- Perfected -

SS/SCS/SB 577 - DRYCLEANING CLEANUP FUND - This act establishes a Dry Cleaning Solvent Environmental Response Trust Fund to provide moneys for investigation, assessment, and remediation of releases of solvents from dry cleaning facilities. The Fund is administered by the Hazardous Waste Management Commission.

The act requires the Hazardous Waste Management Commission to establish, no later than July 1, 2002, standards for new dry cleaning facilities, including requirements for solvent delivery, solvent storage, solvent disposal, prohibition of solvent discharges and containment structures for dry cleaning units. The Commission shall meet with industry and interested parties prior to initial rulemaking. The Commission shall establish a schedule for upgrading existing dry cleaning facilities to the new standards within three years and shall determine facility closure procedures and appropriate completion requirements for corrective actions in response to a release.

Payments from the Fund for any particular contamination site may not exceed a total of $2 million and may not exceed twenty-five percent of the moneys in the Fund during any fiscal year. There is a $25,000 deductible for active facilities and a $20,000 deductible for abandoned sites. Moneys from the Fund may not be used if the release was caused by illegal operating practices, if the facility operator obstructs actions by the Department of Natural Resources, or if the operator is in arrears for payments to the Fund. An owner or operator must meet performance standards to participate in the fund. Payments from the Fund shall not be made until July 1, 2002. The Director shall only approve corrective action plans if funds are available to implement the plans.

An owner or operator who is eligible for payment of costs from Fund pursuant to a corrective action plan approved by the Director is shielded from liability for claims for corrective action, or costs of corrective action, at the site or which result from releases at the site.

Operators of active facilities must register annually with the Department and pay an annual registration surcharge to the Fund. The surcharge is set at $500 for small facilities, $1000 for medium facilities and $1500 for large facilities.

Sellers of drycleaning solvents must pay a solvent surcharge of $10 per gallon for chlorinated solvents and 50 cents per gallon for nonchlorinated solvents, collected quarterly. All surcharges are subject to a late fee of 15% plus 10% per annum interest on unpaid balances. If the unobligated balance of the Fund exceeds $5 million, the facility registration and solvent surcharges are not collected until the Fund balance falls below $2 million.

Violators of any provisions of this act are subject to civil penalties of up to $500 per violation, payable to the Fund.

The act contains a sunset clause which will terminate the provisions of the act on August 28, 2007.

HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT - The Department of Natural Resources is authorized to oversee corrective action for hazardous waste and the person performing the corrective action shall reimburse the Department for all reasonable costs incurred. All hazardous waste generators shall pay an initial $100 registration fee and a $100 annual registration renewal fee, in addition to any other fees owed. The definitions of "hazardous substance" and "hazardous substance emergency" are revised to include components included in the federal Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986.

HAZARDOUS WASTE FUNDS - Departmental expenditures for hazardous substance emergency response shall be made from the Hazardous Waste Fund. The Department may include overhead costs for emergency response when determining reimbursement required for emergency response service. Expenditures for voluntary cleanup oversight shall be made from the Hazardous Waste Remedial Fund.

HAZARDOUS WASTE TRANSPORTER FEES - The $100 per vehicle limit is removed. The fee shall include an annual application fee plus a use fee based upon vehicle weight, mileage, or both. The fees shall be established so as to generate a total of $600,000 per year. Railroads transporting hazardous substances shall pay an annual transporter fee of $350. Revenues from transporter fees shall be placed in the Hazardous Waste Fund.

RESOURCE RECOVERY FACILITIES - The act requires any person constructing, altering or operating a resource recovery facility to apply for certification from the Department. The application shall include certain specified documentation and a fee of no more than $500 for sites recovering only on-site waste and no more than $1000 for sites recovering off-site waste. The Department shall review applications for compliance with the act. Fee revenues shall be placed in the Hazardous Waste Fund.

HAZARDOUS WASTE GENERATOR AND LAND DISPOSAL FEES - Thirty percent of the revenues from these fees shall be placed in the Hazardous Waste Remedial Fund and the remaining seventy percent shall be placed in the Hazardous Waste Fund. The sunset on the fees is extended from January 1, 2004 to January 1, 2005.

HAZARDOUS WASTE CATEGORY TAX - 55% of the revenues from these fees shall be placed in the Hazardous Waste Remedial Fund and the remaining 45% shall be placed in the Hazardous Waste Fund. The sunset on the fees is extended from January 1, 2004 to January 1, 2005. The annual revenue target for such fees is increased from $1.5 million to $2.8 million. The Category A tax cap (on waste placed in a disposal facility or stored 180 days or more on site) is raised from $50,000 to $80,000 and the Category B tax cap (on other waste) is raised from $25,000 to $40,000. The company-wide cap is also raised to $80,000. A minimum fee of $50 per year is established for all generators subject to the fees. The Director of the Department shall annually request an appropriation of $1 million from the General Revenue Fund for deposit in the Hazardous Waste Remedial Fund. The current category tax exemption for out-of-state fuel blenders is removed by the act. Category taxes on blended fuels shall be assessed and collected at the site where the fuel is burned as a substitute fuel, and fees on such fuel burning facilities shall not exceed a cap of $80,000. The category tax site caps, company-wide cap, blended fuel burning cap and overall revenue target shall be adjusted annually based upon changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Provisions pertaining to hazardous waste management are similar to the provisions of SCS/SB 1064 from 2000.

DNR RULEMAKING - The act revises requirements for rulemaking by the Department and all boards and commissions within DNR. The act specifies that the Department and all boards and commissions within the Department may promulgate rules to ensure compliance with applicable federal laws and regulations. Such rules shall not be stricter than federal rules nor enforced prior to the time required by federal law or rule unless the DNR finds and documents specific concerns that are not regulated at the federal level or that existing federal regulations are not sufficient when applied in Missouri and that a more restrictive rule is needed.

For any "stricter" or "earlier" rule, findings of fact regarding the specific harm addresses by the rule and health or science-based reasons for the rule shall be published in the Missouri Register. Any "stricter" or "earlier" rule not promulgated in compliance with this act is void.

The fiscal note shall contain an analysis of the rule's effect on health and environment, economics, pollution prevention and available pollution control methods.

Any person prevailing in an action challenging a rule subject to this act shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees.

The act also removes the authority for affected parties to appeal decisions by the Director to the relevant board or commission.

REVIEW OF CONTRACTS - The Department shall submit any contract, written agreement or letter of intent to the Attorney General, who shall review the document for legal form. Communications related to the review are protected by attorney-client privilege, except that the Attorney General's written disposition shall be subject to disclosure as a public record when the document becomes effective.

OTTO FAJEN