SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES BILL)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to environmental protection, including solid waste, sewage works, hazardous waste, infectious medical waste, and pesticide and fertilizer contamination.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 29C.8A, subsection 1, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  An emergency response fund is created in the state treasury. The first one hundred thousand dollars received annually by the treasurer of state for the civil penalties and fines imposed by the court pursuant to sections 455B.146, 455B.191, 455B.386,455B.417, 455B.454, 455B.466, and 455B.477 shall be deposited in the waste volume reduction and recycling fund created in section 455D.15. The next hundred thousand dollars shall be deposited in the emergency response fund and any additional moneys shall be deposited in the household hazardous waste account. All moneys received annually by the treasurer of the state for the fines imposed by sections 716B.2, 716B.3, and 716B.4 shall also be deposited in the emergency response fund.
   Sec. 2.  Section 161.2, subsections 1, 2, 5, 6, 11, 14, and 15, Code 2011, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  “Action level” means the same as defined in section 455B.602 cleanup standards provided in section 455H.201.
   2.  “Active site cleanup” means the same as defined in section 455B.602 treating, dispersing, removing, or disposing of contamination located in soil or water, including but not limited to excavating soil or installing institutional or technological controls to water quality.
   5.  “Contaminated site” means the same as defined in section 455B.602 a site upon which contamination has been discovered.
   6.  “Contamination” means the same as defined in section 455B.602 the presence of one or more pesticides or the presence of fertilizer in soil or groundwater at levels above those levels that would result from normal field application rates or above background levels.
   11.  “Passive site cleanup” means the same as defined in section 455B.602 the removal or treatment of a contaminant in soil or water through management practices or the construction of barriers, trenches, and other similar facilities for prevention of contamination, as well as the use of natural processes such as groundwater recharge, natural decay, and chemical or biological decomposition.
   14.  “Remediation” means the same as defined in section 455B.602. a process used to protect the public health and safety or the environment from contamination, including by doing all of the following:
   a.  Controlling, containing, or stabilizing the effects caused by a prohibited release.
   b.  Investigating, identifying, or analyzing a contaminant or a contamination source; collecting samples, including soil and water samples; assessing the condition of a site; monitoring a contaminated site; providing for structural testing; or providing for engineering services.
   c.  Providing for site cleanup.
   15.  “Responsible person” means the same as defined in section 455B.602 a person who is legally liable for contamination or who is legally responsible for abating contamination under any applicable law, including chapters 455B and 455E and the common law.  “Responsible person” may include a person causing, allowing, or otherwise participating in the activities or events which cause contamination, persons who have failed to conduct their activities so as to prevent the release of contaminants into groundwater, persons who are obligated to abate a condition, or persons responsible for or a successor to such persons. “Responsible person” does not include a person who caused contamination by acting in a manner unauthorized by the owner of the pesticide or fertilizer, including a person who trespasses upon a site.
   Sec. 3.  Section 161.2, Code 2011, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  3A.  “Background levels” means concentrations of a contaminant generally present in the environment in the vicinity of a site or an affected area and not the result of release.
   Sec. 4.  Section 161.5, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   161.5  Remediation standards.
   Remediation conducted pursuant to a plan of remediation incorporated within a remediation agreement as required in section 161.8 shall be performed according to standards adopted by the department of natural resources pursuant to section 455B.601 455H.201.
   Sec. 5.  Section 455B.104, subsection 1, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  The department shall either approve or deny a permit to a person applying for a permit under this chapter within six months from the date that the department receives a completed application for the permit. An application which is not approved or denied within the six-month period shall be approved by default. The department shall issue a permit to the applicant within ten days following the date of default approval. However, this subsection shall not apply to applications for permits which are issued under division II or division IV, parts 2 through 75.
   Sec. 6.  Section 455B.411, subsections 5 through 11, Code 2011, are amended by striking the subsections.
   Sec. 7.  Section 455B.426, subsection 2, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  The director shall investigate all known or suspected hazardous waste or hazardous substance disposal sites and determine whether each site should be included in the registry. In the evaluation of known or suspected hazardous waste or hazardous substance disposal sites, the director may enter private property and perform tests and analyses in the manner provided in section 455B.416.
