H-0184.1
HOUSE BILL 1033
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State of Washington | 64th Legislature | 2015 Regular Session |
By Representatives Blake, Hurst, Kretz, Hayes, Condotta, and Buys
Prefiled 12/08/14. Read first time 01/12/15. Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources.
AN ACT Relating to providing tools for the department of fish and wildlife to use in order to promote access to private lands for hunting; reenacting and amending RCW
70.105D.070, 70.105D.020, and 77.12.170; and adding a new section to chapter
77.12 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 77.12 RCW to read as follows:
(1) The department must use any moneys made available to it under RCW
70.105D.070(7) to fund a program designed to assist private landowners in mitigating the damages and expenses incurred due to allowing public access to their lands for hunting. Specifically, the department may enter into agreements with private landowners who agree to allow free access to their land, or to portions of their land, to licensed hunters in exchange for assistance in removing and disposing of litter, garbage, hazardous materials, and other items that can potentially result from allowing public access.
(2) The department may use the moneys made available to it under RCW
70.105D.070(7) in the manner deemed by the department as the most efficient in implementing the intent of this section. This may include utilizing department staff, contracting with a third party, providing cash payments to the participating landowner, or utilizing the Washington conservation corps created in chapter
43.220 RCW.
(3) Nothing in this section limits the ability of the department to enter into other agreements with private landowners to secure public recreational access with funds other than those provided in RCW
70.105D.070(7).
Sec. 2. RCW 70.105D.070 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 19 s 7033 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 4 s 992 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) Moneys collected under RCW
82.21.030 must be deposited as follows: Fifty-six percent to the state toxics control account under subsection (3) of this section and forty-four percent to the local toxics control account under subsection (4) of this section. When the cumulative amount of deposits made to the state and local toxics control accounts under this section reaches the limit during a fiscal year as established in (b) of this subsection, the remainder of the moneys collected under RCW
82.21.030 during that fiscal year must be deposited into the environmental legacy stewardship account created in RCW
70.105D.170.
(b) The limit on distributions of moneys collected under RCW
82.21.030 to the state and local toxics control accounts for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013, is one hundred forty million dollars.
(c) In addition to the funds required under (a) of this subsection, the following moneys must be deposited into the state toxics control account: (i) The costs of remedial actions recovered under this chapter or chapter
70.105A RCW; (ii) penalties collected or recovered under this chapter; and (iii) any other money appropriated or transferred to the account by the legislature.
(3) Moneys in the state toxics control account must be used only to carry out the purposes of this chapter, including but not limited to the following activities:
(a) The state's responsibility for hazardous waste planning, management, regulation, enforcement, technical assistance, and public education required under chapter
70.105 RCW;
(b) The state's responsibility for solid waste planning, management, regulation, enforcement, technical assistance, and public education required under chapter
70.95 RCW;
(c) The hazardous waste clean-up program required under this chapter;
(d) State matching funds required under federal cleanup law;
(e) Financial assistance for local programs in accordance with chapters
70.95, 70.95C, 70.95I, and
70.105 RCW;
(f) State government programs for the safe reduction, recycling, or disposal of paint and hazardous wastes from households, small businesses, and agriculture;
(g) Oil and hazardous materials spill prevention, preparedness, training, and response activities;
(h) Water and environmental health protection and monitoring programs;
(i) Programs authorized under chapter
70.146 RCW;
(j) A public participation program;
(k) 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 the amount and terms of such funding are established under a settlement agreement under RCW
70.105D.040(4) and when the director has found that the funding will achieve both: (i) A substantially more expeditious or enhanced cleanup than would otherwise occur; and (ii) the prevention or mitigation of unfair economic hardship;
(l) Development and demonstration of alternative management technologies designed to carry out the hazardous waste management priorities of RCW
70.105.150;
(m) State agriculture and health programs for the safe use, reduction, recycling, or disposal of pesticides;
(n) Storm water pollution control projects and activities that protect or preserve existing remedial actions or prevent hazardous clean-up sites;
(o) Funding requirements to maintain receipt of federal funds under the federal solid waste disposal act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 6901 et seq.);
(p) Air quality programs and actions for reducing public exposure to toxic air pollution;
(q) 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:
(i) The facility is located within a redevelopment opportunity zone designated under RCW
70.105D.150;
(ii) The amount and terms of the funding are established under a settlement agreement under RCW
70.105D.040(5); and
(iii) 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;
(r) Petroleum-based plastic or expanded polystyrene foam debris cleanup activities in fresh or marine waters;
(s) Appropriations to the local toxics control account or the environmental legacy stewardship account created in RCW
70.105D.170, if the legislature determines that priorities for spending exceed available funds in those accounts;
(t) During the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, the department of ecology's water quality, shorelands, environmental assessment, administration, and air quality programs;
(u) During the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, actions at the state conservation commission to improve water quality for shellfish; ((and))
(v) During the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, actions at the University of Washington for reducing ocean acidification;
(w) For the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, moneys in the state toxics control account may be spent on projects in section 3159, chapter 19, Laws of 2013 2nd sp. sess. and for transfer to the local toxics control account; ((and))
(x) For the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, moneys in the state toxics control account may be transferred to the radioactive mixed waste account; and
(y) Activities by the department of fish and wildlife under section 1 of this act.
