State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2012 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/07/12.
AN ACT Relating to accelerating cleanup of hazardous waste sites; amending RCW 70.105D.010, 70.105D.020, 70.105D.030, 70.105D.040, and 70.105D.050; reenacting and amending RCW 70.105D.070 and 43.84.092; adding new sections to chapter 70.105D RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds that the cleanup and
reuse of former commercial, industrial, and other sites contaminated
with hazardous substances has economic, environmental, and public
health benefits for the communities where these sites are located.
Public investment in the cleanup of hazardous waste sites has multiple
benefits, with some estimates indicating that for every state dollar
invested toward cleanup, there is generated six dollars in local tax
revenue, seven dollars in payroll revenue, and thirty-two dollars in
business revenue. The legislature further finds that the cleanup of
these "brownfield" properties should not be conducted in isolation from
the community's plans for future economic, environmental, and social
uses of the property, and that integrating the cleanup with future site
uses may provide a greater opportunity to bring substantial private
resources into the cleanup.
Therefore, it is the intent of this act to authorize a greater
emphasis in the allocation of state resources toward the cleanup and
reuse of brownfield properties, to provide more flexible funding and
oversight authority for local governments guiding the cleanup of
brownfield properties, and to modify the state's cleanup program in
ways that will accelerate cleanups throughout the state, thus providing
near-term job benefits in the cleanup, as well as ongoing economic and
environmental benefits through reuse of the cleaned up properties.
Sec. 2 RCW 70.105D.010 and 2002 c 288 s 1 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) Each person has a fundamental and inalienable right to a
healthful environment, and each person has a responsibility to preserve
and enhance that right. The beneficial stewardship of the land, air,
and waters of the state is a solemn obligation of the present
generation for the benefit of future generations.
(2) A healthful environment is now threatened by the irresponsible
use and disposal of hazardous substances. There are hundreds of
hazardous waste sites in this state, and more will be created if
current waste practices continue. Hazardous waste sites threaten the
state's water resources, including those used for public drinking
water. Many of our municipal landfills are current or potential
hazardous waste sites and present serious threats to human health and
environment. The costs of eliminating these threats in many cases are
beyond the financial means of our local governments and ratepayers.
The main purpose of chapter 2, Laws of 1989 is to raise sufficient
funds to clean up all hazardous waste sites and to prevent the creation
of future hazards due to improper disposal of toxic wastes into the
state's land and waters.
(3) Many farmers and small business owners who have followed the
law with respect to their uses of pesticides and other chemicals
nonetheless may face devastating economic consequences because their
uses have contaminated the environment or the water supplies of their
neighbors. With a source of funds, the state may assist these farmers
and business owners, as well as those persons who sustain damages, such
as the loss of their drinking water supplies, as a result of the
contamination.
(4) It is in the public's interest to efficiently use our finite
land base, to integrate our land use planning policies with our clean-up policies, and to clean up and reuse contaminated industrial and
other brownfield properties in order to minimize ((industrial))
development pressures on undeveloped land and to make clean land
available for ((future)) economic, environmental, and social ((use))
reuses.
(5) Because it is often difficult or impossible to allocate
responsibility among persons liable for hazardous waste sites and
because it is essential that sites be cleaned up well and
expeditiously, each responsible person should be liable jointly and
severally.
(6) Because releases of hazardous substances can adversely affect
the health and welfare of the public, the environment, and property
values, it is in the public interest that affected communities be
notified of where releases of hazardous substances have occurred and
what is being done to clean them up.
Sec. 3 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 or prospective
purchaser 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))) (b) (xi) and (xii).
(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 clean up 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) "Areawide groundwater contamination" means groundwater
contamination on multiple adjacent properties with different ownerships
consisting of hazardous substances from multiple sources that have
resulted in commingled plumes of contaminated groundwater that are not
practicable to address separately.
(30) "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.
(31) "City" means a city or town.
(32) "Local government" means any political subdivision of the
state, including a town, city, county, special purpose district, or
other municipal corporation, including brownfield renewal authority
created under section 6 of this act.
(33) "Prospective purchaser" means a person who is not currently
liable for remedial action at a facility and who proposes to purchase,
redevelop, or reuse the facility.
