25297.1
. (a) (1) For purposes of implementing, pursuant to Section
25297.01, the local oversight program for the abatement of, and
oversight of the abatement of, unauthorized releases of hazardous
substances from underground storage tanks, the board may enter into
in an agreement specified in subdivision (b) with the local agency.
(2) A city or county that the board selected pursuant to this
section, as it read on January 1, 2012, which entered into an
agreement with the board before July 1, 2013, may apply to the board
for certification pursuant to Section 25297.01. The city or county
may continue to implement the oversight program until July 1, 2013,
and after that date the city or county shall either be certified or
be subject to subdivision (e) of Section 25297.01.
(3) On and after June 30, 2013, the board may enter into an
agreement pursuant to this section only with a city or county
certified pursuant to Section 25297.01.
(b) In implementing the local oversight program for the abatement
of, and oversight of the abatement of, unauthorized releases of
hazardous substances from underground storage tanks, the board may
select a local agency to enter into an agreement with the board. When
selecting a local agency, the board shall, from among those local
agencies that apply to the board, give first priority to those local
agencies that have demonstrated prior experience in cleanup,
abatement, or other actions necessary to remedy the effects of
unauthorized releases of hazardous substances from underground
storage tanks. The board shall enter into an agreement with only
those local agencies that have implemented this chapter and that,
except as provided in Section 25404.5, have begun to collect and
transmit to the board the surcharge or fees pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 25287. The agreement shall provide for the local
agency to perform, or cause to be performed, any cleanup, abatement,
or other action necessary to remedy the effects of a release of
hazardous substances from an underground storage tank with respect to
which the local agency has enforcement authority pursuant to this
section. The board may not enter into an agreement with a local
agency for soil contamination cleanup or for groundwater
contamination cleanup unless the board determines that the local
agency has a demonstrated capability to oversee or perform the
cleanup. The implementation of the cleanup, abatement, or other
action shall be consistent with procedures adopted by the board
pursuant to subdivision (d) and shall be based upon cleanup standards
specified by the board or regional board.
(c) The board shall provide funding to a local agency that enters
into an agreement pursuant to subdivision (b) for the reasonable
costs incurred by the local agency in overseeing any cleanup,
abatement, or other action taken by a responsible party to remedy the
effects of unauthorized releases from underground storage tanks.
(d) The board shall adopt administrative and technical procedures,
as part of the state policy for water quality control adopted
pursuant to Section 13140 of the Water Code, for cleanup and
abatement actions taken by a local agency with which the board has
entered into an agreement pursuant to this section. The procedures
shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Guidelines as to which sites may be assigned to the local
agency.
(2) The content of the agreements.
(3) Procedures by which a responsible party may petition the board
or a regional board for review, pursuant to Article 2 (commencing
with Section 13320) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of the Water Code, or
pursuant to Chapter 9.2 (commencing with Section 2250) of Division 3
of Title 23 of the California Code of Regulations, or any successor
regulation, as applicable, of actions or decisions of the local
agency in implementing the cleanup, abatement, or other action.
(4) Protocols for assessing and recovering money from responsible
parties for any reasonable and necessary costs incurred by the local
agency in implementing this section, as specified in subdivision (i),
unless the cleanup or abatement action is subject to subdivision (d)
of Section 25296.10.
(5) Quantifiable measures to evaluate the outcome of a pilot
program established pursuant to this section.
(e) Any agreement between the regional board and a local agency to
carry out a local oversight program pursuant to this section shall
require both of the following:
(1) The local agency shall establish and maintain accurate
accounting records of all costs it incurs pursuant to this section
and shall periodically make these records available to the board. The
Controller may annually audit these records to verify the hourly
oversight costs charged by a local agency. The board shall reimburse
the Controller for the cost of the audits of a local agency's records
conducted pursuant to this section.
(2) The board and the department shall make reasonable efforts to
recover costs incurred pursuant to this section from responsible
parties, and may pursue any available legal remedy for this purpose.
(f) The board shall develop a system for maintaining a database
for tracking expenditures of funds pursuant to this section, and
shall make this data available to the Legislature upon request.
(g) (1) Sections 25355.5 and 25356 do not apply to expenditures
from the Toxic Substances Control Account for oversight of abatement
of releases from underground storage tanks as part of the local
oversight program conducted pursuant to an agreement entered into
pursuant to this section.
