General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5119
February Session, 2010 LCO No. 520
*00520_______ENV*
Referred to Committee on Environment
Introduced by:
(ENV)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 5119
February Session, 2010
LCO No. 520
*00520_______ENV*
Referred to Committee on Environment
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT CONCERNING MINOR REVISIONS TO THE UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK PETROLEUM CLEAN-UP ACCOUNT AND GROUNDWATER POLLUTION ABATEMENT STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 22a-449c of the 2010 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) (1) There is established an underground storage tank petroleum clean-up program.
(2) The program shall provide money for reimbursement or payment pursuant to section 22a-449f, within available appropriations, to responsible parties or parties supplying goods or services, for costs, expenses and other obligations paid or incurred, as the case may be, as a result of releases, and suspected releases, costs of investigation and remediation of releases and suspected releases, and for claims by a person other than a responsible party for bodily injury, property damage and damage to natural resources that have been finally adjudicated or settled with the prior written consent of the board. The commissioner may also make payment to an assignee who is in the business of receiving assignments of amounts approved by the board, but not yet paid from the account, provided the party making any such assignment, using a form approved by the commissioner, directs the commissioner to pay such assignee, that no cost of any assignment shall be borne by the state and that the state and its agencies shall not bear any liability with respect to any such assignment. The program shall not provide money for reimbursement or payment to responsible parties for costs, expenses and other obligations paid or incurred, as the case may be, as a result of the Department of Environmental Protection responding to releases or suspected releases from an underground storage tank system. Such prohibition includes costs paid or to be paid by a responsible party to the commissioner.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section regarding reimbursements of parties pursuant to section 22a-449f and regulations adopted pursuant to section 22a-449e, and regardless of when an application for payment or reimbursement from the program may have been submitted to the board, payment or reimbursement shall be made in accordance with the following: (A) After June 1, 2004, no payment or reimbursement shall be made for any costs, expenses and other obligations paid or incurred for remediation, including any monitoring to determine the effectiveness of the remediation, of a release to levels more stringent than or beyond those specified in the remediation standards established pursuant to section 22a-133k, except to the extent the applicant demonstrates that it has been directed otherwise, in writing, by the commissioner; (B) after June 1, 2005, no payment or reimbursement shall be made to any person for diminution in property value or interest, provided that reimbursement for interest accrued on attorneys' fees may be permitted if an application seeking interest accrued on attorneys' fees was submitted to the commissioner on or before March 31, 2003, and such application has been tabled by the board for three or more years; and (C) after June 1, 2005, no payment or reimbursement shall be made for attorneys' fees or other costs of legal representation paid or incurred as a result of a release or suspected release (i) in excess of five thousand dollars to any responsible party, (ii) in excess of ten thousand dollars to any person other than a responsible party, and (iii) by a responsible party regarding the defense of claims brought by another person, except that applications for reimbursement filed on or before June 30, 2005, shall not be subject to the limitations for reimbursement imposed by clauses (i) and (ii) of this subparagraph. In addition, notwithstanding the provisions of this section regarding reimbursements of parties pursuant to section 22a-449f, the responsible party shall bear all costs of the release that are less than ten thousand dollars and all persons shall bear all costs of the release that are more than one million dollars, except that for any such release which was reported to the department prior to December 31, 1987, and for which more than five hundred thousand dollars has been expended by the responsible party to remediate such release prior to June 19, 1991, the responsible party for the release shall bear all costs of such release which are less than ten thousand dollars or more than five million dollars, provided the portion of any reimbursement or payment in excess of three million dollars may, at the discretion of the commissioner, be made in annual payments for up to a five-year period.
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 22a-471 of the 2010 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) (1) If the commissioner determines that pollution of the groundwaters has occurred or can reasonably be expected to occur and the Commissioner of Public Health determines that the extent of pollution creates or can reasonably be expected to create an unacceptable risk of injury to the health or safety of persons using such groundwaters as a public or private source of water for drinking or other personal or domestic uses, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall, within available appropriations, arrange for the short-term provision of potable drinking water to those residential buildings and elementary and secondary schools affected by such pollution until either he issues an order pursuant to this section requiring the provision of such short-term supply and the recipient complies with such order or a long-term supply of potable drinking water has been provided, whichever is earlier. In determining if pollution creates an unacceptable risk of injury, the Commissioner of Public Health shall balance all relevant and substantive facts and inferences and shall not be limited to a consideration of available statistical analysis but shall consider all of the evidence presented and any factor related to human health risks. The commissioner may issue an order to the person or municipality responsible for such pollution requiring that potable drinking water be provided to all persons affected by such pollution. If the commissioner finds that more than one person or municipality is responsible for such pollution, he shall attempt to apportion responsibility if he determines that apportionment is appropriate. If he does not apportion responsibility, all persons and municipalities responsible for the pollution of the groundwaters shall be jointly and severally responsible for the providing of potable drinking water to persons affected by such pollution. If the commissioner determines that the state or an agency or department of the state is responsible in whole or in part for the pollution of the groundwaters, such agency or department shall prepare or arrange for the preparation of an engineering report and shall provide or arrange for the provision of a long-term potable drinking water supply. If the commissioner is unable to determine the person or municipality responsible or if he determines that the responsible persons have no assets other than land, buildings, business machinery or livestock and are unable to secure a loan at a reasonable rate of interest to provide potable drinking water, he may prepare or arrange for the preparation of an engineering report and provide or arrange for the provision of a long-term potable drinking water supply or he may issue an order to the municipality wherein groundwaters unusable for potable drinking water are located requiring that short-term provision of potable drinking water be made to those existing residential buildings and elementary and secondary schools affected by such pollution and that long-term provision of potable drinking water be made to all persons affected by such pollution. For purposes of this section, "residential building" means any house, apartment, trailer, mobile manufactured home or other structure occupied by individuals as a dwelling, except a non-owner-occupied hotel or motel or a correctional institution.
