Substitute Senate Bill No. 1226
Substitute Senate Bill No. 1226
PUBLIC ACT NO. 97-241
AN ACT CONCERNING THE EMERGENCY SPILL RESPONSE
PROGRAM AND THE UNDERGROUND PETROLEUM STORAGE TANK
CLEANUP ACCOUNT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 22a-451
of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof:
(a) Any person, firm or corporation which
directly or indirectly causes pollution and
contamination of any land or waters of the state
or causes an emergency through the discharge,
spillage, uncontrolled loss, seepage or filtration
of oil or petroleum or chemical liquids or solid,
liquid or gaseous products or hazardous wastes or
which owns any hazardous wastes deemed by the
commissioner to be a potential threat to human
health or the environment and removed by the
commissioner shall be liable for all costs and
expenses incurred in investigating, containing,
removing, monitoring or mitigating such pollution
and contamination, emergency or hazardous waste,
and legal expenses and court costs incurred in
such recovery, provided, if such pollution or
contamination or emergency was negligently caused,
such person, firm or corporation may, at the
discretion of the court, be liable for damages
equal to one and one-half times the cost and
expenses incurred and provided further if such
pollution or contamination or emergency was
wilfully caused, such person, firm or corporation
may, at the discretion of the court, be liable for
damages equal to two times the cost and expenses
incurred. The costs and expenses of investigating,
containing, removing, monitoring or mitigating
such pollution, contamination, emergency or
hazardous waste shall include, but not be limited
to, the administrative cost of such action
calculated at ten per cent of the actual cost plus
the interest on the actual cost at a rate of ten
per cent per year THIRTY DAYS from the date such
costs and expenses were [paid] SOUGHT FROM THE
PARTY RESPONSIBLE FOR SUCH POLLUTION,
CONTAMINATION OR EMERGENCY. The costs of
recovering any legal expenses and court costs
shall be calculated at five per cent of the actual
costs, plus interest at a rate of ten per cent per
year THIRTY DAYS from the date such costs were
[paid] SOUGHT FROM THE PARTY RESPONSIBLE FOR SUCH
POLLUTION, CONTAMINATION OR EMERGENCY. Upon
request of the commissioner, the Attorney General
shall bring a civil action to recover all such
costs and expenses.
Sec. 2. Section 3-7 of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof:
(a) Any uncollectible claim for an amount of
two hundred dollars or less may be cancelled upon
the books of any state department or agency upon
the authorization of the head of such department
or agency, provided any uncollectible patient
claim due to The University of Connecticut Health
Center for an amount of four hundred dollars or
less may be cancelled upon the books of said
health center upon the authorization of the Board
of Trustees of The University of Connecticut,
PROVIDED ANY UNCOLLECTIBLE COSTS IN AN AMOUNT LESS
THAN FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS INCURRED BY THE
COMMISSIONER OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PURSUANT
TO SECTION 22a-451, AS AMENDED BY SECTION 1 OF
THIS ACT, FOR INVESTIGATING, CONTAINING, REMOVING,
MONITORING OR MITIGATING POLLUTION AND
CONTAMINATION, EMERGENCY OR HAZARDOUS WASTE MAY BE
CANCELLED BY THE COMMISSIONER, in accordance with
procedures approved by the Comptroller.
(b) The Governor, upon the recommendation of
the Attorney General, may authorize the
cancellation upon the books of any state
department or agency of any uncollectible claim
for an amount greater than two hundred dollars due
to such department or agency or, in the case of
any uncollectible patient claim due to The
University of Connecticut Health Center, greater
than four hundred dollars.
(c) Upon the recommendation of the Attorney
General, the Governor may authorize the compromise
of any disputed claim by or against the state or
any department or agency thereof, and shall
certify to the proper officer or department or
agency of the state the amount to be received or
paid under such compromise. Such certificate shall
constitute sufficient authority to such officer or
department or agency to pay or receive the amount
therein specified in full settlement of such
claim. The record of any compromise effected
pursuant to the provisions of this section shall
be open to public inspection in accordance with
section 1-19.
