoiding liability of the person or any other person. It is prima facie evidence that the fiduciary acquired ownership or control of the facility to avoid liability if the facility is the only substantial asset in the fiduciary estate at the time the facility became subject to the fiduciary estate;
     (iii) A person who acts in a capacity other than that of a fiduciary or in a beneficiary capacity and in that capacity directly or indirectly benefits from a trust or fiduciary relationship;
     (iv) A person who is a beneficiary and fiduciary with respect to the same fiduciary estate, and who while acting as a fiduciary receives benefits that exceed customary or reasonable compensation, and incidental benefits permitted under applicable law;
     (v) A person who is a fiduciary and receives benefits that substantially exceed customary or reasonable compensation, and incidental benefits permitted under applicable law; or
     (vi) A person who acts in the capacity of trustee of state or federal lands or resources.
     (8) "Fiduciary capacity" means the capacity of a person holding title to a facility, or otherwise having control of an interest in the facility pursuant to the exercise of the responsibilities of the person as a fiduciary.
     (9) "Foreclosure and its equivalents" means purchase at a foreclosure sale, acquisition, or assignment of title in lieu of foreclosure, termination of a lease, or other repossession, acquisition of a right to title or possession, an agreement in satisfaction of the obligation, or any other comparable formal or informal manner, whether pursuant to law or under warranties, covenants, conditions, representations, or promises from the borrower, by which the holder acquires title to or possession of a facility securing a loan or other obligation.
     (10) "Hazardous substance" means:
     (a) Any dangerous or extremely hazardous waste as defined in RCW 70.105.010 (((5) and (6))) (1) and (7), or any dangerous or extremely dangerous waste designated by rule pursuant to chapter 70.105 RCW;
     (b) Any hazardous substance as defined in RCW 70.105.010(((14))) (10) or any hazardous substance as defined by rule pursuant to chapter 70.105 RCW;
     (c) Any substance that, on March 1, 1989, is a hazardous substance under section 101(14) of the federal cleanup law, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9601(14);
     (d) Petroleum or petroleum products; and
     (e) Any substance or category of substances, including solid waste decomposition products, determined by the director by rule to present a threat to human health or the environment if released into the environment.
     The term hazardous substance does not include any of the following when contained in an underground storage tank from which there is not a release: Crude oil or any fraction thereof or petroleum, if the tank is in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local law.
     (11) "Holder" means a person who holds indicia of ownership primarily to protect a security interest. A holder includes the initial holder such as the loan originator, any subsequent holder such as a successor-in-interest or subsequent purchaser of the security interest on the secondary market, a guarantor of an obligation, surety, or any other person who holds indicia of ownership primarily to protect a security interest, or a receiver, court-appointed trustee, or other person who acts on behalf or for the benefit of a holder. A holder can be a public or privately owned financial institution, receiver, conservator, loan guarantor, or other similar persons that loan money or guarantee repayment of a loan. Holders typically are banks or savings and loan institutions but may also include others such as insurance companies, pension funds, or private individuals that engage in loaning of money or credit.
     (12) "Independent remedial actions" means remedial actions conducted without department oversight or approval, and not under an order, agreed order, or consent decree.
     (13) "Indicia of ownership" means evidence of a security interest, evidence of an interest in a security interest, or evidence of an interest in a facility securing a loan or other obligation, including any legal or equitable title to a facility acquired incident to foreclosure and its equivalents. Evidence of such interests includes, mortgages, deeds of trust, sellers interest in a real estate contract, liens, surety bonds, and guarantees of obligations, title held pursuant to a lease financing transaction in which the lessor does not select initially the leased facility, or legal or equitable title obtained pursuant to foreclosure and their equivalents. Evidence of such interests also includes assignments, pledges, or other rights to or other forms of encumbrance against the facility that are held primarily to protect a security interest.
     (14) "Industrial properties" means properties that are or have been characterized by, or are to be committed to, traditional industrial uses such as processing or manufacturing of materials, marine terminal and transportation areas and facilities, fabrication, assembly, treatment, or distribution of manufactured products, or storage of bulk materials, that are either:
     (a) Zoned for industrial use by a city or county conducting land use planning under chapter 36.70A RCW; or
     (b) For counties not planning under chapter 36.70A RCW and the cities within them, zoned for industrial use and adjacent to properties currently used or designated for industrial purposes.
