49-282

49-282. Water quality assurance revolving
fund

A. A water quality assurance revolving fund is established to be administered by
the director. The fund consists of monies from the following sources:

1. Monies appropriated by the legislature.

2. Fertilizer license fees allocated under section 3-272, subsection B, paragraph
2.

3. Pesticide registration fees allocated under section 3-351, subsection D,
paragraph 2.

4. The tax on water use pursuant to section 42-5302.

5. Water quality assurance fees collected under section 45-616.

6. Industrial discharge registration fees collected under section 49-209.

7. Manifest resubmittal fees collected under section 49-922.01.

8. Hazardous waste facility registration fees collected under section 49-929.

9. Hazardous waste resource recovery facility registration fees collected under
section 49-930.

10. Monies recovered from responsible parties as remedial action costs.

11. Monies received as costs for a review of remedial actions at the request of a
person other than the state.

12. Monies received from the collection of corporate income taxes under title 43,
chapter 11, article 2 as prescribed by subsection B of this section.

13. Prospective purchaser agreement fees collected under section 49-285.01.

B. The water quality assurance revolving fund shall be assured of an annual funding
amount of eighteen million dollars. Beginning July 1, 1999, as soon as practicable at the
beginning of each fiscal year, the state treasurer shall transfer the sum of fifteen
million dollars to the water quality assurance revolving fund from the corporate income
tax as collected pursuant to title 43, chapter 11, article 2. As custodian of the fund,
the director shall certify to the governor, the state treasurer, the president of the
senate and the speaker of the house of representatives at the end of that fiscal year the
amount of monies deposited in the water quality assurance revolving fund pursuant to
subsection A, paragraphs 1 through 9 of this section. At the end of the fiscal year the
state treasurer shall adjust the fifteen million dollar transfer of corporate income tax
so that, when combined with monies deposited in the fund during that fiscal year pursuant
to subsection A, paragraphs 1 through 9 of this section, the fund receives eighteen
million dollars each fiscal year. This adjustment shall occur as part of the year-end
book closing process for that fiscal year. If sufficient monies from the corporate income
tax are not available to make any necessary upward adjustments as part of the year-end
book closing, the state treasurer shall transfer the monies necessary to achieve the
eighteen million dollar funding level from the transaction privilege and severance tax
clearing account pursuant to section 42-5029, subsection D, paragraph 4, to the water
quality assurance revolving fund. Any transfers prescribed by this subsection shall not
be deducted from the net proceeds distributed pursuant to section 43-206.

C. At the beginning of each fiscal year, the director of environmental quality
shall contract with the department of water resources for the transfer of up to eight
hundred thousand dollars from the water quality assurance revolving fund to the Arizona
water quality fund established by section 45-618 for support services for the water
quality assurance revolving fund program. The support services provided for the water
quality assurance revolving fund program shall be determined by the director of water
resources in consultation with the director of environmental quality.

D. Monies in the fund are exempt from lapsing under section 35-190. Interest earned
on monies in the fund shall be credited to the fund.

E. Monies from the water quality assurance revolving fund shall be used for the
following purposes:

1. To provide state matching monies or to meet such other obligations as are
prescribed by section 104 of CERCLA.

2. For all reasonable and necessary costs to implement this article, including:

(a) Taking remedial actions.

(b) Conducting investigations of an area to determine if a release or a threatened
release of a hazardous substance exists.

(c) Conducting remedial investigations, feasibility studies, health effect studies
and risk assessments.

(d) Identifying and investigating potentially responsible parties and allocating
liability among the responsible parties.

(e) Funding orphan shares.

(f) Participating in the allocation process, administrative appeals and court
actions.

(g) Funding the community advisory boards and other community involvement
activities and the water quality assurance revolving fund advisory board.

(h) Remediating pollutants if necessary to remediate a hazardous substance.

3. For the reasonable and necessary costs of monitoring, assessing, identifying,
locating and evaluating the degradation, destruction, loss of or threat to the waters of
the state resulting from a release of a hazardous substance to the environment.

4. For the reasonable and necessary costs of administering the fund.

5. For the reasonable and necessary costs of administering the industrial discharge
registration program under section 49-209.

6. For the costs of the water quality monitoring program described in section
49-225.

7. For compliance monitoring, investigation and enforcement activities pertaining
to generating, transporting, treating, storing and disposing of hazardous waste. The
amount to be used pursuant to chapter 5 of this title is limited to the amount received
in the prior fiscal year from the hazardous waste facility registration fee.

8. For emergency response use as prescribed in section 49-282.02.

9. For all reasonable and necessary costs of the preparation and execution of
prospective purchaser agreements.

10. For all reasonable and necessary costs of the voluntary remediation program.

11. To reimburse a political subdivision of this state for its reasonable, necessary
and cost-effective remedial action costs incurred in response to a release or threat of a
release of a hazardous substance or pollutants that presents an immediate and substantial
endangerment to the public health or the environment. The political subdivision is not
eligible for reimbursement until it has taken all reasonable efforts to obtain
reimbursement from the responsible party and the federal government. No more than two
hundred fifty thousand dollars may be spent from the fund for this purpose in any fiscal
year.

12. For all reasonable and necessary costs incurred by the department pursuant to
section 49-282.04 and the department of water resources pursuant to section 45-605 for
well inspections, remedial actions and review and approval of well construction necessary
to prevent vertical cross-contamination. The director of environmental quality and the
director of water resources shall enter into an agreement for the transfer of these
costs.

13. For actions that are taken pursuant to section 49-282.03 before the selection of
a remedy.

14. For the reasonable and necessary costs of the conveyance, use or discharge of
water remediated as part of a remedy under this article.

15. For the reasonable and necessary costs incurred by the department of health
services at the request of the director of environmental quality to assess and evaluate
the effect of a release or threatened release of hazardous substances to the public
health or welfare and the environment. The director of environmental quality and the
director of the department of health services shall enter into an agreement for the
transfer of these costs. The assessment and evaluation by the department of health
services may include:

(a) Performing health effect studies and risk assessments.

(b) Evaluating and calculating cleanup standards.

(c) Assisting in communicating health and risk issues to the public.

16. For the reasonable and necessary costs incurred by the department of law to
provide legal services at the request of the director of environmental quality.

17. For the reasonable and necessary costs of contracting for the goods and services
to enable the director to implement this article.

18. For remediation demonstration projects that use bioremediation or other
alternative technologies. The department may not use more than five hundred thousand
dollars in a fiscal year pursuant to this paragraph.

F. Any political subdivision of this state which uses, used or may use waters of
the state for drinking water purposes or any state agency, regardless of whether the
political subdivision or state agency is a responsible party, may apply to the director
for monies from the fund to be used for remedial action. An application to the fund for
remedial action costs shall not be treated as an admission that a political subdivision
or an agency of the state is a responsible party, but a political subdivision or a state
agency that is a responsible party is liable for remedial action costs in the same
manner, including reimbursement of the fund, as any other responsible party. The
political subdivision shall commit a local matching amount at least equal to the amount
sought from the fund.

G. The director of environmental quality shall prepare and submit a budget for the
water quality assurance revolving fund program and the director of water resources shall
prepare and submit a budget for the Arizona water quality fund with the departments'
budgets that are required pursuant to section 35-111. The committees on appropriations of
the house of representatives and the senate shall review the water quality assurance
revolving fund budget and the Arizona water quality fund budget to ensure that the
departments' expenditures are made in accordance with the legislature's intent and that
the departments are making adequate progress toward accomplishing that intent.