Text: H08113 Text: H08115 Text: H08100 - H08199 Text: H Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN 1 1 Amend the amendment, H-8054, to House File 681 as 1 2 follows: 1 3 #1. By striking page 1, line 4, through page 9, 1 4 line 24, and inserting the following: 1 5 ""Sec. ___. NEW SECTION. 455J.1 DEFINITIONS. 1 6 As used in this chapter, unless the context 1 7 otherwise requires: 1 8 1. "Compliance assistance" means information and 1 9 assistance provided by the department to aid an owner 1 10 or operator in complying with legally mandated 1 11 environmental requirements. "Compliance assistance" 1 12 does not include enforcement inspections or 1 13 enforcement actions. 1 14 2. "Department" means the department of natural 1 15 resources created under section 455A.2. 1 16 3. "Environmental audits" means a systematic, 1 17 documented, periodic, and objective review by 1 18 regulated entities of facility operations and 1 19 practices related to meeting environmental 1 20 requirements. 1 21 4. "Owner or operator" means the person or entity 1 22 who caused the environmental audit to be undertaken. 1 23 5. "Penalty mitigation" means the elimination or 1 24 mitigation of penalties imposed by the department for 1 25 violations of environmental laws, rules, or permit 1 26 conditions. 1 27 Sec. ___. NEW SECTION. 455J.2 VIOLATIONS. 1 28 In order for an owner or operator to be eligible 1 29 for penalty mitigation under section 455J.3, 1 30 violations of environmental laws, rules, or permit 1 31 conditions must be discovered through an environmental 1 32 audit and not through a legally mandated monitoring or 1 33 sampling requirement prescribed by statute, 1 34 regulation, permit, judicial order, or consent 1 35 agreement. An owner or operator shall report all 1 36 violations discovered during an environmental audit to 1 37 the department within thirty days from the time the 1 38 discovery is made. 1 39 Sec. ___. NEW SECTION. 455J.3 PENALTY 1 40 MITIGATION. 1 41 1. The department shall eliminate a penalty 1 42 imposed on an owner or operator for a violation 1 43 reported pursuant to section 455J.2 if the department 1 44 determines that the owner or operator satisfies all of 1 45 the following criteria: 1 46 a. The owner or operator has made a good faith 1 47 effort to comply with applicable environmental 1 48 requirements. 1 49 b. The owner or operator has not previously been 1 50 found to violate the same environmental law, rule, or 2 1 permit condition. 2 2 c. The owner or operator remedies the violation 2 3 within one hundred eighty days of the violation. The 2 4 department may grant one extension of one hundred 2 5 eighty days if the remedy requires implementing a 2 6 pollution prevention measure. 2 7 d. The owner or operator demonstrates all of the 2 8 following: 2 9 (1) The violation has not caused actual serious 2 10 harm to public health, safety, or the environment. 2 11 (2) The violation is not one that may present an 2 12 imminent and substantial endangerment to public health 2 13 or the environment. 2 14 (3) The violation does not present a significant 2 15 health, safety, or environmental threat. 2 16 (4) The violation does not involve criminal 2 17 conduct. 2 18 2. The department may mitigate a penalty imposed 2 19 on an owner or operator for a violation reported 2 20 pursuant to section 455J.2 if the department 2 21 determines that the owner or operator satisfies all of 2 22 the criteria listed in subsection 1, except for 2 23 paragraph "c". In determining the appropriate amount 2 24 to mitigate, the department shall consider, at a 2 25 minimum, the nature of the violation, the duration of 2 26 the violation, the environmental or public health 2 27 impacts of the violation, good faith efforts by the 2 28 owner or operator to promptly remedy the violation, 2 29 and the facility's overall record of compliance with 2 30 environmental laws, rules, and permit conditions. 2 31 Sec. ___. NEW SECTION. 455J.4 COMPLIANCE 2 32 ASSISTANCE. 2 33 1. The department may provide on-site compliance 2 34 assistance to an owner or operator upon request. If 2 35 the department is unable to provide compliance 2 36 assistance to an owner or operator in a timely manner, 2 37 the department shall within thirty days of receiving 2 38 the request for compliance assistance provide the 2 39 owner or operator with notice of the department's 2 40 inability to provide compliance assistance. 2 41 2. Prior to providing on-site compliance 2 42 assistance, the department shall obtain an agreement 2 43 with the owner or operator which includes a statement 2 44 explaining the compliance assistance procedures, the 2 45 responsibilities of each party, the availability of 2 46 penalty mitigation, and the responsibilities of the 2 47 owner or operator for any violation discovered." 2 48 #2. Title page, by striking lines 1 and 2 and 2 49 inserting the following: "An Act providing for 2 50 elimination and mitigation of penalties resulting from 3 1 the reporting of violations discovered in 3 2 environmental audits and on-site compliance 3 3 assistance."" 3 4 3 5 3 6 3 7 BURNETT of Story 3 8 HF 681.539 77 3 9 tm/jw/28
Text: H08113 Text: H08115 Text: H08100 - H08199 Text: H Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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