     (15) "Institutional controls" means measures undertaken to limit or prohibit activities that may interfere with the integrity of a remedial action or result in exposure to or migration of hazardous substances at a site. "Institutional controls" include environmental covenants.
     (16) "Operating a facility primarily to protect a security interest" occurs when all of the following are met: (a) Operating the facility where the borrower has defaulted on the loan or otherwise breached the security agreement; (b) operating the facility to preserve the value of the facility as an ongoing business; (c) the operation is being done in anticipation of a sale, transfer, or assignment of the facility; and (d) the operation is being done primarily to protect a security interest. Operating a facility for longer than one year prior to foreclosure or its equivalents shall be presumed to be operating the facility for other than to protect a security interest.
     (17) "Owner or operator" means:
     (a) Any person with any ownership interest in the facility or who exercises any control over the facility; or
     (b) In the case of an abandoned facility, any person who had owned, or operated, or exercised control over the facility any time before its abandonment;
     The term does not include:
     (i) An agency of the state or unit of local government which acquired ownership or control through a drug forfeiture action under RCW 69.50.505, or involuntarily through bankruptcy, tax delinquency, abandonment, or other circumstances in which the government involuntarily acquires title. This exclusion does not apply to an agency of the state or unit of local government which has caused or contributed to the release or threatened release of a hazardous substance from the facility;
     (ii) A person who, without participating in the management of a facility, holds indicia of ownership primarily to protect the person's security interest in the facility. Holders after foreclosure and its equivalent and holders who engage in any of the activities identified in subsection (18)(e) through (g) of this section shall not lose this exemption provided the holder complies with all of the following:
     (A) The holder properly maintains the environmental compliance measures already in place at the facility;
     (B) The holder complies with the reporting requirements in the rules adopted under this chapter;
     (C) The holder complies with any order issued to the holder by the department to abate an imminent or substantial endangerment;
     (D) The holder allows the department or potentially liable persons under an order, agreed order, or settlement agreement under this chapter access to the facility to conduct remedial actions and does not impede the conduct of such remedial actions;
     (E) Any remedial actions conducted by the holder are in compliance with any preexisting requirements identified by the department, or, if the department has not identified such requirements for the facility, the remedial actions are conducted consistent with the rules adopted under this chapter; and
     (F) The holder does not exacerbate an existing release. The exemption in this subsection (17)(b)(ii) does not apply to holders who cause or contribute to a new release or threatened release or who are otherwise liable under RCW 70.105D.040(1) (b), (c), (d), and (e); provided, however, that a holder shall not lose this exemption if it establishes that any such new release has been remediated according to the requirements of this chapter and that any hazardous substances remaining at the facility after remediation of the new release are divisible from such new release;
     (iii) A fiduciary in his, her, or its personal or individual capacity. This exemption does not preclude a claim against the assets of the estate or trust administered by the fiduciary or against a nonemployee agent or independent contractor retained by a fiduciary. This exemption also does not apply to the extent that a person is liable under this chapter independently of the person's ownership as a fiduciary or for actions taken in a fiduciary capacity which cause or contribute to a new release or exacerbate an existing release of hazardous substances. This exemption applies provided that, to the extent of the fiduciary's powers granted by law or by the applicable governing instrument granting fiduciary powers, the fiduciary complies with all of the following:
     (A) The fiduciary properly maintains the environmental compliance measures already in place at the facility;
     (B) The fiduciary complies with the reporting requirements in the rules adopted under this chapter;
     (C) The fiduciary complies with any order issued to the fiduciary by the department to abate an imminent or substantial endangerment;
     (D) The fiduciary allows the department or potentially liable persons under an order, agreed order, or settlement agreement under this chapter access to the facility to conduct remedial actions and does not impede the conduct of such remedial actions;
     (E) Any remedial actions conducted by the fiduciary are in compliance with any preexisting requirements identified by the department, or, if the department has not identified such requirements for the facility, the remedial actions are conducted consistent with the rules adopted under this chapter; and
     (F) The fiduciary does not exacerbate an existing release.
