SECTIONS 25260-25268

25260.  The definitions set forth in this section shall govern theinterpretation of this chapter. Unless the context requires otherwiseand except as provided in this chapter, the definitions contained inArticle 2 (commencing with Section 25310) of Chapter 6.8 shall applyto the terms used in this chapter. (a) "Administering agency" means the agency designated by thecommittee pursuant to Section 25262. (b) "Advisory team" means the team convened by the committeepursuant to Section 25263. (c) "Agency" means any city, county, district, commission, thestate, or any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof,that has jurisdiction under a state or local law, ordinance, orregulation to supervise, oversee, or approve a site investigation anda remedial action at a hazardous materials release site. (d) "Hazardous material" means a substance or waste that, becauseof its physical, chemical, or other characteristics, may pose a riskof endangering human health or safety or of degrading theenvironment. "Hazardous material" includes, but is not limited to,all of the following: (1) A hazardous substance, as defined in Section 25281 or 25316. (2) A hazardous waste, as defined in Section 25117. (3) A waste, as defined in Section 470 or as defined in Section13050 of the Water Code. (e) "Hazardous materials release site" or "site" means any area,location, or facility where a hazardous material has been released orthreatens to be released into the environment. "Hazardous materialsrelease site" does not include a site subject to a response andcleanup operation under Chapter 7.4 (commencing with Section 8670.1)of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code or a correctiveaction under Part 6 (commencing with Section 46000) of Division 30 ofthe Public Resources Code. (f) "Committee" means the Site Designation Committee created bySection 25261. (g) "Remedial action" means actions required by state or locallaws, ordinances, or regulations that are necessary to prevent,minimize, or mitigate damage that may otherwise result from a releaseor threatened release of a hazardous material, and that areconsistent with a permanent remedy for a hazardous materials release."Remedial action" includes, but is not limited to, the cleanup orremoval of released hazardous materials from the environment,monitoring, testing and analysis of the site, site operation andmaintenance, and the placing of conditions, limitations, orrestrictions on the uses of the site after remedial action has beencompleted. (h) "Responsible party" means any person, except for anindependent contractor, who agrees to carry out a site investigationand remedial action at a hazardous materials release site for one ofthe following reasons: (1) The person is liable under a state or local law, ordinance, orregulation for the site investigation or remedial action. (2) The site investigation or remedial action is required by astate or local law, ordinance, or regulation because of a hazardousmaterials release. (i) "Site investigation" means those actions that are necessary todetermine the full extent of a release or threatened release of ahazardous material at a hazardous materials release site, identifythe public health and safety or environmental threat posed by therelease or threatened release, collect data on possible remedies, andotherwise evaluate the hazardous materials release site for thepurpose of implementing remedial action.25261.  (a) There is within the California Environmental ProtectionAgency a Site Designation Committee. The membership of the committeeconsists of the following six persons: (1) Secretary for Environmental Protection. (2) Director of Toxic Substances Control. (3) Chairperson of the State Water Resources Control Board. (4) Director of Fish and Game. (5) Director of the Office of Environmental Health HazardAssessment. (6) Chairperson of the State Air Resources Board. (b) The committee shall carry out the functions described inSections 25262, 25263, and 25265 and shall meet as necessary toensure that those functions are carried out in a timely manner. Thedecisions of the committee shall be subject to the concurrence offour members. The committee shall choose a chairperson from among itsmembers. A committee member may designate an employee of the member's agency to participate in committee meetings in the member's place.25262.  (a) A responsible party for a hazardous materials releasesite may request the committee at any time to designate anadministering agency to oversee a site investigation and remedialaction at the site. The committee shall designate an administeringagency as responsible for the site within 45 days of the date therequest is received. A request to designate an administering agencymay be denied only if the committee makes one of the followingfindings: (1) No single agency in state or local government has theexpertise needed to adequately oversee a site investigation andremedial action at the site. (2) Designating an administering agency will have the effect ofreversing a regulatory or enforcement action initiated by an agencythat has jurisdiction over the site, a facility on the site, or anactivity at the site. (3) Designating an administering agency will prevent a regulatoryor enforcement action required by federal law or regulations. (4) The administering agency and the responsible party are localagencies formed, in whole or in part, by the same politicalsubdivision. (b) A responsible party who requests the designation of anadministering agency for a hazardous materials release site shallprovide the committee with a brief description of the site, ananalysis of the known or suspected nature of the release orthreatened release that is the subject of required site investigationor remedial action, a description of the type of facility from whichthe release occurred or the type of activity that caused therelease, a specification of the regulatory or enforcement actionsthat have been taken, or are pending, with respect to the release,and a statement of which agency the responsible party believes shouldbe designated as administering agency for the site. (c) (1) The committee shall take all of the following factors intoaccount in determining which agency to designate as administeringagency for a site: (A) The type of release that is the subject of site investigationand