(2) Any order issued pursuant to this section may require the provision of potable drinking water in such quantities as the commissioner determines are necessary for drinking and other personal and domestic uses and may require the maintenance and monitoring of potable water supply facilities for any period which the commissioner determines is necessary. In making such determinations, the commissioner shall consider the short-term and long-term needs for potable drinking water and the health and safety of those persons whose water supply is unusable. Any order may require the submission of an engineering report which shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner and the Commissioner of Public Health and include, but not be limited to, a description in detail of the problem, area and population affected by pollution of the groundwaters; the expected duration of and extent of the pollution; alternate solutions including relative cost of construction or installation, operation and maintenance; design criteria on all alternate solutions; and any other information which the commissioner deems necessary. Upon review of such report, the commissioner and the Commissioner of Public Health shall consider the nature of the pollution, the expected duration and extent of the pollution, the health and safety of the persons affected, the initial and ongoing cost-effectiveness and reliability of each alternative and any other factors which they deem relevant, and shall approve a system or method to provide potable drinking water pursuant to the order. Each order shall include a time schedule for the accomplishment of the steps leading to the provision of potable drinking water. Notwithstanding the fact that a responsible party has been or may be identified or a request for a hearing on or a pending appeal from an order issued pursuant to this section, when pollution of the groundwaters has occurred or may reasonably be expected to occur, the commissioner may prepare or arrange for the preparation of an engineering report as described in this subdivision and may provide or arrange for the provision of a long-term potable drinking water supply. In any case where the state or an agency or department of the state is responsible in whole or in part for the pollution of the groundwaters, such agency or department shall prepare or arrange for the preparation of an engineering report and shall provide or arrange for the provision of a long-term potable drinking water supply, and if the state is not the sole responsible party, the commissioner shall seek reimbursement under subdivision (4) of subsection (b) of this section for the costs of such report and for the provision of potable water. The cost of the report and of the provision of a long-term potable drinking water supply, as funds allow, shall be paid from the proceeds of any bonds authorized for the provision of potable drinking water.
(3) The provisions of this section shall not affect the rights of any municipality to institute suit to recover all damages, expenses and costs incurred by the municipality from any responsible party, including, but not limited to, the costs specified in subparagraph (B)(i) and (ii) of subdivision (4) of subsection (b) of this section and, in the case of any municipality which is not responsible for the pollution of the groundwaters, the additional amounts specified in subparagraph (B)(iii) and (iv) of subdivision (4) of subsection (b) of this section.
(4) No provision of this section shall limit the liability of any person who or municipality which renders the groundwaters unusable for potable drinking water from a suit for damages by a person who or municipality which relied on said groundwaters for potable drinking water prior to the determination by the commissioner that the groundwaters are polluted.
(5) The commissioner may issue any order pursuant to this section if the pollution of the groundwaters occurred before or after July 1, 1982.
(6) The commissioner may at any time require further action by any person to whom or municipality to which an order is issued pursuant to this section if he determines that such action is necessary to protect the health and safety of those persons whose water supply was rendered unusable.
(7) After periodic evaluation of water quality at a groundwater source that was fitted with a filtration system pursuant to the provisions of this section, the commissioner may determine that continued operation, testing and maintenance of such filtration system by the state is no longer warranted. If the commissioner makes such a determination and finds that it is not cost effective to remove and reuse such filtration system at another site, the commissioner may dispose of such filtration system or offer such filtration system to the subject property owner at no cost. In the event that the subject property owner accepts such filtration system at no cost, such subject property owner shall be responsible for any subsequent maintenance of such filtration system and no liability shall accrue to the state or the state's filtration system contractor for such filtration system.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 from passage 22a-449c(a)
Sec. 2 from passage 22a-471(a)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
from passage
22a-449c(a)
Sec. 2
from passage
22a-471(a)
Statement of Purpose:
To make minor revisions to the state's underground storage tank petroleum clean-up account and groundwater pollution abatement statutes that may result in cost savings to the state.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]