     The exemption in this subsection (17)(b)(iii) does not apply to fiduciaries who cause or contribute to a new release or threatened release or who are otherwise liable under RCW 70.105D.040(1) (b), (c), (d), and (e); provided however, that a fiduciary shall not lose this exemption if it establishes that any such new release has been remediated according to the requirements of this chapter and that any hazardous substances remaining at the facility after remediation of the new release are divisible from such new release. The exemption in this subsection (17)(b)(iii) also does not apply where the fiduciary's powers to comply with this subsection (17)(b)(iii) are limited by a governing instrument created with the objective purpose of avoiding liability under this chapter or of avoiding compliance with this chapter; or
     (iv) Any person who has any ownership interest in, operates, or exercises control over real property where a hazardous substance has come to be located solely as a result of migration of the hazardous substance to the real property through the groundwater from a source off the property, if:
     (A) The person can demonstrate that the hazardous substance has not been used, placed, managed, or otherwise handled on the property in a manner likely to cause or contribute to a release of the hazardous substance that has migrated onto the property;
     (B) The person has not caused or contributed to the release of the hazardous substance;
     (C) The person does not engage in activities that damage or interfere with the operation of remedial actions installed on the person's property or engage in activities that result in exposure of humans or the environment to the contaminated groundwater that has migrated onto the property;
     (D) If requested, the person allows the department, potentially liable persons who are subject to an order, agreed order, or consent decree, and the authorized employees, agents, or contractors of each, access to the property to conduct remedial actions required by the department. The person may attempt to negotiate an access agreement before allowing access; and
     (E) Legal withdrawal of groundwater does not disqualify a person from the exemption in this subsection (17)(b)(iv).
     (18) "Participation in management" means exercising decision-making control over the borrower's operation of the facility, environmental compliance, or assuming or manifesting responsibility for the overall management of the enterprise encompassing the day-to-day decision making of the enterprise.
     The term does not include any of the following: (a) A holder with the mere capacity or ability to influence, or the unexercised right to control facility operations; (b) a holder who conducts or requires a borrower to conduct an environmental audit or an environmental site assessment at the facility for which indicia of ownership is held; (c) a holder who requires a borrower to come into compliance with any applicable laws or regulations at the facility for which indicia of ownership is held; (d) a holder who requires a borrower to conduct remedial actions including setting minimum requirements, but does not otherwise control or manage the borrower's remedial actions or the scope of the borrower's remedial actions except to prepare a facility for sale, transfer, or assignment; (e) a holder who engages in workout or policing activities primarily to protect the holder's security interest in the facility; (f) a holder who prepares a facility for sale, transfer, or assignment or requires a borrower to prepare a facility for sale, transfer, or assignment; (g) a holder who operates a facility primarily to protect a security interest, or requires a borrower to continue to operate, a facility primarily to protect a security interest; and (h) a prospective holder who, as a condition of becoming a holder, requires an owner or operator to conduct an environmental audit, conduct an environmental site assessment, come into compliance with any applicable laws or regulations, or conduct remedial actions prior to holding a security interest is not participating in the management of the facility.
     (19) "Person" means an individual, firm, corporation, association, partnership, consortium, joint venture, commercial entity, state government agency, unit of local government, federal government agency, or Indian tribe.
     (20) "Policing activities" means actions the holder takes to ensure that the borrower complies with the terms of the loan or security interest or actions the holder takes or requires the borrower to take to maintain the value of the security. Policing activities include: Requiring the borrower to conduct remedial actions at the facility during the term of the security interest; requiring the borrower to comply or come into compliance with applicable federal, state, and local environmental and other laws, regulations, and permits during the term of the security interest; securing or exercising authority to monitor or inspect the facility including on-site inspections, or to monitor or inspect the borrower's business or financial condition during the term of the security interest; or taking other actions necessary to adequately police the loan or security interest such as requiring a borrower to comply with any warranties, covenants, conditions, representations, or promises from the borrower.
     (21) "Potentially liable person" means any person whom the department finds, based on credible evidence, to be liable under RCW 70.105D.040. The department shall give notice to any such person and allow an opportunity for comment before making the finding, unless an emergency requires otherwise.
     (22) "Prepare a facility for sale, transfer, or assignment" means to secure access to the facility; perform routine maintenance on the facility; remove inventory, equipment, or structures; properly maintain environmental compliance measures already in place at the facility; conduct remedial actions to cleanup releases at the facility; or to perform other similar activities intended to preserve the value of the facility where the borrower has defaulted on the loan or otherwise breached the security agreement or after foreclosure and its equivalents and in anticipation of a pending sale, transfer, or assignment, primarily to protect the holder's security interest in the facility. A holder can prepare a facility for sale, transfer, or assignment for up to one year prior to foreclosure and its equivalents and still stay within the security interest exemption in subsection (17)(b)(ii) of this section.