(34) "Redevelopment opportunity zone" means a geographic area
designated under section 5 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 A new section is added to chapter 70.105D
RCW to read as follows:
(1) The brownfield redevelopment trust fund account is created in
the state treasury. All receipts from the sources identified in
subsection (2) of this section may be deposited into the account.
Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation.
Expenditures from the account may be used only as identified in
subsection (4) of this section.
(2) The following receipts must be deposited into the brownfield
redevelopment trust fund account:
(a) Moneys appropriated by the legislature to the account for a
specific redevelopment opportunity zone established under section 5 of
this act or a specific brownfield renewal authority established under
section 6 of this act;
(b) Moneys voluntarily deposited in the account for a specific
redevelopment opportunity zone or a specific brownfield renewal
authority; and
(c) Receipts from settlements or court orders that direct payment
to the account for a specific redevelopment opportunity zone to resolve
a person's liability or potential liability under this chapter.
(3) If a settlement or court order does not direct payment of
receipts described in subsection (2)(c) of this section into the
brownfield redevelopment trust fund account, then the receipts from any
payment to the state must be deposited into the state toxics control
account established under RCW 70.105D.070.
(4) Expenditures from the brownfield redevelopment trust fund
account may only be used for the purposes of remediation and cleanup at
the specific redevelopment opportunity zone or specific brownfield
renewal authority for which the moneys were deposited in the account.
(5) The department shall track moneys received, interest earned,
and moneys expended separately for each facility.
(6) The account must retain its interest earnings in accordance
with RCW 43.84.092.
(7) The local government designating the redevelopment opportunity
zone under section 5 of this act or the associated brownfield renewal
authority created under section 6 of this act must be the beneficiary
of the deposited moneys.
(8) All expenditures must be used to conduct remediation and
cleanup consistent with a plan for the remediation and cleanup of the
properties or facilities approved by the department under this chapter.
All expenditures must meet the eligibility requirements for the use by
local governments under the rules for remedial action grants adopted by
the department under this chapter, including requirements for the
expenditure of nonstate match funding.
(9) Beginning October 31, 2012, the department must provide a
biennial report to the office of financial management and the
legislature regarding the activity for each specific redevelopment
opportunity zone or specific brownfield renewal authority for which
specific legislative appropriation was provided in the previous two
fiscal years.
(10) After the department determines that all remedial actions
within the redevelopment opportunity zone identified in the plan
approved under subsection (8) of this section are completed, including
payment of all cost reasonably attributable to the remedial actions and
cleanup, any remaining moneys must be transferred to the state toxics
control account established under RCW 70.105D.070.
(11) If the department determines that substantial progress has not
been made on the plan approved under subsection (8) of this section for
a redevelopment opportunity zone or specific brownfield renewal
authority for which moneys were deposited in the account within six
years, or that the brownfield renewal authority is no longer a viable
entity, then all remaining moneys must be transferred to the state
toxics control account established under RCW 70.105D.070.
(12) The department is authorized to adopt rules to implement this
section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 A new section is added to chapter 70.105D
RCW to read as follows:
(1) A city or county may designate a geographic area within its
jurisdiction as a redevelopment opportunity zone if the zone meets the
criteria in this subsection and the city or county adopts a resolution
that includes the following determinations and commitments:
(a) At least fifty percent of the upland properties in the zone are
brownfield properties whether or not the properties are contiguous;
(b) The upland portions of the zone are comprised entirely of
parcels of property either owned by the city or county or whose owner
has provided consent in writing to have their property included within
the zone;
(c) The cleanup of those properties will be integrated with
planning for the future uses of the properties and is consistent with
the comprehensive land use plan for the zone; and
(d) The proposed properties lie within the incorporated area of a
city or within an urban growth area designated under RCW 36.70A.110.
(2) A port district may designate a redevelopment opportunity zone
when:
(a) The port district adopts a resolution that includes the
determinations and commitments required under subsection (1)(a), (c),
and (d) of this section;
(b) The zone meets the criteria in subsection (1)(a), (c), and (d)
of this section; and
(c) The port district either:
(i) Owns in fee all of the upland properties within the zone; or
(ii) Owns in fee at least fifty percent of the upland property in
the zone, the owners of other parcels of property in the zone have
provided consent in writing to have their property included in the
zone, and the governing body of the city and county in which the zone
lies approves of the designation by resolution.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 A new section is added to chapter 70.105D
RCW to read as follows:
(1) A city, county, or port district may establish by resolution a
brownfield renewal authority for the purpose of guiding and
implementing the cleanup and reuse of properties within a designated
redevelopment opportunity zone. Any combination of cities, counties,
and port districts may establish a brownfield renewal authority through
an interlocal agreement under chapter 39.34 RCW, and the brownfield
renewal authority may exercise those powers as are authorized under
chapter 39.34 RCW and under this chapter.