(4)(a) The department shall use moneys deposited in the local toxics control account for grants or loans to local governments for the following purposes in descending order of priority:
(i) Extended grant agreements entered into under (((c)[(e)]))(e)(i) of this subsection;
(ii) Remedial actions, including planning for adaptive reuse of properties as provided for under (((c)[(e)]))(e)(iv) of this subsection. The department must prioritize funding of remedial actions at:
(A) Facilities on the department's hazardous sites list with a high hazard ranking for which there is an approved remedial action work plan or an equivalent document under federal cleanup law;
(B) Brownfield properties within a redevelopment opportunity zone if the local government is a prospective purchaser of the property and there is a department-approved remedial action work plan or equivalent document under the federal cleanup law;
(iii) Storm water pollution source projects that: (A) Work in conjunction with a remedial action; (B) protect completed remedial actions against recontamination; or (C) prevent hazardous clean-up sites;
(iv) Hazardous waste plans and programs under chapter
70.105 RCW;
(v) Solid waste plans and programs under chapters
70.95, 70.95C, 70.95I, and
70.105 RCW;
(vi) Petroleum-based plastic or expanded polystyrene foam debris cleanup activities in fresh or marine waters; and
(vii) Appropriations to the state toxics control account or the environmental legacy stewardship account created in RCW
70.105D.170, if the legislature determines that priorities for spending exceed available funds in those accounts.
(b) Funds for plans and programs must be allocated consistent with the priorities and matching requirements established in chapters
70.105, 70.95C, 70.95I, and
70.95 RCW.
(c) During the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, the local toxics control account may also be used for local government storm water planning and implementation activities.
(d) During the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, the legislature may transfer from the local toxics control account to the state general fund, such amounts as reflect the excess fund balance in the account.
(e) To expedite cleanups throughout the state, the department may use the following strategies when providing grants to local governments under this subsection:
(i) Enter into an extended grant agreement with a local government conducting remedial actions at a facility where those actions extend over multiple biennia and the total eligible cost of those actions exceeds twenty million dollars. The agreement is subject to the following limitations:
(A) The initial duration of such an agreement may not exceed ten years. The department may extend the duration of such an agreement upon finding substantial progress has been made on remedial actions at the facility;
(B) Extended grant agreements may not exceed fifty percent of the total eligible remedial action costs at the facility; and
(C) The department may not allocate future funding to an extended grant agreement unless the local government has demonstrated to the department that funds awarded under the agreement during the previous biennium have been substantially expended or contracts have been entered into to substantially expend the funds;
(ii) Enter into a grant 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;
(iii) Enter into a grant 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;
(iv) Provide integrated planning grants 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;
(v) Provide grants to local governments for remedial actions related to area-wide 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;
(vi) The director may alter grant matching requirements to create incentives for local governments to expedite cleanups when one of the following conditions exists:
(A) Funding would prevent or mitigate unfair economic hardship imposed by the clean-up liability;
(B) Funding would create new substantial economic development, public recreational opportunities, or habitat restoration opportunities that would not otherwise occur; or
(C) Funding would create an opportunity for acquisition and redevelopment of brownfield property under RCW
70.105D.040(5) that would not otherwise occur;
(vii) When pending grant applications under (((c)[(e)]))(e)(iv) and (v) of this subsection (4) exceed the amount of funds available, designated redevelopment opportunity zones must receive priority for distribution of available funds.
(((d) [(f)]))(f) To expedite multiparty clean-up efforts, the department may purchase remedial action cost-cap insurance. For the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, moneys in the local toxics control account may be spent on projects in sections 3024, 3035, 3036, and 3059, chapter 19, Laws of 2013 2nd sp. sess.
(5) 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.
(6) No moneys deposited into either the state or local toxics control account may be used for: Natural disasters where there is no hazardous substance contamination; high performance buildings; solid waste incinerator facility 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. However, this subsection does not prevent an appropriation from the state toxics control account to the department of revenue to enforce compliance with the hazardous substance tax imposed in chapter
82.21 RCW.
(7)
((Except))(a) During
((the 2011-2013))each fiscal biennium, one percent of the moneys collected under RCW
82.21.030 shall be allocated
as follows:(i) All amounts up to and including the established level may be used only for public participation grants, consistent with this subsection, 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.