     (23) "Primarily to protect a security interest" means the indicia of ownership is held primarily for the purpose of securing payment or performance of an obligation. The term does not include indicia of ownership held primarily for investment purposes nor indicia of ownership held primarily for purposes other than as protection for a security interest. A holder may have other, secondary reasons, for maintaining indicia of ownership, but the primary reason must be for protection of a security interest. Holding indicia of ownership after foreclosure or its equivalents for longer than five years shall be considered to be holding the indicia of ownership for purposes other than primarily to protect a security interest. For facilities that have been acquired through foreclosure or its equivalents prior to July 23, 1995, this five-year period shall begin as of July 23, 1995.
     (24) "Public notice" means, at a minimum, adequate notice mailed to all persons who have made timely request of the department and to persons residing in the potentially affected vicinity of the proposed action; mailed to appropriate news media; published in the newspaper of largest circulation in the city or county of the proposed action; and opportunity for interested persons to comment.
     (25) "Release" means any intentional or unintentional entry of any hazardous substance into the environment, including but not limited to the abandonment or disposal of containers of hazardous substances.
     (26) "Remedy" or "remedial action" means any action or expenditure consistent with the purposes of this chapter to identify, eliminate, or minimize any threat or potential threat posed by hazardous substances to human health or the environment including any investigative and monitoring activities with respect to any release or threatened release of a hazardous substance and any health assessments or health effects studies conducted in order to determine the risk or potential risk to human health.
     (27) "Security interest" means an interest in a facility created or established for the purpose of securing a loan or other obligation. Security interests include deeds of trusts, sellers interest in a real estate contract, liens, legal, or equitable title to a facility acquired incident to foreclosure and its equivalents, and title pursuant to lease financing transactions. Security interests may also arise from transactions such as sale and leasebacks, conditional sales, installment sales, trust receipt transactions, certain assignments, factoring agreements, accounts receivable financing arrangements, easements, and consignments, if the transaction creates or establishes an interest in a facility for the purpose of securing a loan or other obligation.
     (28) "Workout activities" means those actions by which a holder, at any time prior to foreclosure and its equivalents, seeks to prevent, cure, or mitigate a default by the borrower or obligor; or to preserve, or prevent the diminution of, the value of the security. Workout activities include: Restructuring or renegotiating the terms of the security interest; requiring payment of additional rent or interest; exercising forbearance; requiring or exercising rights pursuant to an assignment of accounts or other amounts owed to an obligor; requiring or exercising rights pursuant to an escrow agreement pertaining to amounts owed to an obligor; providing specific or general financial or other advice, suggestions, counseling, or guidance; and exercising any right or remedy the holder is entitled to by law or under any warranties, covenants, conditions, representations, or promises from the borrower.
     (29) "Brownfield property" means previously developed and currently abandoned or underutilized real property and adjacent surface waters and sediment where environmental, economic, or community reuse objectives are hindered by the release or threatened release of hazardous substances that the department has determined requires remedial action under this chapter or that the United States environmental protection agency has determined requires remedial action under the comprehensive environmental response, compensation, and liability act.
     (30) "Model remedy" or "model remedial action" means a set of technologies, procedures, and monitoring protocols identified by the department for use in routine types of clean-up projects that have common features and risks.