(2) A brownfield renewal authority must be governed by a board of
directors selected as determined by the resolution or interlocal
agreement establishing the authority.
(3) A brownfield renewal authority must be a separate legal entity
and be deemed a municipal corporation. It has the power to: Sue and
be sued; receive, account for, and disburse funds; employ personnel;
and acquire or dispose of any interest in real or personal property
within a redevelopment opportunity zone in the furtherance of the
authority purposes. A brownfield renewal authority has the power to
contract indebtedness and to issue and sell general obligation bonds
pursuant to and in the manner provided for general county bonds in
chapters 36.67 and 39.46 RCW and other applicable statutes, and to
issue revenue bonds pursuant to and in the manner provided for revenue
bonds in chapter 36.67 RCW and other applicable statutes.
(4) If the department determines that substantial progress has not
been made on the plan approved under section 4 of this act by the
brownfield renewal authority within six years of a city, county, or
port district establishing a brownfield renewal authority, the
department may require dissolution of the brownfield renewal authority.
Upon dissolution of the brownfield renewal authority, except as
provided in section 5 of this act, all assets and liabilities transfer
to the city, town, or port district establishing the brownfield renewal
authority.
Sec. 7 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 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 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 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. The department must track
the number of requests for reviews of planned or completed independent
remedial actions and establish performance measures to track how
quickly the department is able to respond to those requests. By
November 1, 2012, the department must submit to the governor and the
appropriate legislative fiscal and policy committees a report on
achieving the performance measures and provide recommendations for
improving performance, including staffing needs; ((and))
(j) In fulfilling the objectives of this chapter, the department
shall allocate staffing and financial assistance in a manner that
considers both the reduction of human and environmental risks and the
land reuse potential and planning for the facilities to be cleaned up.
This does not preclude the department from allocating resources to a
facility based solely on human or environmental risks; and
(k) Take any other actions necessary to carry out the provisions of
this chapter, including the power to adopt rules under chapter 34.05
RCW.
(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 to clean up
hazardous waste sites and prevent the creation of future hazards due to
improper disposal of toxic wastes, and create financing tools to clean
up large-scale hazardous waste sites requiring multiyear commitments.
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.
(4) Before December 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 local toxics
control 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 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; 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, 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. 8 RCW 70.105D.040 and 1997 c 406 s 4 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, the
following persons are liable with respect to a facility:
(a) The owner or operator of the facility;
(b) Any person who owned or operated the facility at the time of
disposal or release of the hazardous substances;
(c) Any person who owned or possessed a hazardous substance and who
by contract, agreement, or otherwise arranged for disposal or treatment
of the hazardous substance at the facility, or arranged with a
transporter for transport for disposal or treatment of the hazardous
substances at the facility, or otherwise generated hazardous wastes
disposed of or treated at the facility;
(d) Any person (i) who accepts or accepted any hazardous substance
for transport to a disposal, treatment, or other facility selected by
such person from which there is a release or a threatened release for
which remedial action is required, unless such facility, at the time of
disposal or treatment, could legally receive such substance; or (ii)
who accepts a hazardous substance for transport to such a facility and
has reasonable grounds to believe that such facility is not operated in
accordance with chapter 70.105 RCW; and
(e) Any person who both sells a hazardous substance and is
responsible for written instructions for its use if (i) the substance
is used according to the instructions and (ii) the use constitutes a
release for which remedial action is required at the facility.
(2) Each person who is liable under this section is strictly
liable, jointly and severally, for all remedial action costs and for
all natural resource damages resulting from the releases or threatened
releases of hazardous substances. The attorney general, at the request
of the department, is empowered to recover all costs and damages from
persons liable therefor.