remedial action. (B) The nature of the threat that the release poses to humanhealth and safety or to the environment. (C) The source of the release, the type of facility or activityfrom which the release occurred, the regulatory programs that governthe facility or activity involved, and the agency or agencies thatadminister those regulatory programs. (D) The regulatory history of the site, the types of regulatoryactions or enforcement actions that have been taken with respect tothe site or the facility or activity from which the release occurred,and the experience and involvement that various agencies have hadwith the site. (E) The capabilities and expertise of the agencies that arecandidates for designation as the administering agency for the siteand the degree to which those capabilities and that expertise areapplicable to the type of release at the site, the nature of thethreat that the release poses to health and safety or the environmentand the probable remedial measures that will be required. (2) After weighing the factors described in paragraph (1) as theyapply to the site, the committee shall use the criteria specified insubparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) as guidelines for designatingthe administering agency. If more than one of the criteria apply tothe site, the committee shall use its best judgment, taking intoaccount the known facts concerning the hazardous materials release atthe site and its regulatory history, in determining which agency maybest serve as the administering agency. The criteria are as follows: (A) The administering agency shall be the Department of ToxicSubstances Control if one of the following applies: (i) The department has issued an order, or otherwise initiatedaction, with respect to the release at the site pursuant to Section25355, 25355.5, or 25358.3. (ii) The department has issued an order for corrective action atthe site pursuant to Section 25187. (iii) The source of the release is a facility or hazardous wastemanagement unit or an activity that is, or was, regulated by thedepartment pursuant to Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100). (iv) The department is conducting, or has conducted, oversight ofthe site investigation and remedial action at the site at the requestof the responsible party. (B) The administering agency shall be the California regionalwater quality control board for the region in which the site islocated, if one of the following applies: (i) The California regional water quality control board has issueda cease and desist order pursuant to Section 13301, or a cleanup andabatement order pursuant to Section 13304 of the Water Code inconnection with the release at the site. (ii) The source of the release is a facility or an activity thatis subject to waste discharge requirements issued by the Californiaregional water quality control board pursuant to Section 13263 of theWater Code or that is regulated by the California regional waterquality control board pursuant to Article 5.5 (commencing withSection 25159.10) of, or Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 25208)of, Chapter 6.5, or pursuant to Chapter 6.67 (commencing with Section25270). (iii) The California regional water quality control board hasjurisdiction over the site pursuant to Chapter 5.6 (commencing withSection 13390) of Division 7 of the Water Code. (C) The administering agency shall be the Department of Fish andGame if the release has polluted or contaminated the waters of thestate and the department has taken action against the responsibleparty pursuant to Section 2014 or 12015 of, or Article 1 (commencingwith Section 5650) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 6 of, the Fishand Game Code, subsection (f) of Section 107 of the ComprehensiveEnvironmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended,(42 U.S.C. Sec. 9607 (f)), or Section 311 of the Federal WaterPollution Act, as amended (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1321). (D) The administering agency shall be a local agency if any one ofthe following circumstances is applicable: (i) The source of the release at the site is an undergroundstorage tank, as defined in subdivision (y) of Section 25281, thelocal agency is the agency described in subdivision (i) of Section25281, and there is no evidence of any extensive groundwatercontamination at the site. (ii) The local agency has accepted responsibility for overseeingthe site investigation or remedial action at the site and a stateagency is not involved. (iii) The local agency has agreed to oversee the siteinvestigation or remedial action at the site and is certified, or hasbeen approved, by a state agency to conduct that oversight. (d) A responsible party for a hazardous materials release site mayrequest the designation of an administering agency for the sitepursuant to this section only once. The action of the committee onthe request is a final action and is not subject to furtheradministrative or judicial review.25263.  (a) Any agency, including the administering agency, mayrequest the committee at any time to convene an advisory team for thepurpose of providing the administering agency with guidance inoverseeing the site investigation and remedial action at a hazardousmaterials release site. If the request is made by an agency otherthan the administering agency, the request shall be in writing, andshall specify any issue that is of concern to the requesting agency,the requirements of the laws, ordinances, regulations, or standardsthat are related to the issue, and the manner in which theadministration or implementation of those requirements by theadministering agency has raised the issue concerning the siteinvestigation or remedial action at the hazardous materials releasesite. The committee shall create such an advisory team within 30calendar days of the date of receipt of the request and shalldesignate the members of the advisory team after consulting withinterested agencies. The advisory team shall be chaired by therepresentative of the agency that requested the advisory team to beconvened and shall meet within five working days of the date that anyagency requests a meeting. A representative of the administeringagency shall attend all advisory team meetings. (b) The advisory team may only take action to ensure that theadministering agency has adequate information