Hazardous waste and substances: corrective action: liability.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control to issue an order under the hazardous waste control laws requiring that a violation be corrected and imposing a civil penalty to specified persons, including a person who has violated various provisions regulating hazardous waste or provisions concerning removal and remedial actions for hazardous substance releases. A person who is issued that order is required to pay for oversight of the removal or remedial action. Existing law, the Carpenter-Presley-Tanner Hazardous Substance Account Act, authorizes the department to take or oversee removal and remedial actions related to the release of hazardous substances. Existing law authorizes the Attorney General to recover from the liable person, as defined, the costs incurred by the department or a California regional water quality control board in carrying out the act and subjects any monetary obligation owed to the department pursuant to the act or the hazardous waste control laws to a specified rate of interest earned in the Surplus Money Investment Fund. Existing law authorizes the department to waive the interest if the obligation is satisfied within 60 days of the date of the invoice. This bill would explicitly apply each of these provisions regarding a person's liability for cost recovery to the release of hazardous waste constituents into the environment. The bill would also explicitly make the costs of response or corrective action recoverable. The bill would, until June 30, 2021, subject a monetary obligation owed to the department under the act or these laws to an interest rate of 7% per annum. After that date, the bill would subject the monetary obligation to an interest rate of 10% per annum, except that, in the case of obligations of local governments, the rate after that date would remain at 7% per annum. The bill would require the department to waive the interest if the obligation is satisfied within 60 days or if the person, within 45 days of receiving an invoice, provides specified notice to the department disputing the obligation.