(3) The following persons are not liable under this section:
(a) Any person who can establish that the release or threatened
release of a hazardous substance for which the person would be
otherwise responsible was caused solely by:
(i) An act of God;
(ii) An act of war; or
(iii) An act or omission of a third party (including but not
limited to a trespasser) other than (A) an employee or agent of the
person asserting the defense, or (B) any person whose act or omission
occurs in connection with a contractual relationship existing, directly
or indirectly, with the person asserting this defense to liability.
This defense only applies where the person asserting the defense has
exercised the utmost care with respect to the hazardous substance, the
foreseeable acts or omissions of the third party, and the foreseeable
consequences of those acts or omissions;
(b) Any person who is an owner, past owner, or purchaser of a
facility and who can establish by a preponderance of the evidence that
at the time the facility was acquired by the person, the person had no
knowledge or reason to know that any hazardous substance, the release
or threatened release of which has resulted in or contributed to the
need for the remedial action, was released or disposed of on, in, or at
the facility. This subsection (3)(b) is limited as follows:
(i) To establish that a person had no reason to know, the person
must have undertaken, at the time of acquisition, all appropriate
inquiry into the previous ownership and uses of the property,
consistent with good commercial or customary practice in an effort to
minimize liability. Any court interpreting this subsection (3)(b)
shall take into account any specialized knowledge or experience on the
part of the person, the relationship of the purchase price to the value
of the property if uncontaminated, commonly known or reasonably
ascertainable information about the property, the obviousness of the
presence or likely presence of contamination at the property, and the
ability to detect such contamination by appropriate inspection;
(ii) The defense contained in this subsection (3)(b) is not
available to any person who had actual knowledge of the release or
threatened release of a hazardous substance when the person owned the
real property and who subsequently transferred ownership of the
property without first disclosing such knowledge to the transferee;
(iii) The defense contained in this subsection (3)(b) is not
available to any person who, by any act or omission, caused or
contributed to the release or threatened release of a hazardous
substance at the facility;
(c) Any natural person who uses a hazardous substance lawfully and
without negligence for any personal or domestic purpose in or near a
dwelling or accessory structure when that person is: (i) A resident of
the dwelling; (ii) a person who, without compensation, assists the
resident in the use of the substance; or (iii) a person who is employed
by the resident, but who is not an independent contractor;
(d) Any person who, for the purpose of growing food crops, applies
pesticides or fertilizers without negligence and in accordance with all
applicable laws and regulations.
(4) There may be no settlement by the state with any person
potentially liable under this chapter except in accordance with this
section.
(a) The attorney general may agree to a settlement with any
potentially liable person only if the department finds, after public
notice and any required hearing, that the proposed settlement would
lead to a more expeditious cleanup of hazardous substances in
compliance with clean-up standards under RCW 70.105D.030(2)(e) and with
any remedial orders issued by the department. Whenever practicable and
in the public interest, the attorney general may expedite such a
settlement with persons whose contribution is insignificant in amount
and toxicity. A hearing shall be required only if at least ten persons
request one or if the department determines a hearing is necessary.
(b) A settlement agreement under this section shall be entered as
a consent decree issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(c) A settlement agreement may contain a covenant not to sue only
of a scope commensurate with the settlement agreement in favor of any
person with whom the attorney general has settled under this section.
Any covenant not to sue shall contain a reopener clause which requires
the court to amend the covenant not to sue if factors not known at the
time of entry of the settlement agreement are discovered and present a
previously unknown threat to human health or the environment.
(d) A party who has resolved its liability to the state under this
section shall not be liable for claims for contribution regarding
matters addressed in the settlement. The settlement does not discharge
any of the other liable parties but it reduces the total potential
liability of the others to the state by the amount of the settlement.
(e) If the state has entered into a consent decree with an owner or
operator under this section, the state shall not enforce this chapter
against any owner or operator who is a successor in interest to the
settling party unless under the terms of the consent decree the state
could enforce against the settling party, if:
(i) The successor owner or operator is liable with respect to the
facility solely due to that person's ownership interest or operator
status acquired as a successor in interest to the owner or operator
with whom the state has entered into a consent decree; and
(ii) The stay of enforcement under this subsection does not apply
if the consent decree was based on circumstances unique to the settling
party that do not exist with regard to the successor in interest, such
as financial hardship. For consent decrees entered into before July
27, 1997, at the request of a settling party or a potential successor
owner or operator, the attorney general shall issue a written opinion
on whether a consent decree contains such unique circumstances. For
all other consent decrees, such unique circumstances shall be specified
in the consent decree.
