Section 25390.4 Of Article 7.8. Orphan Share Reimbursement Trust Fund From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 20. >> Chapter 6.8. >> Article 7.8.
25390.4
. (a) A potentially responsible party may file a claim
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 25390.3 only
if all of the following apply:
(1) The site is listed pursuant to Section 25356.
(2) The department or the regional board has approved a final
remedy for the site under Section 25356.1.
(3) The department and the potentially responsible party have
entered into a written, enforceable cleanup agreement or order
embodied in a consent order issued pursuant to Section 25355.5 or
25358.3, or the regional board and the potentially responsible party
have entered into a written, enforceable cleanup agreement or order
that provides for the completion of all response actions necessary at
the site, conducted pursuant to this chapter and under the oversight
and at the direction of the department or the regional board. The
agreement shall provide for the payment by the potentially
responsible party of the department's or the regional board's
response costs.
(4) The potentially responsible party demonstrates, and the
department or the regional board finds, that the potentially
responsible party has and will have sufficient financial resources to
complete all required response actions.
(5) The potentially responsible party is in compliance with the
agreement provided in paragraph (3), and with any other applicable
order or agreement pertaining to the potentially responsible party's
obligations with respect to the site.
(6) The potentially responsible party has prepared and provided
the information required under subdivision (b) of Section 25390.5.
(7) The claim for reimbursement is for the costs incurred for
response actions that were subject to the oversight and approval of
the department or the regional board.
(b) The administrator of the fund shall prescribe appropriate
application forms and procedures for claims filed pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 25390.3 that shall
include all of the following:
(1) Requirements that the claimant provide, at a minimum, all of
the following documentation:
(A) A sworn verification of the claim to the best of the
information known to the claimant or within the claimant's possession
or control.
(B) All records and information pertaining to the site and
relevant to the ownership, operation, or control of the site, or to
the ownership, possession, generation, treatment, transportation,
storage or disposal of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or
contaminant at or in connection with the site, within the possession
or control of the claimant, including, but not limited to, the
information specified in subdivision (b) of Section 25358.1.
(C) Certification of all response costs that have been, or will
be, incurred at the site by the potentially responsible party, and an
estimate of the total cost of completion of the approved final
remedy at the site.
(2) Procedures specifying that claims shall be filed only at the
two following specific time periods during the performance of a
response action:
(A) After the final remedy is selected under Section 25356.1.
(B) After the department or the regional board determines that the
response action is complete. The department or the regional board
shall not include operation and maintenance activities in determining
whether the response action is complete under this subparagraph.
(c) The administrator of the fund shall annually, on a fiscal year
basis, pay claims for reimbursement from the fund filed by
potentially responsible parties under paragraph (1) of subdivision
(c) of Section 25390.3, in accordance with the following procedures:
(1) Claims for funds available during each fiscal year shall be
filed with the administrator by July 30 of that fiscal year.
(2) For sites with multiple responsible parties, all potentially
responsible parties that have entered into the cleanup agreement
specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 25390.4
shall file a single claim.
(3) (A) The administrator shall allocate the money available in
the fund for the fiscal year among the claims filed by the July 30
deadline. The allocation shall be based on the determination of the
orphan share percentage at the facility under the process set forth
in Section 25390.5, the long-term financial stability and short-term
resources available in the fund, and the administrator's fiduciary
duty with respect to the fund. Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), the administrator shall pay claims for funds in the order in
which they are received.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if an appropriation from the
General Fund is made to the fund in any fiscal year, the
administrator may alter the order of payment of claims required by
subparagraph (A) by using funds appropriated from the General Fund to
pay claims based on the threat to public health or the environment
posed by a site or the need to improve economic and environmental
conditions in redeveloping communities.
(4) The total amount allocated to any one site shall not exceed 10
percent of the total amount available each fiscal year in the fund.
If, due to this limit or to the unavailability of funds, a claimant
receives only partial or no reimbursement of the orphan share paid by
that claimant, the claim shall be paid in the following fiscal year
and shall be given priority over all claims filed after the claim was
initially received, subject to the discretion of the administrator
set forth in paragraph (3).
(5) The administrator's proposed allocation shall be subject to
public review and comment for 30 days.
(d) The state and the fund have no obligation to provide full
reimbursement to a claimant. The fund shall be allocated at the
discretion of the administrator, subject to the requirements of this
article. In enacting this article, the Legislature intends that
claimants be reimbursed only to the extent that money is available in
the fund and is allocated to the claimant by the administrator.