concerning therequirements of applicable laws, ordinances, regulations, orstandards to address, in an appropriate and correct manner, any issuethat led to the request for, and the convening of, the advisoryteam. To carry out this function, the advisory team shall do all ofthe following: (1) Define, in a specific manner, any issue related to the siteinvestigation and remedial action that led to the request to convenethe advisory team. (2) Determine the application of the laws, ordinances,regulations, and standards related to that issue that are applicableto, and govern, the site investigation and remedial action. (3) Make recommendations to the administering agency concerningthe manner in which the applicable laws, ordinances, regulations, andstandards should be administratively applied to appropriately andcorrectly resolve the issue. (c) An agency, other than the administering agency, that is amember of the advisory team shall be eligible for reimbursement ofoversight costs related to its participation on the advisory teamfrom the responsible party for the hazardous materials release siteonly if all of the following apply: (1) The issue that led to the request to convene the advisoryteam, or the issue that is considered by the advisory committeefollowing its formation, is directly and materially related to theadministration of a law, ordinance, regulation, or standard for whichthe agency has actual statutory or administrative responsibility. (2) The administering agency certifies that the agency is not ableto address the issue without a significant expenditure of personneltime or other resources, or certifies that the issue is related topotential risks to human health or safety or the environment ofsufficient significance to warrant reimbursement of the agency'soversight expenditures. (3) Either of the following applies: (A) The responsible party agrees to reimburse the agency'soversight expenditures. (B) The committee directs the responsible party or responsibleparties to reimburse the agency's oversight expenditures. (d) Subdivision (c) does not affect the authority of theadministering agency to recover oversight costs in accordance withapplicable law.25264.  (a) The administering agency for a hazardous materialsrelease site shall supervise all aspects of a site investigation andremedial action conducted by the responsible party and, for thatpurpose, the administering agency shall, notwithstanding any otherprovision of law, including, but not limited to, this division andDivision 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code, havesole jurisdiction over all activities that may be required to carryout a site investigation and remedial action necessary to respond tothe hazardous materials release at the site. For purposes of thischapter, the administering agency shall do all of the following: (1) Administer all state and local laws, ordinances, regulations,and standards that are applicable to, and govern, the activitiesinvolved with the site investigation and remedial action at the site. (2) Determine the adequacy of site investigation and remedialaction activities at the site and the extent to which the activitiescomply, or fail to comply, with applicable state and local laws,ordinances, regulations, and standards. In making thesedeterminations, the administering agency shall consult with theadvisory team if one has been convened pursuant to Section 25263. (3) Issue permits or other forms of authorization that may berequired by state and local laws, ordinances, and regulations andthat are necessary to undertake activities related to the siteinvestigation and remedial action at the site. Before issuing apermit or other authorization pursuant to this paragraph, theadministering agency shall consult with the appropriate agency andensure that required procedures are followed and adequate permitrequirements and conditions are imposed. (b) Upon determining that a site investigation and remedial actionat a hazardous materials release site has been satisfactorilycompleted and that a permanent remedy to the release has beenaccomplished, the administering agency shall issue the responsibleparty a certificate of completion. The certificate shall describe therelease of hazardous materials that was the subject of the remedialaction and the remedial action that was taken and shall certify thatapplicable remedial action standards and objectives were achieved. (c) Except as otherwise provided in Section 25265 and thissubdivision, the issuance of a certificate of completion by theadministering agency shall constitute a determination that theresponsible party has complied with the requirements of all state andlocal laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards that areapplicable to the site investigation and remedial action for whichthe certificate is issued. Except as provided in Section 25265, no agency, other than theadministering agency, that has jurisdiction over hazardous materialsreleases pursuant to those state and local laws, ordinances, orregulations may take action against the responsible party withrespect to the hazardous materials release that was the subject ofthe site investigation and remedial action for which a certificate ofcompletion is issued and the administering agency may take actionagainst the responsible party with respect to the hazardous materialsrelease that was the subject of the site investigation and remedialaction for which a certificate of completion is issued only if theadministering agency determines that one or more of the followingapplies: (1) Monitoring, testing, or analysis of the hazardous materialsrelease site subsequent to the issuance of the certificate ofcompletion indicates that the remedial action standards andobjectives were not achieved or are not being maintained. (2) One or more of the conditions, restrictions, or limitationsimposed on the site as part of the remedial action or certificate ofcompletion are violated. (3) Site monitoring or operation and maintenance activities thatare required as part of the remedial action or certificate ofcompletion for the site are not adequately funded or are not properlycarried out. (4) A hazardous materials release is discovered at the site thatwas not the subject of the site investigation and remedial action forwhich the certificate of completion was issued. (5) A material change in the