(f) Any person who is not subject to enforcement by the state under
(e) of this subsection is not liable for claims for contribution
regarding matters addressed in the settlement.
(5)(a) In addition to the settlement authority provided under
subsection (4) of this section, the attorney general may agree to a
settlement with a ((person not currently liable for remedial action at
a facility who proposes to purchase, redevelop, or reuse the facility))
prospective purchaser, provided that:
(i) The settlement will yield substantial new resources to
facilitate cleanup;
(ii) The settlement will expedite remedial action at the facility
consistent with the rules adopted under this chapter; and
(iii) Based on available information, the department determines
that the redevelopment or reuse of the facility is not likely to
contribute to the existing release or threatened release, interfere
with remedial actions that may be needed at the ((site)) facility, or
increase health risks to persons at or in the vicinity of the ((site))
facility.
(b) The legislature recognizes that the state does not have
adequate resources to participate in all property transactions
involving contaminated property. The primary purpose of this
subsection (5) is to promote the cleanup and reuse of ((vacant or
abandoned commercial or industrial contaminated)) brownfield property.
The attorney general and the department may give priority to
settlements that will provide a substantial public benefit((,
including, but not limited to the reuse of a vacant or abandoned
manufacturing or industrial facility, or the development of a facility
by a governmental entity to address an important public purpose)) in
addition to cleanup such as:
(i) Public access to an area not otherwise accessible to the
public;
(ii) New or improved public recreational activities;
(iii) Enhancement of a natural resource habitat that would not
otherwise occur; or
(iv) Preservation of a historic property listed pursuant to chapter
84.26 RCW.
(c) A settlement entered under this subsection is governed by
subsection (4) of this section.
(6) As an alternative to a settlement under subsection (5) of this
section, the department may enter into an agreed order with a
prospective purchaser of a property within a designated redevelopment
opportunity zone. The agreed order is subject to the limitations in
RCW 70.105D.020(1), but stays enforcement by the department under this
chapter regarding remedial actions required by the agreed order as long
as the prospective purchaser complies with the requirements of the
agreed order.
(7) Nothing in this chapter affects or modifies in any way any
person's right to seek or obtain relief under other statutes or under
common law, including but not limited to damages for injury or loss
resulting from a release or threatened release of a hazardous
substance. No settlement by the department or remedial action ordered
by a court or the department affects any person's right to obtain a
remedy under common law or other statutes.
Sec. 9 RCW 70.105D.050 and 2005 c 211 s 2 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) With respect to any release, or threatened release, for which
the department does not conduct or contract for conducting remedial
action and for which the department believes remedial action is in the
public interest, the director shall issue orders or agreed orders
requiring potentially liable persons to provide the remedial action.
Any liable person, or prospective purchaser who has entered into an
agreed order under RCW 70.105D.040(6), who refuses, without sufficient
cause, to comply with an order or agreed order of the director is
liable in an action brought by the attorney general for:
(a) Up to three times the amount of any costs incurred by the state
as a result of the party's refusal to comply; and
(b) A civil penalty of up to twenty-five thousand dollars for each
day the party refuses to comply.
The treble damages and civil penalty under this subsection apply to all
recovery actions filed on or after March 1, 1989.
(2) Any person who incurs costs complying with an order issued
under subsection (1) of this section may petition the department for
reimbursement of those costs. If the department refuses to grant
reimbursement, the person may within thirty days thereafter file suit
and recover costs by proving that he or she was not a liable person
under RCW 70.105D.040 and that the costs incurred were reasonable.
(3) The attorney general shall seek, by filing an action if
necessary, to recover the amounts spent by the department for
investigative and remedial actions and orders, and agreed orders,
including amounts spent prior to March 1, 1989.
(4) The attorney general may bring an action to secure such relief
as is necessary to protect human health and the environment under this
chapter.
(5)(a) Any person may commence a civil action to compel the
department to perform any nondiscretionary duty under this chapter. At
least thirty days before commencing the action, the person must give
notice of intent to sue, unless a substantial endangerment exists. The
court may award attorneys' fees and other costs to the prevailing party
in the action.
