Section 324.20114 - Owner or operator of facility; duties; response activity without prior approval; easement; applicability of subsections (1) and (3); completion of response activities; document; fa
NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT (EXCERPT)
Act 451 of 1994
324.20114 Owner or operator of facility; duties; response activity without prior approval; easement; applicability of subsections (1) and (3); completion of response activities; document; failure to notify department or submission of false or misleading information; civil fine; limitations; approval of plan.
Sec. 20114.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (4), an owner or operator of property who has knowledge that the property is a facility and who is liable under section 20126 shall do all of the following:
(a) Determine the nature and extent of a release at the facility.
(b) Report the release to the department within 24 hours after obtaining knowledge of the release. The requirements of this subdivision shall apply to reportable quantities of hazardous substances established pursuant to 40 C.F.R. 302.4 and 302.6 (1989), unless the department establishes through rules alternate or additional reportable quantities as necessary to protect the public health, safety, or welfare, or the environment.
(c) Immediately stop or prevent the release at the source.
(d) Immediately implement source control or removal measures to remove or contain hazardous substances that are released after the effective date of the 1995 amendments to this section if those measures are technically practical, cost effective, and provide protection to the environment. At a facility where hazardous substances are released after the effective date of the 1995 amendments to this section, and those hazardous substances have not affected groundwater but are likely to, groundwater contamination shall be prevented if it can be prevented by measures that are technically practical, cost effective, and provide protection to the environment.
(e) Immediately identify and eliminate any threat of fire or explosion or any direct contact hazards.
(f) Immediately initiate removal of a hazardous substance that is in a liquid phase, that is not dissolved in water, and that has been released.
(g) Diligently pursue response activities necessary to achieve the cleanup criteria specified in this part and the rules promulgated under this part. For a period of 2 years after the effective date of the 1995 amendments to this section, fines and penalties shall not be imposed under this part for a violation of this subdivision.
(h) Upon written request by the department, take the following actions:
(i) Provide a plan for and undertake interim response activities.
(ii) Provide a plan for and undertake evaluation activities.
(iii) Take any other response activity determined by the department to be technically sound and necessary to protect the public health, safety, welfare, or the environment.
(iv) Submit to the department for approval a remedial action plan that, when implemented, will achieve the cleanup criteria specified in this part and the rules promulgated under this part.
(v) Implement an approved remedial action plan in accordance with a schedule approved by the department pursuant to this part.
(2) A person may undertake response activity without prior approval by the department unless that response activity is being done pursuant to an administrative order or agreement or judicial decree which requires prior department approval. Any such action shall not relieve any person of liability for further response activity as may be required by the department.
(3) Except as provided in subsection (4), a person who holds an easement interest in a portion of a property who has knowledge that there may be a release within that easement shall report the release to the department within 24 hours after obtaining knowledge of the release. Unless the department establishes through rules alternate or additional reportable quantities as necessary to protect the public health, safety, or welfare, or the environment, this subsection shall apply to reportable quantities of hazardous substances established pursuant to 40 C.F.R. 302.4 and 302.6 (1989).
(4) The requirements of subsections (1) and (3) do not apply to a permitted release or a release in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local air pollution control laws.
(5) Upon a determination by the department that a person has completed all response activity at a facility pursuant to an approved remedial action plan prepared and implemented in compliance with this part and the rules promulgated under this part, the department, upon request of a person, shall execute and present a document stating that all response activities required in the approved remedial action plan have been completed.
(6) An owner or operator of a facility from which a hazardous substance is released that is determined to be reportable under subsection (1)(b), other than a permitted release, who fails to notify the department within 24 hours after obtaining knowledge of the release or who submits in such notification any information that the person knows to be false or misleading, is subject to a civil fine of not more than $25,000.00 for each day in which the violation occurs or the failure to comply continues. A fine imposed under this subsection shall be based upon the seriousness of the violation and any good faith efforts by the violator to comply with this subsection.
(7) This section does not do either of the following:
(a) Limit the authority of the department to take or conduct response activities pursuant to this part.
(b) Limit the liability of a person who is liable under section 20126.
(8) Any request for approval of a plan shall be granted or denied within 6 months of submittal of the information necessary or required for the department to make its decision. If the department does not approve the plan, the reasons for the denial shall be provided by the department in writing with a complete and specific statement of the conditions or requirements necessary to obtain approval. The department may not add additional items to this statement after it has been issued. Failure of the department to act within the specified time period shall result in the request being considered approved. The time frame for decision may be extended by the mutual consent of the department and the person submitting the plan.
History: 1994, Act 451, Eff. Mar. 30, 1995 ;-- Am. 1995, Act 71, Imd. Eff. June 5, 1995
Popular Name: Act 451
Popular Name: Environmental Remediation
Popular Name: Environmental Response Act
Popular Name: NREPA