facts known to the administeringagency at the time the certificate of completion was issued, or newfacts, causes the administering agency to find that further siteinvestigation and remedial action are required in order to prevent asignificant risk to human health and safety or to the environment. (6) The responsible party induced the administering agency toissue the certificate of completion by fraud, negligent orintentional nondisclosure of information, or misrepresentation. (d) (1) Except as provided in Section 25265, the administeringagency shall be the sole agency responsible for determining if any ofthe conditions described in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, ofsubdivision (c) are applicable to a hazardous materials release sitefor which a certificate of completion has been issued pursuant tosubdivision (b), and for taking any action that is deemed necessaryif that determination is made. Any agency, other than theadministering agency, that has information that any of thoseconditions applies to the hazardous materials site shall provide theadministering agency with that information and the administeringagency shall, within 45 calendar days of receipt of the request, doall of the following: (A) Determine whether the condition is applicable. (B) If it is applicable, determine if further action at the siteis warranted. (C) If further action is warranted, take further action at thesite as may be necessary. (2) If the administering agency fails, or refuses, to act properlyor in a timely manner, as required by this subdivision, the agencythat provided the information to the administering agency maypetition the committee for review in accordance with Section 25265.The decision of the committee shall be final, and shall not besubject to judicial review.25265.  (a) Any agency may petition the chairperson of the committeeat any time to review any of the following: (1) The manner in which the administering agency is implementingstate and local laws, ordinances, regulations, and standardsapplicable to the site investigation and remedial action that isbeing carried out by the responsible party at a hazardous materialsrelease site. (2) The decision to issue a certificate of completion for thesite. (3) The failure, or refusal, of the administering agency to actproperly or in a timely manner pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section25264. (b) The petition specified in subdivision (a) shall state thereasons why the review is warranted, the basis for believing thatapplicable state and local laws, ordinances, regulations, andstandards are not being implemented properly, or the grounds forobjecting to the issuance of a certificate of completion. (c) (1) The committee shall review the petition submitted pursuantto subdivision (a), consult with the petitioning and administeringagencies, and make a decision regarding the validity of the petitionwithin 30 calendar days of the date the petition is received. (2) If the committee finds that the petition is not valid, itshall deny the petition. If it finds that the administering agency isnot properly implementing a state or local law, ordinance,regulation, or standard, the administering agency shall be divestedof exclusive jurisdiction over the implementation of that law,ordinance, regulation, or standard and the jurisdiction shall revertto the appropriate agency. (3) If the committee finds that there are valid grounds forobjecting to the issuance of a certificate of completion, thecommittee shall specify the actions that the responsible party andthe administering agency shall be required to take before thecertificate may be issued. (4) If the committee determines that the administering agency hasnot acted properly or in a timely manner pursuant to subdivision (d)of Section 25264, the committee shall determine whether one or moreof the conditions described in paragraphs (1) through (6), inclusive,of subdivision (c) of Section 25264 applies to the hazardousmaterials release site for which a certificate of completion has beenissued pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 25264. If thecommittee makes a determination pursuant to this paragraph, thecommittee shall require the administering agency to take any furtheraction at the site that is necessary to address the condition ordesignate another administering agency to take the necessary action. (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect or limitthe jurisdiction of the administering agency in connection with theadministration of any state or local law, ordinance, regulation, orstandard that has not been challenged under this section.25266.  The responsible party for a hazardous materials release sitemay, with the approval of the administering agency, terminate theapplication of this chapter to the site. The administering agencyshall notify the committee, the advisory team, and any agency thatmay have jurisdiction over site investigation or remedial action atthe site that the application of this chapter has been terminated. Ifthe application of this chapter is terminated, the responsible partymay not request the designation of another administering agencypursuant to Section 25262.25267.  If, at any time after site investigation or remedial actionat a hazardous materials release site has begun, the administeringagency determines that the information concerning the site that wasavailable at the time the administering agency was designated was notaccurate or was incomplete and that new information would likelyhave resulted in the designation of a different administering agency,the administering agency may request the committee to review theoriginal designation. If, after reviewing the new information andconsidering the factors and guidelines specified in subdivision (c)of Section 25262, the committee concludes that the originaldesignation was not in the public interest, it may rescind theoriginal designation and designate a different administering agency.25268.  Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as infringing onthe right of any agency to obtain from the administering agency for asite the information that may be necessary for the agency to carryout its responsibilities under this chapter, including, but notlimited to, its responsibilities under Section 25263, subdivisions(a), (c) and (d) of Section 25264, and Section 25265.