Sec. 3   RCW 70.105D.030 and 2009 c 560 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department may exercise the following powers in addition to any other powers granted by law:
     (a) Investigate, provide for investigating, or require potentially liable persons to investigate any releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, including but not limited to inspecting, sampling, or testing to determine the nature or extent of any release or threatened release. If there is a reasonable basis to believe that a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance may exist, the department's authorized employees, agents, or contractors may enter upon any property and conduct investigations. The department shall give reasonable notice before entering property unless an emergency prevents such notice. The department may by subpoena require the attendance or testimony of witnesses and the production of documents or other information that the department deems necessary;
     (b) Conduct, provide for conducting, or require potentially liable persons to conduct remedial actions (including investigations under (a) of this subsection) to remedy releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances. In carrying out such powers, the department's authorized employees, agents, or contractors may enter upon property. The department shall give reasonable notice before entering property unless an emergency prevents such notice. In conducting, providing for, or requiring remedial action, the department shall give preference to permanent solutions to the maximum extent practicable and shall provide for or require adequate monitoring to ensure the effectiveness of the remedial action;
     (c) Indemnify contractors retained by the department for carrying out investigations and remedial actions, but not for any contractor's reckless or willful misconduct;
     (d) Carry out all state programs authorized under the federal cleanup law and the federal resource, conservation, and recovery act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 6901 et seq., as amended;
     (e) Classify substances as hazardous substances for purposes of RCW 70.105D.020 and classify substances and products as hazardous substances for purposes of RCW 82.21.020(1);
     (f) Issue orders or enter into consent decrees or agreed orders that include, or issue written opinions under (i) of this subsection that may be conditioned upon, environmental covenants where necessary to protect human health and the environment from a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance from a facility. Prior to establishing an environmental covenant under this subsection, the department shall consult with and seek comment from a city or county department with land use planning authority for real property subject to the environmental covenant;
     (g) Enforce the application of permanent and effective institutional controls that are necessary for a remedial action to be protective of human health and the environment and the notification requirements established in RCW 70.105D.110, and impose penalties for violations of that section consistent with RCW 70.105D.050;
     (h) Require holders to conduct remedial actions necessary to abate an imminent or substantial endangerment pursuant to RCW 70.105D.020(17)(b)(ii)(C);
     (i) Provide informal advice, model remedies, and assistance to persons regarding the administrative and technical requirements of this chapter. This may include site-specific advice to persons who are conducting or otherwise interested in independent remedial actions. Any such advice or assistance shall be advisory only, and shall not be binding on the department. As a part of providing this advice, model remedies, and assistance for independent remedial actions, the department may prepare written opinions regarding whether the independent remedial actions or proposals for those actions meet the substantive requirements of this chapter or whether the department believes further remedial action is necessary at the facility. Nothing in this chapter may be construed to preclude the department from issuing a written opinion on whether further remedial action is necessary at any portion of the real property located within a facility, even if further remedial action is still necessary elsewhere at the same facility. Such a written opinion on a portion of a facility must also provide an opinion on the status of the facility as a whole. The department may collect, from persons requesting advice and assistance, the costs incurred by the department in providing such advice and assistance; however, the department shall, where appropriate, waive collection of costs in order to provide an appropriate level of technical assistance in support of public participation. The department shall provide model remedies without charge. The state, the department, and officers and employees of the state are immune from all liability, and no cause of action of any nature may arise from any act or omission in providing, or failing to provide, informal advice and assistance; ((and))
     (j) Take any other actions necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, including the power to adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW; and
     (k) Must consider model remedy proposals from qualified private sector engineers, consultants, and contractors that meet clean-up standards for use in routine types of clean-up projects that have common features and risks
.
     (2) The department shall immediately implement all provisions of this chapter to the maximum extent practicable, including investigative and remedial actions where appropriate. The department shall adopt, and thereafter enforce, rules under chapter 34.05 RCW to:
     (a) Provide for public participation, including at least (i) public notice of the development of investigative plans or remedial plans for releases or threatened releases and (ii) concurrent public notice of all compliance orders, agreed orders, enforcement orders, or notices of violation;
     (b) Establish a hazard ranking system for hazardous waste sites;
     (c) Provide for requiring the reporting by an owner or operator of releases of hazardous substances to the environment that may be a threat to human health or the environment within ninety days of discovery, including such exemptions from reporting as the department deems appropriate, however this requirement shall not modify any existing requirements provided for under other laws;
     (d) Establish reasonable deadlines not to exceed ninety days for initiating an investigation of a hazardous waste site after the department receives notice or otherwise receives information that the site may pose a threat to human health or the environment and other reasonable deadlines for remedying releases or threatened releases at the site;
     (e) Publish and periodically update minimum cleanup standards for remedial actions at least as stringent as the cleanup standards under section 121 of the federal cleanup law, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9621, and at least as stringent as all applicable state and federal laws, including health-based standards under state and federal law; and
     (f) Apply industrial clean-up standards at industrial properties. Rules adopted under this subsection shall ensure that industrial properties cleaned up to industrial standards cannot be converted to nonindustrial uses without approval from the department. The department may require that a property cleaned up to industrial standards is cleaned up to a more stringent applicable standard as a condition of conversion to a nonindustrial use. Industrial clean-up standards may not be applied to industrial properties where hazardous substances remaining at the property after remedial action pose a threat to human health or the environment in adjacent nonindustrial areas.
