260.925. Expenditures from fund, how used--fund not to be used, when--liability determinations--entry onto premises where corrective action required--fund payment limit--owner liability when fund paym
Expenditures from fund, how used--fund not to be used, when--liabilitydeterminations--entry onto premises where corrective actionrequired--fund payment limit--owner liability when fund paymentobtained.
260.925. 1. On and after July 1, 2002, moneys in the fund shall beutilized to address contamination resulting from releases of dry-cleaningsolvents as provided in sections 260.900 to 260.960. Whenever a releaseposes a threat to human health or the environment, the department,consistent with rules and regulations adopted by the commission pursuant tosubdivisions (2) and (3) of subsection 2 of section 260.905, shall expendmoneys available in the fund to provide for:
(1) Investigation and assessment of a release from a dry-cleaningfacility, including costs of investigations and assessments ofcontamination which may have moved off of the dry-cleaning facility;
(2) Necessary or appropriate emergency action, including but notlimited to treatment, restoration or replacement of drinking watersupplies, to assure that the human health or safety is not threatened by arelease or potential release;
(3) Remediation of releases from dry-cleaning facilities, includingcontamination which may have moved off of the dry-cleaning facility, whichremediation shall consist of the preparation of a corrective action planand the cleanup of affected soil, groundwater and surface waters, using analternative that is cost-effective, technologically feasible and reliable,provides adequate protection of human health and environment and to theextent practicable minimizes environmental damage;
(4) Operation and maintenance of corrective action;
(5) Monitoring of releases from dry-cleaning facilities includingcontamination which may have moved off of the dry-cleaning facility;
(6) Payment of reasonable costs incurred by the director in providingfield and laboratory services;
(7) Reasonable costs of restoring property as nearly as practicableto the condition that existed prior to activities associated with theinvestigation of a release or cleanup or remediation activities;
(8) Removal and proper disposal of wastes generated by a release of adry-cleaning solvent; and
(9) Payment of costs of corrective action conducted by the departmentor by entities other than the department but approved by the department,whether or not such corrective action is set out in a corrective actionplan; except that, there shall be no reimbursement for corrective actioncosts incurred before August 28, 2000.
2. Nothing in subsection 1 of this section shall be construed toauthorize the department to obligate moneys in the fund for payment ofcosts that are not integral to corrective action for a release ofdry-cleaning solvents from a dry-cleaning facility. Moneys from the fundshall not be used:
(1) For corrective action at sites that are contaminated by solventsnormally used in dry-cleaning operations where the contamination did notresult from the operation of a dry-cleaning facility;
(2) For corrective action at sites, other than dry-cleaningfacilities, that are contaminated by dry-cleaning solvents which werereleased while being transported to or from a dry-cleaning facility;
(3) To pay any fine or penalty brought against a dry-cleaningfacility operator under state or federal law;
(4) To pay any costs related to corrective action at a dry-cleaningfacility that has been included by the United States EnvironmentalProtection Agency on the national priorities list;
(5) For corrective action at sites with active dry-cleaningfacilities where the owner or operator is not in compliance with sections260.900 to 260.960, rules and regulations adopted pursuant to sections260.900 to 260.960, orders of the director pursuant to sections 260.900 to260.960, or any other applicable federal or state environmental statutes,rules or regulations; or
(6) For corrective action at sites with abandoned dry-cleaningfacilities that have been taken out of operation prior to July 1, 2009, andnot documented by or reported to the department by July 1, 2009. Anyperson reporting such a site to the department shall include any availableevidence that the site once contained a dry-cleaning facility.
3. Nothing in sections 260.900 to 260.960 shall be construed torestrict the department from temporarily postponing completion ofcorrective action for which moneys from the fund are being expendedwhenever such postponement is deemed necessary in order to protect publichealth and the environment.
4. At any multisource site, the department shall utilize the moneysin the fund to pay for the proportionate share of the liability forcorrective action costs which is attributable to a release from one or moredry-cleaning facilities and for that proportionate share of the liabilityonly.
5. At any multisource site, the director is authorized to make adetermination of the relative liability of the fund for costs of correctiveaction, expressed as a percentage of the total cost of corrective action ata site, whether known or unknown. The director shall issue an orderestablishing such percentage of liability. Such order shall be binding andshall control the obligation of the fund until or unless amended by thedirector. In the event of an appeal from such order, such percentage ofliability shall be controlling for costs incurred during the pendency ofthe appeal.
6. Any authorized officer, employee or agent of the department, orany person under order or contract with the department, may enter onto anyproperty or premises, at reasonable times and with reasonable advancenotice to the operator, to take corrective action where the directordetermines that such action is necessary to protect the public health orenvironment. If consent is not granted by the operator regarding anyrequest made by any officer, employee or agent of the department, or anyperson under order or contract with the department, under the provisions ofthis section, the director may issue an order directing compliance with therequest. The order may be issued after such notice and opportunity forconsultation as is reasonably appropriate under the circumstances.
7. Notwithstanding any other provision of sections 260.900 to260.960, in the discretion of the director, an operator may be responsiblefor up to one hundred percent of the costs of corrective actionattributable to such operator if the director finds, after notice and anopportunity for a hearing in accordance with chapter 536, RSMo, that:
(1) Requiring the operator to bear such responsibility will notprejudice another owner, operator or person who is eligible, pursuant tothe provisions of sections 260.900 to 260.960, to have corrective actioncosts paid by the fund; and
(2) The operator:
(a) Caused a release in excess of a reportable quantity by willful orwanton actions and such release was caused by operating practices inviolation of existing laws and regulations at the time of the release; or
(b) Is in arrears for moneys owed pursuant to sections 260.900 to260.960, after notice and an opportunity to correct the arrearage; or
(c) Materially obstructs the efforts of the department to carry outits obligations pursuant to sections 260.900 to 260.960; except that, theexercise of legal rights shall not constitute a substantial obstruction; or
(d) Caused or allowed a release in excess of a reportable quantitybecause of a willful material violation of sections 260.900 to 260.960 orthe rules and regulations adopted by the commission pursuant to sections260.900 to 260.960.
8. For purposes of subsection 7 of this section, unless a transfer ismade to take advantage of the provisions of subsection 7 of this section,purchasers of stock or other indicia of ownership and other successors ininterest shall not be considered to be the same owner or operator as theseller or transferor of such stock or indicia of ownership even thoughthere may be no change in the legal identity of the owner or operator. Tothe extent that an owner or operator is responsible for corrective actioncosts pursuant to subsection 7 of this section, such owner or operatorshall not be entitled to the exemption provided in subsection 5 of section260.930.
9. The fund shall not be liable for the payment of costs in excess ofone million dollars at any one contaminated dry-cleaning site.Additionally, the fund shall not be liable for the payment of costs for anyone site in excess of twenty-five percent of the total moneys in the fundduring any fiscal year. For purposes of this subsection, "contaminateddry-cleaning site" means the areal extent of soil or ground watercontaminated with dry-cleaning solvents.
10. The owner or operator of an active dry-cleaning facility shall beliable for the first twenty-five thousand dollars of corrective actioncosts incurred because of a release from an active dry-cleaning facility.The owner of an abandoned dry-cleaning facility shall be liable for thefirst twenty-five thousand dollars of corrective action costs incurredbecause of a release from an abandoned dry-cleaning facility. Nothing inthis subsection shall be construed to prohibit the department from takingcorrective action because the department cannot obtain the deductible.
(L. 2000 S.B. 577, A.L. 2005 S.B. 170 merged with S.B. 225)Effective 7-06-05 (S.B. 170) 8-28-05 (S.B. 225)
Expires 8-28-12