HF 2241 (LSB 5556YH (7) 88)

HOUSE FILE 2241

BY  ISENHART, THORUP, and KACENA

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the manufacture, distribution, sale, and use of fire fighting foam and personal protective equipment containing perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances, providing penalties, making penalties applicable, and including applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 455E.11, subsection 2, paragraph c, subparagraph (1), Code 2020, is amended to read as follows:
   (1)  The moneys collected pursuant to section sections 455F.7 and 455F.12, and the moneys collected pursuant to section 29C.8A which that are designated for deposit, shall be deposited in the household hazardous waste account. Two thousand dollars is appropriated annually to the Iowa department of public health to carry out departmental duties under section 135.11, subsections 18 and 19, and section 139A.21. The remainder of the account shall be used to fund the efforts of the department to support a collection system for household hazardous materials, including public education programs, training, and consultation of local governments in the establishment and operation of permanent collection systems, and the management of collection sites, education programs, and other activities pursuant to chapter 455F, including the administration of the household hazardous materials retailer permit program by the department of revenue.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  455F.12  Fire fighting foam and personal protective equipment —— perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances.
   1.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
   a.  “Class B fire fighting foam” means foam designed to extinguish flammable-liquid fires.
   b.  “Fire fighting personal protective equipment” means any clothing designed, intended, or marketed to be worn or used by fire fighting personnel in the performance of their duties during fire and rescue activities, including but not limited to jackets, pants, shoes, gloves, helmets, and respiratory equipment.
   c.  “Perfluoroalkyl substance” or “polyfluoroalkyl substance” means a class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom.
   2.  a.  Except as otherwise provided, a person shall not knowingly manufacture, sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or distribute for use in this state class B fire fighting foam that contains a perfluoroalkyl substance or a polyfluoroalkyl substance that was intentionally added.
   b.  Except as otherwise provided, a person shall not discharge, or otherwise use for training purposes, a class B fire fighting foam that contains a perfluoroalkyl substance or a polyfluoroalkyl substance that was intentionally added.
   3.  a.  Subsection 2 does not apply to the manufacture, sale, distribution, discharge, or use for training purposes of class B fire fighting foam for which the inclusion of a perfluoroalkyl substance or a polyfluoroalkyl substance is required by federal law, including but not limited to 14 C.F.R. §139.317, as that section existed on January 1, 2020. 
   b.  In the event that applicable federal law changes after January 1, 2020, to allow the use of alternative fire fighting agents that do not contain a perfluoroalkyl substance or a polyfluoroalkyl substance, the exemption in paragraph “a” does not apply.
   4.  A manufacturer that manufactures, sells, or distributes a class B fire fighting foam of which the manufacture, sale, and distribution is prohibited under subsection 2 shall recall the product and reimburse the retailer or any other purchaser of the product.
   5.  a.  A person who sells fire fighting personal protective equipment shall provide written notice to the purchaser at the time of sale if the fire fighting personal protective equipment contains a perfluoroalkyl substance or a polyfluoroalkyl substance. The written notice shall include a statement that the fire fighting personal protective equipment contains a perfluoroalkyl substance or a polyfluoroalkyl substance and the reason that the perfluoroalkyl substance or polyfluoroalkyl substance was added to the equipment.
   b.  A person selling fire fighting personal protective equipment and the purchaser of the equipment shall retain a copy of the notice on file for at least three years after the date of the sale. Upon request from the department, a person shall furnish the notice and associated sales documents to the department within sixty days.
   6.  The department may request a certificate of compliance from a manufacturer of class B fire fighting foam or fire fighting personal protective equipment sold in this state. A certificate of compliance must attest that a manufacturer’s products and practices meet the requirements of this section. The manufacturer shall provide a certificate of compliance to the department within thirty days of the date the department made the request.
   7.  The department shall assist state agencies, fire protection districts, and local governments in avoiding the purchase, discharge, or use for training purposes of class B fire fighting foam that contains a perfluoroalkyl substance or a polyfluoroalkyl substance that was intentionally added.
   8.  In addition to the penalty imposed under section 455F.10, the department shall assess a civil penalty to a person who violates this section. For a first violation, the civil penalty shall not exceed five thousand dollars. For a second or subsequent violation, the civil penalty shall not exceed ten thousand dollars. Moneys collected by the department under this subsection shall be remitted to the treasurer of state for deposit in the household hazardous waste account of the groundwater protection fund created in section 455E.11.
    Sec. 3.  NOTIFICATION BY MANUFACTURERS.  Subject to the civil penalty imposed under section 455F.12, subsection 8, as enacted by this Act, a manufacturer of class B fire fighting foam of which the manufacture, sale, and distribution is prohibited under section 455F.12, subsection 2, as enacted by this Act, shall notify, in writing, persons who sell the manufacturer’s products in this state about the provisions of this Act no later than January 1, 2021.
    Sec. 4.  APPLICABILITY.
   1.  Section 455F.12, subsection 2, as enacted by this Act, applies to the manufacture, sale, offer for sale, distribution for sale, distribution for use, discharge, or use for training purposes of class B fire fighting foam on and after January 1, 2022.
   2.  Section 455F.12, subsection 5, as enacted by this Act, applies to the sale of fire fighting personal protective equipment on and after January 1, 2021.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to fire fighting foam and personal protective equipment that contain certain chemicals.
   The bill prohibits the manufacture, sale, distribution, discharge, or use for training purposes of class B fire fighting foam that contains an intentionally added perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance on and after January 1, 2022. The bill makes an exception for class B fire fighting foam for which such substances are required to be added under federal law. 
   The bill requires a manufacturer who sells prohibited fire fighting foam to notify persons who sell the foam of the restrictions in the bill by January 1, 2021, and issue a recall for prohibited fire fighting foam.
   On and after January 1, 2021, the bill requires a manufacturer of fire fighting personal protective equipment to notify a purchaser if the equipment contains a perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance. The manufacturer must include in the notice the reason why the equipment contains the substance. The bill requires the manufacturer and the purchaser to keep a copy of the notice on file for three years after the date of the sale and provide a copy of the notice to the department of natural resources within 60 days of the department’s request to furnish the notice.
   The bill authorizes the department to request a certificate of compliance from a manufacturer of class B fire fighting foam or fire fighting personal protective equipment sold in the state. The certificate shall attest that the manufacturer’s products and practices meet the requirements of the bill. The bill requires the department to assist governmental entities in avoiding the purchase, discharge, or use for training purposes of class B fire fighting foam that contains an intentionally added perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance.
   A first violation of the bill is punishable by a civil penalty of up to $5,000. A subsequent violation of the bill is punishable by a civil penalty of up to $10,000. Civil penalties collected for a violation of the bill shall be remitted to the treasurer of state for deposit in the household hazardous waste account of the groundwater protection fund.
   By operation of law, a violation of the bill is a simple misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than 30 days or a fine of at least $65 but not more than $625 or by both.