     (3) To achieve and protect the state's long-term ecological health, the department shall ((prioritize sufficient funding)) plan to cleanup hazardous waste sites and prevent the creation of future hazards due to improper disposal of toxic wastes((, and create financing tools to cleanup large-scale hazardous waste sites requiring multiyear commitments)) at a pace that matches the estimated cash resources in the state and local toxics control accounts and the special category E account. Estimated cash resources must consider the annual cash flow requirements of major projects that receive appropriations expected to cross multiple biennia. To effectively monitor toxic accounts expenditures, the department shall develop a comprehensive ten-year financing report that identifies long-term remedial action project costs, tracks expenses, and projects future needs. The report must include the number of model remedy proposals prepared by qualified private sector engineers, consultants, or contractors that were accepted and rejected, the reasons for rejection, and the success rate of accepted model remedy proposals as measured by the number of jobs created and achieving the clean-up standard within the proposed time frame and funding provided.
     (4) Before ((December)) September 20th of each even-numbered year, the department shall:
     (a) Develop a comprehensive ten-year financing report in coordination with all local governments with clean-up responsibilities that identifies the projected biennial hazardous waste site remedial action needs that are eligible for funding from the state and local toxics control account and the special category E account;
     (b) Work with local governments to develop working capital reserves to be incorporated in the ten-year financing report;
     (c) Identify the projected remedial action needs for orphaned, abandoned, and other clean-up sites that are eligible for funding from the state toxics control account;
     (d) Project the remedial action need, cost, revenue, and any recommended working capital reserve estimate to the next biennium's long-term remedial action needs from both the local ((toxics control account)) and ((the)) state toxics control account and the special category E account, and submit this information to the appropriate standing fiscal and environmental committees of the senate and house of representatives. This submittal must also include a ranked list of such remedial action projects for both accounts. The submittal must also identify separate budget estimates for large, multibiennia clean-up projects that exceed ten million dollars. The department shall prepare its ten-year capital budget plan that is submitted to the office of financial management to reflect the separate budget estimates for these large clean-up projects; and
     (e) Provide the legislature and the public each year with an accounting of the department's activities supported by appropriations from the state and local toxics control accounts and the special category E account, including a list of known hazardous waste sites and their hazard rankings, actions taken and planned at each site, how the department is meeting its waste management priorities under RCW 70.105.150, and all funds expended under this chapter.
     (5) The department shall establish a program to identify potential hazardous waste sites and to encourage persons to provide information about hazardous waste sites.
     (6) For all facilities where an environmental covenant has been required under subsection (1)(f) of this section, including all facilities where the department has required an environmental covenant under an order, agreed order, or consent decree, or as a condition of a written opinion issued under the authority of subsection (1)(i) of this section, the department shall periodically review the environmental covenant for effectiveness. Except as otherwise provided in (c) of this subsection, the department shall conduct a review at least once every five years after an environmental covenant is recorded.
     (a) The review shall consist of, at a minimum:
     (i) A review of the title of the real property subject to the environmental covenant to determine whether the environmental covenant was properly recorded and, if applicable, amended or terminated;
     (ii) A physical inspection of the real property subject to the environmental covenant to determine compliance with the environmental covenant, including whether any development or redevelopment of the real property has violated the terms of the environmental covenant; and
     (iii) A review of the effectiveness of the environmental covenant in limiting or prohibiting activities that may interfere with the integrity of the remedial action or that may result in exposure to or migration of hazardous substances. This shall include a review of available monitoring data.
     (b) If an environmental covenant has been amended or terminated without proper authority, or if the terms of an environmental covenant have been violated, or if the environmental covenant is no longer effective in limiting or prohibiting activities that may interfere with the integrity of the remedial action or that may result in exposure to or migration of hazardous substances, then the department shall take any and all appropriate actions necessary to ensure compliance with the environmental covenant and the policies and requirements of this chapter.
     (c) For facilities where an environmental covenant required by the department under subsection (1)(f) of this section was required before July 1, 2007, the department shall:
     (i) Enter all required information about the environmental covenant into the registry established under RCW 64.70.120 by June 30, 2008;
     (ii) For those facilities where more than five years has elapsed since the environmental covenant was required and the department has yet to conduct a review, conduct an initial review according to the following schedule:
     (A) By December 30, 2008, fifty facilities;
     (B) By June 30, 2009, fifty additional facilities; and
     (C) By June 30, 2010, the remainder of the facilities;
     (iii) Once this initial review has been completed, conduct subsequent reviews at least once every five years.

