Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act: remedial action: liability.

Existing law, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, requires a person who discharges waste into the waters of the state in violation of waste discharge requirements or other order or prohibition issued by a California regional water quality control board or the State Water Resources Control Board to clean up the waste or to abate the effects of the waste. Existing law authorizes the regional board to expend available moneys to perform any cleanup, abatement, or remedial work required under those circumstances. This bill would prohibit the state board, regional board, or an employee of the state board or regional board from being held liable in a civil proceeding for trespass or any other act that is necessary to carry out an investigation, cleanup, abatement, or other remedial work. This bill would also prohibit the state board, regional board, or any authorized person from incurring any obligation to undertake additional investigation, cleanup, abatement, or other remedial work solely because of its decision to undertake that work. The bill would require that these provisions apply to a claim against a public entity presented on or after January 1, 2015, or, if no claim is presented, to a cause of action in a civil complaint or a writ petition filed on or after January 1, 2015. The bill would also make various technical, nonsubstantive changes.