Sec. 3. Subsection (b) of section 22a-449c of
the general statutes is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
(b) The account shall be used by the
Commissioner of Environmental Protection to
provide money for reimbursement or payment to
responsible parties or parties supplying goods or
services, or both, to responsible parties for
costs, expenses and other obligations paid or
incurred, as the case may be, as a result of
releases, and suspected releases, costs of
investigation of releases and suspected releases,
and third party claims for bodily injury, property
damage and damage to natural resources.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section,
the responsible party for a release shall bear all
costs of the release that are less than ten
thousand dollars or more than one million dollars,
except that for any such release which was
reported to the department prior to December 31,
1987, and for which more than five hundred
thousand dollars has been expended by the
responsible party to remediate such release prior
to June 19, 1991, the responsible party for the
release shall bear all costs of such release which
are less than ten thousand dollars or more than
[two] THREE million dollars. There shall be
allocated to the department annually, for
administrative costs, [eight] ONE MILLION ONE
hundred fifty thousand dollars.
Sec. 4. Subsection (d) of section 22a-451 of
the general statutes is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
(d) There is established an account to be
known as the emergency spill response account, for
the purpose of providing money for (1) costs
associated with the implementation of section
22a-449 and chapter 441; (2) the containment and
removal or mitigation of the discharge, spillage,
uncontrolled loss, seepage or filtration of oil or
petroleum or chemical liquids or solid, liquid or
gaseous products or hazardous wastes including the
state share of payments of the costs of remedial
action pursuant to the federal Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (42 USC 9601 et seq.), as
amended; (3) provision of potable drinking water
pursuant to section 22a-471; (4) completion of the
inventory required by section 22a-8a; (5) the
removal of hazardous wastes that the commissioner
deems to be a potential threat to human health or
the environment; (6) the accomplishment of the
purposes of sections 22a-134aa to 22a-134hh,
inclusive, except that the amount expended for the
purpose of this subdivision shall not exceed three
hundred forty thousand dollars per year; (7) (A)
the provision of short-term potable drinking water
pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of
section 22a-471 and the preparation of an
engineering report pursuant to subdivision (2) of
subsection (a) of said section when pollution of
the groundwaters by pesticides has occurred or can
reasonably be expected to occur; (B) the study
required by Special Act 86-44* and (C) as funds
allow, education of the public on the proper use
and disposal of pesticides and the prevention of
pesticide contamination in drinking water
supplies; (8) loans and lines of credit made in
accordance with the provisions of section 32-23z;
(9) the accomplishment of the purposes of sections
22a-133b to 22a-133g, inclusive, and sections
22a-134 to 22a-134d, inclusive, including
staffing, and section 22a-133k; (10) development
and implementation by the commissioner of a
state-wide aquifer protection program pursuant to
the provisions of sections 19a-37, 22-6c,
22a-354c, 22a-354e, 22a-354g to 22a-354bb,
inclusive, 25-32d, 25-33h, 25-33n and subsection
(a) of section 25-84, including, but not limited
to, development of state regulations for land uses
in aquifer protection areas, technical assistance
and educational programs; (11) research on toxic
substance contamination, including research by the
Environmental Research Institute and the Institute
of Water Resources at The University of
Connecticut and by the Connecticut Agricultural
Experiment Station; (12) the costs of the
commissioner in performing or approving level A
mapping of aquifer protection areas pursuant to
this title; and (13) inventory and evaluation of
the farm resource management requirements of farms
in aquifer areas by the eight county soil and
water conservation districts. The emergency spill
response account shall be an account of the
General Fund. On July 1, 1995, any balance
remaining in said account shall be transferred to
the resources of the General Fund, EXCEPT THAT
BEGINNING JULY 1, 1996, ANY AMOUNT APPROPRIATED
FOR EMERGENCY SPILL RESPONSE UP TO ONE MILLION
DOLLARS SHALL NOT LAPSE ON JUNE THIRTIETH OF THE
ENDING FISCAL YEAR, BUT SHALL CONTINUE TO BE
AVAILABLE FOR EXPENDITURE FOR SUCH PURPOSE IN THE
NEXT SUCCEEDING FISCAL YEAR.
Sec. 5. This act shall take effect from its
passage.
Approved June 24, 1997