Sec. 4   RCW 70.105D.070 and 2012 2nd sp.s. c 7 s 920 and 2012 2nd sp.s. c 2 s 6005 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) The state toxics control account and the local toxics control account are hereby created in the state treasury.
     (2)(a) The following moneys shall be deposited into the state toxics control account: (((a))) (i) Forty-seven percent of the amount remaining from those revenues which are raised by the tax imposed under RCW 82.21.030 ((and which are attributable to that portion of the rate equal to thirty-three one-hundredths of one percent)) after the transfer of funds as required under section 5 of this act; (((b))) (ii) the costs of remedial actions recovered under this chapter or chapter 70.105A RCW; (((c))) (iii) penalties collected or recovered under this chapter; and (((d))) (iv) any other money appropriated or transferred to the account by the legislature.
     (b) Moneys in the state toxics control account ((may)) must be used only to carry out the purposes of this chapter((, including but not limited to the following activities:
     (i) The state's responsibility for hazardous waste planning, management, regulation, enforcement, technical assistance, and public education required under chapter 70.105 RCW;
     (ii) The state's responsibility for solid waste planning, management, regulation, enforcement, technical assistance, and public education required under chapter 70.95 RCW;
     (iii) The hazardous waste cleanup program required under this chapter;
     (iv) State matching funds required under the federal cleanup law;
     (v) Financial assistance for local programs in accordance with chapters 70.95, 70.95C, 70.95I, and 70.105 RCW;
     (vi) State government programs for the safe reduction, recycling, or disposal of hazardous wastes from households, small businesses, and agriculture;
     (vii) Hazardous materials emergency response training;
     (viii) Water and environmental health protection and monitoring programs;
     (ix) Programs authorized under chapter 70.146 RCW;
     (x) A public participation program, including regional citizen advisory committees;
     (xi) Public funding to assist potentially liable persons to pay for the costs of remedial action in compliance with cleanup standards under RCW 70.105D.030(2)(e) but only when the amount and terms of such funding are established under a settlement agreement under RCW 70.105D.040(4) and when the director has found that the funding will achieve both (A) a substantially more expeditious or enhanced cleanup than would otherwise occur, and (B) the prevention or mitigation of unfair economic hardship;
     (xii) Development and demonstration of alternative management technologies designed to carry out the hazardous waste management priorities of RCW 70.105.150;
     (xiii) During the 2009-2011 and 2011-2013 fiscal biennia, shoreline update technical assistance;
     (xiv) During the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium, multijurisdictional permitting teams;
     (xv) During the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, actions for reducing public exposure to toxic air pollution, and actions taken through the family forest fish passage program to correct barriers to fish passage on privately owned small forest lands; and
     (xvi) During the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, the department of ecology's water quality, shorelands and environmental assessment, hazardous waste, waste to resources, nuclear waste, and air quality programs
)) and must be expended for the following purposes in order of priority:
     (i) Cleanup of high priority contaminated toxic sites on the department's hazardous sites list that have a completed remedial investigation or feasibility study, a finalized clean-up action plan, and are prepared to begin the clean-up action;
     (ii) Cleanup and reuse of brownfield properties to make land available for economic and job development opportunities that would not otherwise occur; and
     (iii) Cleanup of properties where local communities and liable parties have a completed remedial investigation or feasibility study, a finalized clean-up action plan, and are prepared to begin the clean-up action
.
     (3) The following moneys shall be deposited into the local toxics control account: Fifty-three percent of the amount remaining from those revenues which are raised by the tax imposed under RCW 82.21.030 ((and which are attributable to that portion of the rate equal to thirty-seven one-hundredths of one percent)) after the transfer of funds as required under section 5 of this act.
     (((a) Moneys deposited in the local toxics control account shall be used by the department for grants or loans to local governments for the following purposes in descending order of priority:
     (i) Remedial actions;
     (ii) Hazardous waste plans and programs under chapter 70.105 RCW;
     (iii) Solid waste plans and programs under chapters 70.95, 70.95C, 70.95I, and 70.105 RCW;
     (iv) Funds for a program to assist in the assessment and cleanup of sites of methamphetamine production, but not to be used for the initial containment of such sites, consistent with the responsibilities and intent of RCW 69.50.511; and
     (v) Cleanup and disposal of hazardous substances from abandoned or derelict vessels, defined for the purposes of this section as vessels that have little or no value and either have no identified owner or have an identified owner lacking financial resources to clean up and dispose of the vessel, that pose a threat to human health or the environment.