(b) Civil actions under this section and RCW 70.105D.060 may be
brought in the superior court of Thurston county or of the county in
which the release or threatened release exists.
(6) Any person who fails to provide notification of releases
consistent with RCW 70.105D.110 or who submits false information is
liable in an action brought by the attorney general for a civil penalty
of up to five thousand dollars per day for each day the party refuses
to comply.
(7) Any person who owns real property or lender holding a mortgage
on real property that is subject to a lien filed under RCW 70.105D.055
may petition the department to have the lien removed or the amount of
the lien reduced. If, after consideration of the petition and the
information supporting the petition, the department decides to deny the
request, the person may, within ninety days after receipt of the
department's denial, file suit for removal or reduction of the lien.
The person is entitled to removal of a lien filed under RCW
70.105D.055(2)(a) if they can prove by a preponderance of the evidence
that the person is not a liable party under RCW 70.105D.040. The
person is entitled to a reduction of the amount of the lien if they can
prove by a preponderance of the evidence:
(a) For liens filed under RCW 70.105D.055(2)(a), the amount of the
lien exceeds the remedial action costs the department incurred related
to cleanup of the real property; and
(b) For liens filed under RCW 70.105D.055(2)(c), the amount of the
lien exceeds the remedial action costs the department incurred related
to cleanup of the real property or exceeds the increase of the fair
market value of the real property solely attributable to the remedial
action conducted by the department.
Sec. 10 RCW 70.105D.070 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 50 s 964 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) 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;
(((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 account may 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 clean-up standards
under RCW 70.105D.030(2)(e) but only when:
(A) The amount and terms of such funding are established under a
settlement agreement under RCW 70.105D.040(4); and ((when))
(B) The director has found that the funding will achieve both
(((A))) (I) a substantially more expeditious or enhanced cleanup than
would otherwise occur((,)); and (((B))) (II) the prevention or
mitigation of unfair economic hardship;
(xii) Public funding to assist prospective purchasers to pay for
the costs of remedial action in compliance with clean-up standards
under RCW 70.105D.030(2)(e) if:
(A) The facility is located within a redevelopment opportunity zone
designated under section 5 of this act;
(B) The amount and terms of the funding are established under a
settlement agreement under RCW 70.105D.040(5); and
(C) The director has found the funding meets any additional
criteria established in rule by the department, will achieve a
substantially more expeditious or enhanced cleanup than would otherwise
occur, and will provide a public benefit in addition to cleanup
commensurate with the scope of the public funding such as:
(I) Public access to an area not otherwise accessible to the
public;
(II) New or improved public recreational activities;
(III) Enhancement of a natural resource habitat that would not
otherwise occur;
(IV) Preservation of a historic property listed pursuant to chapter
84.26 RCW; or
(V) Economic and job development opportunities that would not
otherwise occur;
(xiii) Development and demonstration of alternative management
technologies designed to carry out the hazardous waste management
priorities of RCW 70.105.150;
(((xiii))) (xiv) During the 2009-2011 and 2011-2013 fiscal biennia,
shoreline update technical assistance;
(((xiv) During the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium, multijurisdictional
permitting teams;)) and
(xv) During the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, actions for reducing
public exposure to toxic air pollution.
(3) The following moneys shall be deposited into the local toxics
control account: 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.
(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, including planning for adaptive reuse of
properties as provided for under (c)(iii) of this subsection (3);
(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)) persons conducting remedial actions,
and may use the following additional strategies in order to facilitate
economic development and ensure a healthful environment for future
generations:
(i) Enter into a grant or loan agreement with a local government
conducting a remedial action that provides for periodic reimbursement
of remedial action costs as they are incurred as established in the
agreement;
(ii) Enter into a grant or loan agreement with a local government
prior to it acquiring a property or obtaining necessary access to
conduct remedial actions, provided the agreement is conditioned upon
the local government acquiring the property or obtaining the access in
accordance with a schedule specified in the agreement;
(iii) Provide integrated planning grants or loans to local
governments to fund studies necessary to facilitate remedial actions at
brownfield properties and adaptive reuse of properties following
remediation. Eligible activities include, but are not limited to:
Environmental site assessments; remedial investigations; health
assessments; feasibility studies; site planning; community involvement;
land use and regulatory analyses; building and infrastructure
assessments; economic and fiscal analyses; and any environmental
analyses under chapter 43.21C RCW;
(iv) Provide grants or loans to local governments for remedial
actions related to areawide groundwater contamination. To receive the
funding, the local government does not need to be a potentially liable
person or be required to seek reimbursement of grant funds from a
potentially liable person;
(v) The director may alter ((grant-matching)) grant or loan
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)) brownfield property
under RCW 70.105D.040(5) that would not otherwise occur; and
(((ii) The use of outside contracts to conduct necessary studies;)) (vi) When pending
grant and loan applications under (c)(iii) and (iv) of this subsection
(3) exceed the amount of funds available, designated redevelopment
opportunity zones must receive priority for distribution of available
funds.
