Hazardous substances: underground storage tanks.

Existing law requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection to implement a unified hazardous waste and hazardous materials management regulatory program, known as the unified program. Existing law requires every county to apply to the secretary to be certified to implement the unified program, and authorizes a city or local agency that meets specified requirements to apply to the secretary to be certified to implement the unified program, as a certified unified program agency, or CUPA. Existing law authorizes a state or local agency that has a written agreement with a CUPA, and is approved by the secretary, to implement or enforce one or more of the unified program elements as a participating agency. Existing law defines "unified program agency," to mean the CUPA or its participating agencies, as provided. Existing law, the Water Replenishment District Act, provides for the formation, organization, and functioning of water replenishment districts. Existing law authorizes a water replenishment district, for the purposes of replenishing the groundwater supplies within the district, to, among other things, store, transport, recapture, recycle, purify, treat, or otherwise manage and control water for the beneficial use of persons or property within the district and build the necessary works to achieve groundwater replenishment. Existing law establishes the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund and authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board to expend moneys in the fund for certain purposes, including for transfer to the Site Cleanup Subaccount, as provided. Existing law authorizes the board to expend funds in the subaccount, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for certain purposes, including to pay for the reasonable and necessary costs incurred by the board, a regional board, or a local agency to identify the source of surface or groundwater contamination or to remediate the harm or threat of harm to human health, safety, and the environment caused by existing or threatened surface or groundwater contamination at a location, if certain conditions apply. This bill would additionally authorize the board to expend moneys in the subaccount for the reasonable and necessary costs incurred by the Department of Toxic Substances Control or water replenishment districts to identify the source of surface or groundwater contamination, and for the above-mentioned remediation costs, as provided. Existing law authorizes the board to expend funds in the subaccount, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to issue grants for the reasonable and necessary costs of specified remediation actions at a location at which the board, a regional board, or a local agency has required the responsible parties to undertake or contract for investigation or cleanup, pursuant to an order, directive, notification, or approval issued pursuant to specified law, if the responsible parties lack sufficient financial resources to pay for the required response actions. This bill would additionally authorize the issuance of a grant for remediation actions at a location at which a responsible party has been required to undertake or contract for investigation or cleanup pursuant to a specified order issued by the department, subject to that same condition.