   Sec. 8.  Section 455B.426, Code 2011, is amended by adding the following new subsections:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  3.  Beginning July 1, 2011, a new site shall not be placed on the registry of confirmed hazardous waste or hazardous substance disposal sites.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4.  A site placed on the registry of confirmed hazardous waste or hazardous substance disposal sites prior to July 1, 2011, shall be removed upon the execution of a uniform environmental covenant pursuant to the provisions of chapter 455I relating to the contaminated portions of the property listed on the registry. A site may also be removed from the registry pursuant to section 455B.427, subsection 4.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5.  If no sites remain listed on the registry of confirmed hazardous waste or hazardous substance disposal sites, the department shall recommend to the general assembly the repeal of this section and sections 455B.427 through 455B.432.
   Sec. 9.  Section 455D.15, subsection 3, paragraph a, Code 2011, is amended by striking the paragraph.
   Sec. 10.  Section 455H.102, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   455H.102  Scope.
   The environmental remediation standards established under this chapter shall be used for any response action or other site assessment or remediation that is conducted at a site enrolled pursuant to this chapter notwithstanding provisions regarding water quality in chapter 455B, division III; hazardous conditions in chapter 455B, division IV, part 4; hazardous waste and substance management in chapter 455B, division IV, part 5; underground storage tanks, other than petroleum underground storage tanks, in chapter 455B, division IV, part 8; contaminated sites in chapter 455B, division VIII; and groundwater protection in chapter 455E.
   Sec. 11.  Section 558.69, subsection 1, paragraph e, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   e.  That no known hazardous waste as defined in section 455B.411, subsection 3, or listed by the department pursuant to section 455B.412, subsection 1, exists on the property, or if known hazardous waste does exist, that the waste is being managed in accordance with rules adopted by the department of natural resources.
   Sec. 12.  Section 716B.1, subsections 5 and 6, Code 2011, are amended to read as follows:
   5.  “Storage” or“store” means storage as defined in section 455B.411, subsection 9 the containment of a hazardous waste, either on a temporary basis or for a period of years, in a manner that does not constitute disposal of the hazardous waste.
   6.  “Treatment” or“treat” means treatment as defined in section 455B.411, subsection 10 a method, technique, or process, including neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character or composition of a hazardous waste so as to neutralize the waste or to render the waste nonhazardous, safer for transport, amenable for recovery, amenable for storage, or to reduce the waste in volume.  “Treatment” includes any activity or processing designed to change the physical form or chemical composition of hazardous waste to render the waste nonhazardous.
   Sec. 13.  REPEAL.  Sections 455B.116, 455B.241, 455B.242, 455B.243, 455B.244, 455B.245, 455B.246, 455B.312, 455B.316, 455B.412, 455B.413, 455B.414, 455B.415, 455B.416, 455B.417, 455B.418, 455B.419, 455B.420, 455B.421, 455B.441, 455B.442, 455B.443, 455B.444, 455B.445, 455B.446, 455B.447, 455B.448, 455B.449, 455B.450, 455B.451, 455B.452, 455B.453, 455B.454, 455B.455, 455B.461, 455B.462, 455B.463, 455B.465, 455B.466, 455B.467, 455B.468, 455B.504, 455B.601, and 455B.602, Code 2011, are repealed.
   Sec. 14.  REPEAL.  Section 455D.8, Code 2011, is repealed.
EXPLANATION
   This bill relates to solid waste, sewage works, hazardous waste, infectious medical waste, and pesticide and fertilizer contamination.
   The bill repeals Code sections relating to the pollution hotline program; sewage works construction; the waste abatement program; a penalty for making a false statement or representation in a solid waste comprehensive plan; certain duties of the department of natural resources related to hazardous waste and substance management including the issuance of hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility permits; hazardous waste sites and facilities; disposal of hazardous waste on land; permit requirements for owners and operators of an infectious medical waste collection or transportation operation; and pesticide and fertilizer contaminated sites. The bill makes necessary conforming amendments.
   The bill provides that, beginning July 1, 2011, a new site shall not be placed on the registry of confirmed hazardous waste or hazardous substance disposal sites. The bill provides that a site placed on the registry of confirmed hazardous substance or hazardous disposal sites prior to July 1, 2011, shall be removed upon the execution of a uniform environmental covenant or through the proper closure of the site. The bill provides that if no sites remain listed on the registry of confirmed hazardous waste or hazardous disposal sites, the department of natural resources shall recommend to the general assembly the repeal of Code sections 455B.426 through 455B.432, relating to the registry.