(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.)) To expedite multiparty clean-up efforts,
the department may purchase remedial action cost-cap insurance.
(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 2009-2011 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. To accelerate both remedial action and economic recovery,
the department may expedite the adoption of rules necessary to
implement this act using the expedited procedures in RCW 34.05.353.
The department shall initiate the award of financial assistance by July
1, 2012. To ensure the adoption of rules will not delay financial
assistance, the department may administer the award of financial
assistance through interpretive guidance pending the adoption of rules
through July 1, 2013.
(8) ((During the 2007-2009 and 2009-2011 fiscal biennia, the
legislature may transfer from the local toxics control account to
either the state general fund or the oil spill prevention account, or
both such amounts as reflect excess fund balance in the account.)) 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.
(9) During the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium, the local toxics control
account may also be used for a standby rescue tug at Neah Bay, local
government shoreline update grants, private and public sector diesel
equipment retrofit, and oil spill prevention, preparedness, and
response activities.
(10) During the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium, the legislature may
transfer from the state toxics control account to the state general
fund such amounts as reflect the excess fund balance in the account.
(11)
Sec. 11 RCW 43.84.092 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 16 s 6, 2011 1st sp.s.
c 7 s 22, 2011 c 369 s 6, 2011 c 339 s 1, 2011 c 311 s 9, 2011 c 272 s
3, 2011 c 120 s 3, and 2011 c 83 s 7 are each reenacted and amended to
read as follows:
(1) All earnings of investments of surplus balances in the state
treasury shall be deposited to the treasury income account, which
account is hereby established in the state treasury.
(2) The treasury income account shall be utilized to pay or receive
funds associated with federal programs as required by the federal cash
management improvement act of 1990. The treasury income account is
subject in all respects to chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is
required for refunds or allocations of interest earnings required by
the cash management improvement act. Refunds of interest to the
federal treasury required under the cash management improvement act
fall under RCW 43.88.180 and shall not require appropriation. The
office of financial management shall determine the amounts due to or
from the federal government pursuant to the cash management improvement
act. The office of financial management may direct transfers of funds
between accounts as deemed necessary to implement the provisions of the
cash management improvement act, and this subsection. Refunds or
allocations shall occur prior to the distributions of earnings set
forth in subsection (4) of this section.
(3) Except for the provisions of RCW 43.84.160, the treasury income
account may be utilized for the payment of purchased banking services
on behalf of treasury funds including, but not limited to, depository,
safekeeping, and disbursement functions for the state treasury and
affected state agencies. The treasury income account is subject in all
respects to chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for
payments to financial institutions. Payments shall occur prior to
distribution of earnings set forth in subsection (4) of this section.
