BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to the enforcement of the cleanup of hazardous waste sites and exemptions from state and local permit requirements; amending RCW 70.105D.020, 70.105D.030, 70.105D.050, 70.105D.060, and 70.105.050; adding a new section to chapter 70.105D RCW; adding a new section to chapter 70.94 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 70.105 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 75.20 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 90.48 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 90.58 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 43.21C RCW.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 70.105D.020 and 1989 c 2 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) "Agreed order" means an order issued by the department pursuant to this chapter with which the potentially liable person receiving the order agrees to comply. An agreed order may be used to require any 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.

((~~(2)~~)) (3) "Director" means the director of ecology or the director's designee.

((~~(3)~~)) (4) "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.

((~~(4)~~)) (5) "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.

((~~(5)~~)) (6) "Hazardous substance" means:

(a) Any dangerous or extremely hazardous waste as defined in RCW 70.105.010 (5) and (6), 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) 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.

((~~(6)~~)) (7) "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 involuntarily through bankruptcy, tax delinquency, abandonment, or 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; or

(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.

((~~(7)~~)) (8) "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.

((~~(8)~~)) (9) "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.

((~~(9)~~)) (10) "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.

((~~(10)~~)) (11) "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.

((~~(11)~~)) (12) "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.

Sec. 2. RCW 70.105D.030 and 1989 c 2 s 3 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 wilful 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(5) and classify substances and products as hazardous substances for purposes of RCW 82.21.020(1); and

(f) 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, within nine months after March 1, 1989, shall adopt, and thereafter enforce, rules under chapter 34.05 RCW to:

(a) Provide for public participation, including at least (i) the establishment of regional citizen's advisory committees, (ii) public notice of the development of investigative plans or remedial plans for releases or threatened releases, and (iii) 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) Establish reasonable deadlines not to exceed ninety days for initiating an investigation of a hazardous waste site after the department 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; and

(d) 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.

(3) Before November 1st of each even-numbered year, the department shall develop, with public notice and hearing, and submit to the ways and means and appropriate standing environmental committees of the senate and house of representatives a ranked list of projects and expenditures recommended for appropriation from both the state and local toxics control accounts. The department shall also provide the legislature and the public each year with an accounting of the department's activities supported by appropriations from the state toxics control 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 top two management priorities under RCW 70.105.150, and all funds expended under this chapter.

(4) The department shall establish a scientific advisory board to render advice to the department with respect to the hazard ranking system, cleanup standards, remedial actions, deadlines for remedial actions, monitoring, the classification of substances as hazardous substances for purposes of RCW 70.105D.020(5) and the classification of substances or products as hazardous substances for purposes of RCW 82.21.020(1). The board shall consist of five independent members to serve staggered three-year terms. No members may be employees of the department. Members shall be reimbursed for travel expenses as provided in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

(5) The department shall establish a program to identify potential hazardous waste sites and to encourage persons to provide information about hazardous waste sites.

Sec. 3. RCW 70.105D.050 and 1989 c 2 s 5 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 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.

Sec. 4. RCW 70.105D.060 and 1989 c 2 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

The department's investigative and remedial decisions under RCW 70.105D.030 and 70.105D.050 and its decisions regarding liable persons under RCW 70.105D.020(8) and 70.105D.040 shall be reviewable exclusively in superior court and only at the following times: (1) In a cost recovery suit under RCW 70.105D.050(3); (2) in a suit by the department to enforce an order or an agreed order or seek a civil penalty under this chapter; (3) in a suit for reimbursement under RCW 70.105D.050(2); (4) in a suit by the department to compel investigative or remedial action; and (5) in a citizen's suit under RCW 70.105D.050(5). The court shall uphold the department's actions unless they were arbitrary and capricious.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 70.105D RCW to read as follows:

A person conducting a remedial action at a facility under a consent decree, order, or agreed order, and the department if it conducts a remedial action, are exempt from the procedural requirements of chapters 70.94, 70.95, 70.105, 75.20, 90.48, and 90.58 RCW, and the procedural requirements of any laws requiring or authorizing local government permits or approvals for the remedial action. The department shall ensure compliance with the substantive provisions of chapters 70.94, 70.105, 75.20, 90.48, 90.58 RCW, and the substantive provisions of laws requiring or authorizing local government permits or approvals. The department shall establish procedures for ensuring that such remedial actions comply with the substantive requirements adopted pursuant to such laws, and shall consult with the state agencies and local governments charged with implementing these laws. The procedures shall provide an opportunity for comment by the public and by the state agencies and local governments that would otherwise implement the laws referenced in this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 70.94 RCW to read as follows:

The procedural requirements of this chapter do not apply to a person conducting a remedial action at a facility pursuant to a consent decree, order, or agreed order issued pursuant to chapter 70.105D RCW, or to the department if it conducts a remedial action under chapter 70.105D RCW. The department shall ensure compliance with the substantive requirements of this chapter through the consent decree, order, or agreed order issued pursuant to chapter 70.105D RCW, or during the department-conducted remedial action, through the procedures developed by the department pursuant to section 5 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 70.105 RCW to read as follows:

Sec. 8. RCW 70.105.050 and 1987 c 488 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) No person shall dispose of designated extremely hazardous wastes at any disposal site in the state other than the disposal site established and approved for such purpose under provisions of this chapter, except:

(a) When such wastes are going to a processing facility which will result in the waste being reclaimed, treated, detoxified, neutralized, or otherwise processed to remove its harmful properties or characteristics; or

(b) When such wastes are the subject of a remedial action conducted by the department or by potentially liable persons under a settlement, consent decree, or agreed order issued by the department.

(2) Extremely hazardous wastes that contain radioactive components may be disposed at a radioactive waste disposal site that is (a) owned by the United States department of energy or a licensee of the nuclear regulatory commission and (b) permitted by the department and operated in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. However, prior to disposal, or as a part of disposal, all reasonable methods of treatment, detoxification, neutralization, or other waste management methodologies designed to mitigate hazards associated with these wastes shall be employed, as required by applicable federal and state laws and regulations.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 75.20 RCW to read as follows:

The procedural requirements of this chapter do not apply to a person conducting a remedial action at a facility pursuant to a consent decree, order, or agreed order issued pursuant to chapter 70.105D RCW, or to the department of ecology if it conducts a remedial action under chapter 70.105D RCW. The department of ecology shall ensure compliance with the substantive requirements of this chapter through the consent decree, order, or agreed order issued pursuant to chapter 70.105D RCW, or during the department-conducted remedial action, through the procedures developed by the department pursuant to section 5 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. A new section is added to chapter 90.48 RCW to read as follows:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A new section is added to chapter 90.58 RCW to read as follows:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. A new section is added to chapter 43.21C RCW to read as follows:

In conducting a remedial action at a facility pursuant to a consent decree, order, or agreed order issued pursuant to chapter 70.105D RCW, or if conducted by the department of ecology, the department to the maximum extent practicable shall integrate the procedural requirements of this chapter with the procedures under chapter 70.105D RCW. Such integration shall include the public participation procedures of chapter 70.105D RCW and the public notice and review requirements of this chapter.