Section 25299.50.7 Of Article 6. Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 20. >> Chapter 6.75. >> Article 6.
25299.50.7
. (a) The Expedited Claim Account is hereby created in
the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund for expenditure by the
board to pay claims that have been selected to participate in the
pilot project established by this section.
(b) The sum of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) shall be
transferred in the 2015-16 fiscal year from the Underground Storage
Tank Cleanup Fund to the Expedited Claim Account for expenditure,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the payment of claims
pursuant to this section. Claims shall be paid from the Expedited
Claim Account until moneys in the account are exhausted.
(c) Funds in the Expedited Claim Account that are not expended in
a fiscal year shall remain in the Expedited Claim Account. Funds
remaining in the Expedited Claim Account on January 1, 2026, shall be
transferred to the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund.
(d) The board shall, with stakeholder input, establish the
Expedited Claim Pilot Project to reduce the overall cost for site
cleanup and the time to reach closure by increasing coordination with
the responsible party, consultant, regulator, and the fund and by
using multiyear budgets.
(1) The board shall, with stakeholder input, investigate potential
methods for reducing the overall cost for site cleanup and the time
to reach closure including, but not limited to, establishment of
multiyear funding for claims, increased collaboration between fund
staff, regulatory staff, and claimants and their contractors,
establishment of project milestones and cost estimates, and
establishment of reimbursement submission schedules.
(2) The board shall solicit fund claims from all priority rankings
for participation in the pilot project to implement potential
improvement methods. The board shall select a limited number of
claims to participate in the project.
(3) The board shall develop criteria for the selection of claims
to participate in the pilot project and, at a minimum, shall consider
the threat to human health, safety, or the environment caused by
contamination at the site that is the subject of the claim, the
priority ranking assigned to the claim pursuant to Section 25299.52,
and the progress of cleanup at the site that is the subject of the
claim.
(4) The development of criteria and procedures pursuant to this
subdivision shall not be considered as regulations subject to, and
shall be exempt from, Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(e) The board shall include information on the expenditure of
funds transferred to the Expedited Claim Account, as well as the
amount of all claims filed by claimants participating in the
Expedited Claim Pilot Project and the amount of reimbursements made
to claimants in the pilot project, in its annual report.
(f) On or before January 1, 2018, the board shall prepare a report
analyzing the effectiveness and efficiency of the Expedited Claim
Pilot Project in expediting the funding of claims and completions of
site cleanups. The board, in consultation with stakeholders, shall
work to develop metrics to forecast long-term demand on the fund and
shall include this information in the report. This report shall be
posted on the board's Internet Web site, and updated periodically.
(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2026, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2026, deletes or extends
that date.