(4) Monthly, the state treasurer shall distribute the earnings
credited to the treasury income account. The state treasurer shall
credit the general fund with all the earnings credited to the treasury
income account except:
(a) The following accounts and funds shall receive their
proportionate share of earnings based upon each account's and fund's
average daily balance for the period: The aeronautics account, the
aircraft search and rescue account, the brownfield redevelopment trust
fund account, the budget stabilization account, the capital vessel
replacement account, the capitol building construction account, the
Cedar River channel construction and operation account, the Central
Washington University capital projects account, the charitable,
educational, penal and reformatory institutions account, the cleanup
settlement account, the Columbia river basin water supply development
account, the Columbia river basin taxable bond water supply development
account, the Columbia river basin water supply revenue recovery
account, the common school construction fund, the county arterial
preservation account, the county criminal justice assistance account,
the county sales and use tax equalization account, the deferred
compensation administrative account, the deferred compensation
principal account, the department of licensing services account, the
department of retirement systems expense account, the developmental
disabilities community trust account, the drinking water assistance
account, the drinking water assistance administrative account, the
drinking water assistance repayment account, the Eastern Washington
University capital projects account, the Interstate 405 express toll
lanes operations account, the education construction fund, the
education legacy trust account, the election account, the energy
freedom account, the energy recovery act account, the essential rail
assistance account, The Evergreen State College capital projects
account, the federal forest revolving account, the ferry bond
retirement fund, the freight congestion relief account, the freight
mobility investment account, the freight mobility multimodal account,
the grade crossing protective fund, the public health services account,
the health system capacity account, the high capacity transportation
account, the state higher education construction account, the higher
education construction account, the highway bond retirement fund, the
highway infrastructure account, the highway safety account, the high
occupancy toll lanes operations account, the hospital safety net
assessment fund, the industrial insurance premium refund account, the
judges' retirement account, the judicial retirement administrative
account, the judicial retirement principal account, the local leasehold
excise tax account, the local real estate excise tax account, the local
sales and use tax account, the marine resources stewardship trust
account, the medical aid account, the mobile home park relocation fund,
the motor vehicle fund, the motorcycle safety education account, the
multiagency permitting team account, the multimodal transportation
account, the municipal criminal justice assistance account, the
municipal sales and use tax equalization account, the natural resources
deposit account, the oyster reserve land account, the pension funding
stabilization account, the perpetual surveillance and maintenance
account, the public employees' retirement system plan 1 account, the
public employees' retirement system combined plan 2 and plan 3 account,
the public facilities construction loan revolving account beginning
July 1, 2004, the public health supplemental account, the public
transportation systems account, the public works assistance account,
the Puget Sound capital construction account, the Puget Sound ferry
operations account, the Puyallup tribal settlement account, the real
estate appraiser commission account, the recreational vehicle account,
the regional mobility grant program account, the resource management
cost account, the rural arterial trust account, the rural mobility
grant program account, the rural Washington loan fund, the site closure
account, the skilled nursing facility safety net trust fund, the small
city pavement and sidewalk account, the special category C account, the
special wildlife account, the state employees' insurance account, the
state employees' insurance reserve account, the state investment board
expense account, the state investment board commingled trust fund
accounts, the state patrol highway account, the state route number 520
civil penalties account, the state route number 520 corridor account,
the state wildlife account, the supplemental pension account, the
Tacoma Narrows toll bridge account, the teachers' retirement system
plan 1 account, the teachers' retirement system combined plan 2 and
plan 3 account, the tobacco prevention and control account, the tobacco
settlement account, the transportation 2003 account (nickel account),
the transportation equipment fund, the transportation fund, the
transportation improvement account, the transportation improvement
board bond retirement account, the transportation infrastructure
account, the transportation partnership account, the traumatic brain
injury account, the tuition recovery trust fund, the University of
Washington bond retirement fund, the University of Washington building
account, the volunteer firefighters' and reserve officers' relief and
pension principal fund, the volunteer firefighters' and reserve
officers' administrative fund, the Washington judicial retirement
system account, the Washington law enforcement officers' and
firefighters' system plan 1 retirement account, the Washington law
enforcement officers' and firefighters' system plan 2 retirement
account, the Washington public safety employees' plan 2 retirement
account, the Washington school employees' retirement system combined
plan 2 and 3 account, the Washington state economic development
commission account, the Washington state health insurance pool account,
the Washington state patrol retirement account, the Washington State
University building account, the Washington State University bond
retirement fund, the water pollution control revolving fund, and the
Western Washington University capital projects account. Earnings
derived from investing balances of the agricultural permanent fund, the
normal school permanent fund, the permanent common school fund, the
scientific permanent fund, and the state university permanent fund
shall be allocated to their respective beneficiary accounts.
(b) Any state agency that has independent authority over accounts
or funds not statutorily required to be held in the state treasury that
deposits funds into a fund or account in the state treasury pursuant to
an agreement with the office of the state treasurer shall receive its
proportionate share of earnings based upon each account's or fund's
average daily balance for the period.
(5) In conformance with Article II, section 37 of the state
Constitution, no treasury accounts or funds shall be allocated earnings
without the specific affirmative directive of this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12 If any provision of this act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
persons or circumstances is not affected.