Hazardous materials: reporting: civil liability.

(1) 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. Existing law authorizes a state or local agency that has a written agreement with a certified unified program agency, 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 a certified unified program agency or its participating agencies, as provided. Existing law requires a business that handles a hazardous material, or an employee, authorized representative, agent, or designee of that business, to, upon discovery, immediately report any release or threatened release of a hazardous material, or an actual release of a hazardous substance, as defined, to the unified program agency and the Office of Emergency Services, as provided. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services, on or before January 1, 2022, to adopt regulations to implement these reporting requirements. This bill would require this reporting to be made to the California Environmental Protection Agency instead of the Office of Emergency Services. The bill would delete the requirement on the Office of Emergency Services to adopt regulations, and would instead require the California Environmental Protection Agency to be responsible for the adoption and revision of the regulations and for the oversight of the enforcement of the regulations. The bill would require the California Environmental Protection Agency, on or before January 1, 2028, to review and revise the regulations that implement the reporting requirements. This bill would require the Office of Administrative Law, on or before January 1, 2025, to report to the Legislature on whether the Office of Emergency Services has adopted certain regulations, as specified. The bill would define certain terms for purposes of the regulations that implement the reporting requirements if the Office of Administrative Law's report indicates that those regulations have not been adopted by the Office of Emergency Services. The bill would authorize the California Environmental Protection Agency to revise those definitions by revising the regulations. (2) Existing law requires the unified program agency to maintain one or more nonemergency contact numbers for release reports that do not require immediate agency response and requires the unified program agency to promptly communicate changes to this contact information to the Office of Emergency Services. This bill would require the unified program agency to maintain one or more nonemergency methods of communication, instead of phone numbers, and would require the unified program agency to promptly communicate changes to the California Environmental Protection Agency, instead of the Office of Emergency Services. (3) Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to approve a form for use by a business that is required to submit a followup emergency notice pursuant to federal law regarding a release of an extremely hazardous substance. Existing law authorizes the Office of Emergency Services to adopt guidelines for the use of the approved form. This bill would instead require the California Environmental Protection Agency to adopt regulations to approve the form and would require the followup emergency notice to be provided on the form. (4) Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to develop informational guidelines for facilities required to comply with the reporting requirements and with certain federal reporting requirements regarding the release of extremely hazardous substances. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to assist the unified program agency in ensuring full distribution of the guidelines to those facilities. This bill would instead require the California Environmental Protection Agency to develop the informational guidelines and to assist the unified program agency in distributing the guidelines. (5) Existing law provides that a business that violates the unified program laws is liable to a unified program agency for an administrative penalty not greater than $2,000 for each day that the violation occurs and that a business that knowingly violates the unified program laws is liable for an administrative penalty not greater than $5,000 for each day that the violation occurs. This bill would, beginning January 1, 2025, increase those penalties to be not greater than $20,000 for each day that the violation occurs and not greater than $30,000 for each day that the violation occurs knowingly. (6) Existing law requires a stationary source, as defined, with one or more processes that have certain substances present in more than a threshold quantity to prepare and submit a risk management plan, if the unified program agency makes a specified determination. Existing law requires the owner or operator of a stationary source submitting a risk management plan to submit the plan to the unified program agency after the plan is certified as complete, and requires the unified program agency to review the plan. Existing law imposes various requirements related to the submission and contents of a risk management plan. Existing law imposes civil or administrative liability on a person or stationary source that violates these provisions in an amount of not more than $5,000 for each day that the violation occurs, and in an amount of not more than $25,000 for each day that the violation occurs if the person or stationary source knowingly violates these provisions after reasonable notice of the violation. This bill would increase those penalties to be not greater than $20,000 for each day that the violation occurs and not greater than $30,000 for each day that the violation occurs knowingly. (7) To the extent this bill would require unified program agencies to provide new programs or higher levels of service, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.