(ii) All amounts above the established level, if any, must be transferred to the state wildlife account created in RCW 77.12.170 and used consistent with section 1 of this act. (b) The primary purpose of ((these)) grants issued under (a)(i) of this subsection 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 that are not expended at the close of any biennium revert to the state toxics control account.
(8) 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 chapter 1, Laws of 2013 2nd sp. sess. using the expedited procedures in RCW
34.05.353. The department shall initiate the award of financial assistance by August 1, 2013. 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, 2014.
(9) Except as provided under subsection (3)(k) and (q) of this section, nothing in chapter 1, Laws of 2013 2nd sp. sess. ((effects [affects]))affects the ability of a potentially liable person to receive public funding.
(10) During the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium the local toxics control account may also be used for the centennial clean water program and for storm water grants.
Sec. 3. RCW 70.105D.020 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 1 s 2 are each reenacted and 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(3) (k) and (q).
(2) "Area-wide 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.
(3) "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 federal cleanup law.
(4) "City" means a city or town.
(5) "Department" means the department of ecology.
(6) "Director" means the director of ecology or the director's designee.
(7) "Environmental covenant" has the same meaning as defined in RCW
64.70.020.
(8) "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.
(9) "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.
(10)(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 (22)(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.
(11) "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.
(12) "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.
(13) "Hazardous substance" means:
(a) Any dangerous or extremely hazardous waste as defined in RCW
70.105.010 (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(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.
(14) "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.
(15) "Independent remedial actions" means remedial actions conducted without department oversight or approval, and not under an order, agreed order, or consent decree.
(16) "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.
(17) "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.
(18) "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.
(19) "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 RCW
70.105D.160.
(20) "Model remedy" or "model remedial action" means a set of technologies, procedures, and monitoring protocols identified by the department for use in routine types of clean-up projects at facilities that have common features and lower risk to human health and the environment.
(21) "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.
(22) "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 (23)(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 (22)(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 (22)(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 (22)(b)(iii) also does not apply where the fiduciary's powers to comply with this subsection (22)(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 (22)(b)(iv).
(23) "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.
(24) "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.
(25) "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.
(26) "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.
(27) "Prepare a facility for sale, transfer, or assignment" means to secure access to the facility; perform routine maintenance on the facility; remove inventory, equipment, or structures; properly maintain environmental compliance measures already in place at the facility; conduct remedial actions to cleanup releases at the facility; or to perform other similar activities intended to preserve the value of the facility where the borrower has defaulted on the loan or otherwise breached the security agreement or after foreclosure and its equivalents and in anticipation of a pending sale, transfer, or assignment, primarily to protect the holder's security interest in the facility. A holder can prepare a facility for sale, transfer, or assignment for up to one year prior to foreclosure and its equivalents and still stay within the security interest exemption in subsection (22)(b)(ii) of this section.
(28) "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.
(29) "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.
(30) "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.
(31) "Redevelopment opportunity zone" means a geographic area designated under RCW
70.105D.150.
(32) "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.
(33) "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.
(34) "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.
(35) "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.
(36) "Established level" means the dollar amount that represents one percent of the moneys collected under RCW 82.21.030 during the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium. Sec. 4. RCW 77.12.170 and 2011 c 339 s 3, 2011 c 320 s 23, and 2011 c 171 s 112 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) There is established in the state treasury the state wildlife account which consists of moneys received from:
(a) Rentals or concessions of the department;
(b) The sale of real or personal property held for department purposes, unless the property is seized or recovered through a fish, shellfish, or wildlife enforcement action;
(c) The assessment of administrative penalties;
(d) The sale of licenses, permits, tags, and stamps required by chapter
77.32 RCW, RCW
77.65.490, and application fees;
(e) Fees for informational materials published by the department;
(f) Fees for personalized vehicle, Wild on Washington, and Endangered Wildlife license plates and Washington's Wildlife license plate collection as provided in chapter
46.17 RCW;
(g) Articles or wildlife sold by the director under this title;
(h) Compensation for damage to department property or wildlife losses or contributions, gifts, or grants received under RCW
77.12.320. However, this excludes fish and shellfish overages, and court-ordered restitution or donations associated with any fish, shellfish, or wildlife enforcement action, as such moneys must be deposited pursuant to RCW
77.15.425;
(i) Excise tax on anadromous game fish collected under chapter
82.27 RCW;
(j) The department's share of revenues from auctions and raffles authorized by the commission;
(k) The sale of watchable wildlife decals under RCW
77.32.560;
((and))(l) Moneys received from the recreation access pass account created in RCW
79A.80.090 must be dedicated to stewardship, operations, and maintenance of department lands used for public recreation purposes;
((and))(m) Donations received by the director under RCW
77.12.039; and(n) Transfers directed to the state wildlife account under RCW 70.105D.070 for the purposes of implementing section 1 of this act.
(2) State and county officers receiving any moneys listed in subsection (1) of this section shall deposit them in the state treasury to be credited to the state wildlife account.
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