(2) A local agency that enters into an agreement pursuant to
subdivision (b) shall notify the responsible party, for any site
subject to a cleanup, abatement, or other action taken pursuant to
the local oversight program established pursuant to this section,
that the responsible party is liable for not more than 150 percent of
the total amount of site-specific oversight costs actually incurred
by the local agency.
(h) Any aggrieved person may petition the board or regional board
for review of the action or failure to act of a local agency that
enters into an agreement pursuant to subdivision (b), at a site
subject to cleanup, abatement, or other action conducted as part of
the local oversight program established pursuant to this section, in
accordance with the procedures adopted by the board or regional board
pursuant to subdivision (d).
(i) (1) For purposes of this section, site-specific oversight
costs include only the costs of the following activities, when
carried out by the staff of a local agency or the local agency's
authorized representative, that are either technical program staff or
their immediate supervisors:
(A) Responsible party identification and notification.
(B) Site visits.
(C) Sampling activities.
(D) Meetings with responsible parties or responsible party
consultants.
(E) Meetings with the regional board or with other affected
agencies regarding a specific site.
(F) Review of reports, workplans, preliminary assessments,
remedial action plans, or postremedial monitoring.
(G) Development of enforcement actions against a responsible
party.
(H) Issuance of a closure document.
(2) The responsible party is liable for the site-specific
oversight costs, calculated pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4),
incurred by a local agency, in overseeing any cleanup, abatement, or
other action taken pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant to
this section to remedy an unauthorized release from an underground
storage tank.
(3) Notwithstanding the requirements of any other law, the amount
of liability of a responsible party for the oversight costs incurred
by the local agency and by the board and regional boards in
overseeing any action pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant
to this section shall be calculated as an amount not more than 150
percent of the total amount of the site-specific oversight costs
actually incurred by the local agency and shall not include the
direct or indirect costs incurred by the board or regional boards.
(4) (A) The total amount of oversight costs for which a local
agency may be reimbursed shall not exceed one hundred fifteen dollars
($115) per hour, multiplied by the total number of site-specific
hours performed by the local agency.
(B) The total amount of the costs per site for administration and
technical assistance to local agencies by the board and the regional
board entering into agreements pursuant to subdivision (b) shall not
exceed a combined total of thirty-five dollars ($35) for each hour of
site-specific oversight. The board shall base its costs on the total
hours of site-specific oversight work performed by all participating
local agencies. The regional board shall base its costs on the total
number of hours of site-specific oversight costs attributable to the
local agency that received regional board assistance.
(C) The amounts specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) are base
rates for the 1990-91 fiscal year. Commencing July 1, 1991, and for
each fiscal year thereafter, the board shall adjust the base rates
annually to reflect increases or decreases in the cost of living
during the prior fiscal year, as measured by the implicit price
deflator for state and local government purchases of goods and
services, as published by the United States Department of Commerce or
by a successor agency of the federal government.
(5) In recovering costs from responsible parties for costs
incurred under this section, the local agency shall prorate any costs
identifiable as startup costs over the expected number of cases that
the local agency will oversee during a 10-year period. A responsible
party who has been assessed startup costs for the cleanup of any
unauthorized release that, as of January 1, 1991, is the subject of
oversight by a local agency, shall receive an adjustment by the local
agency in the form of a credit, for the purposes of cost recovery.
Startup costs include all of the following expenses:
(A) Small tools, safety clothing, cameras, sampling equipment, and
other similar articles necessary to investigate or document
pollution.
(B) Office furniture.
(C) Staff assistance needed to develop computer tracking of
financial and site-specific records.
(D) Training and setup costs for the first six months of the local
agency program.
(6) This subdivision does not apply to costs that are required to
be recovered pursuant to Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 25385)
of Chapter 6.8.
(j) The inoperation of former paragraph (1) of this subdivision
does not affect the validity of any action taken by the Santa Clara
Valley Water District before June 30, 2005, and does not provide a
defense for an owner, operator, or other responsible party who fails
to comply with that action.
(k) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), any agreement
entered into before January 1, 2013, between a regional board and a
water district to oversee, coordinate, or implement a cooperative
oversight program will remain in effect in accordance with the terms
of that agreement or the terms of that agreement as may be amended
from time to time.