     (b) Funds for plans and programs shall be allocated consistent with the priorities and matching requirements established in chapters 70.105, 70.95C, 70.95I, and 70.95 RCW, except that any applicant that is a Puget Sound partner, as defined in RCW 90.71.010, along with any project that is referenced in the action agenda developed by the Puget Sound partnership under RCW 90.71.310, shall, except as conditioned by RCW 70.105D.120, receive priority for any available funding for any grant or funding programs or sources that use a competitive bidding process. During the 2007-2009 fiscal biennium, moneys in the account may also be used for grants to local governments to retrofit public sector diesel equipment and for storm water planning and implementation activities.
     (c) To expedite cleanups throughout the state, the department shall partner with local communities and liable parties for cleanups. The department is authorized to use the following additional strategies in order to ensure a healthful environment for future generations:
     (i) The director may alter grant-matching requirements to create incentives for local governments to expedite cleanups when one of the following conditions exists:
     (A) Funding would prevent or mitigate unfair economic hardship imposed by the clean-up liability;
     (B) Funding would create new substantial economic development, public recreational, or habitat restoration opportunities that would not otherwise occur; or
     (C) Funding would create an opportunity for acquisition and redevelopment of vacant, orphaned, or abandoned property under RCW 70.105D.040(5) that would not otherwise occur;
     (ii) The use of outside contracts to conduct necessary studies;
     (iii) The purchase of remedial action cost-cap insurance, when necessary to expedite multiparty clean-up efforts.
     (d) To facilitate and expedite cleanups using funds from the local toxics control account, during the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium the director may establish grant-funded accounts to hold and disperse local toxics control account funds and funds from local governments to be used for remedial actions.
))
     (4) Except for unanticipated receipts under RCW 43.79.260 through 43.79.282, moneys in the state and local toxics control accounts may be spent only after appropriation by statute.
     (((5) Except during the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, one percent of the moneys deposited into the state and local toxics control accounts shall be allocated only for public participation grants to persons who may be adversely affected by a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance and to not-for-profit public interest organizations. The primary purpose of these grants is to facilitate the participation by persons and organizations in the investigation and remedying of releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances and to implement the state's solid and hazardous waste management priorities. No grant may exceed sixty thousand dollars. Grants may be renewed annually. Moneys appropriated for public participation from either account which are not expended at the close of any biennium shall revert to the state toxics control account.
     (6) No moneys deposited into either the state or local toxics control account may be used for solid waste incinerator feasibility studies, construction, maintenance, or operation, or, after January 1, 2010, for projects designed to address the restoration of Puget Sound, funded in a competitive grant process, that are in conflict with the action agenda developed by the Puget Sound partnership under RCW 90.71.310.
     (7) The department shall adopt rules for grant or loan issuance and performance.
     (8) During the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, the legislature may transfer from the local toxics control account to the state toxics control account such amounts as reflect excess fund balance in the account.
     (9) During the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, the local toxics control account may also be used for local government shoreline update grants and actions for reducing public exposure to toxic air pollution; funding to local governments for flood levee improvements; and grants to local governments for brownfield redevelopment.
))

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 70.105D RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The special category E account is created in the state treasury. Beginning July 1, 2013, and every fiscal year thereafter and to the extent that the combined revenues from RCW 82.21.030 to the state toxics control account and the local toxics control account are forecast to exceed one hundred fifty million dollars, plus the fiscal growth factor under chapter 43.135 RCW, the account revenues must be deposited into the special category E account. Moneys in the account may only be spent after appropriation.
     (2) Moneys in the special category E account may only be spent on clean-up projects using technologies, procedures, contracts, and project management and oversight that result in significant reductions in the time to complete clean-up projects compared to baseline averages for comparable clean-up projects.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   (1) For the biennium ending June 30, 2015, the state treasurer must transfer twenty-five million dollars from the state toxics control account to the special category E account created in section 5 of this act.
     (2) For the biennium ending June 30, 2015, the state treasurer must transfer seventy-five million dollars from the local toxics control account to the special category E account created in section 5 of this act.

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