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2011 Florida Statutes
POLLUTANT DISCHARGE PREVENTION AND REMOVAL
The officer authorized to issue these citations may indicate on the citation the time and location of the scheduled hearing and shall indicate the applicable civil penalty.
A person cited for an infraction under this section who pays the civil penalty or forfeits the bond has admitted the infraction and waives the right to a hearing on the issue of commission of the infraction. Such admission may not be used as evidence in any other proceedings.
The officer authorized to issue these citations may indicate on the citation the time and location of the scheduled hearing and shall indicate the applicable civil penalty.
A person cited for an infraction under this section who pays the civil penalty or forfeits the bond has admitted the infraction and waives the right to a hearing on the issue of commission of the infraction. Such admission may not be used as evidence in any other proceedings.
The officer authorized to issue these citations may indicate on the citation the time and location of the scheduled hearing and shall indicate the applicable civil penalty.
A person cited for an infraction under this section who pays the civil penalty or forfeits the bond has admitted the infraction and waives the right to a hearing on the issue of commission of the infraction. Such admission may not be used as evidence in any other proceedings.
provided that, to establish entitlement to any of the foregoing defenses, the responsible party shall plead and prove that the responsible party exercised due care with respect to the pollutant concerned, taking into consideration the characteristics of the pollutant and in light of all relevant facts and circumstances, and took precautions against foreseeable acts or omissions of others and the foreseeable consequences of those acts or omissions.
(b) If either the claimant or the person determined by the secretary to be responsible for the discharge disagrees with the amount of the damage award, such person may request a hearing pursuant to ss. 120.569 and 120.57.
The department shall adopt rules establishing the pollutant category of pesticides and other pollutants as defined in s. 376.031 and not listed in this paragraph.
the claimant may present the claim to the fund.
The officer authorized to issue these citations may indicate on the citation the time and location of the scheduled hearing and shall indicate the applicable civil penalty.
A person cited for an infraction under this section who pays the civil penalty or forfeits the bond has admitted the infraction and waives the right to a hearing on the issue of commission of the infraction. Such admission may not be used as evidence in any other proceeding.
The provisions of this subsection do not relieve any person who has acquired title subsequent to July 1, 1992, from the duty to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she undertook, at the time of acquisition, all appropriate inquiry into the previous ownership and use of the property consistent with good commercial or customary practice in an effort to minimize liability, as required by s. 376.308(1)(c).
The department shall require source removal as a risk reduction measure if warranted and cost-effective. Once source removal at a site is complete, the department shall reevaluate the site to determine the degree of active cleanup needed to continue. Further, the department shall determine if the reevaluated site qualifies for monitoring only or if no further action is required to rehabilitate the site. If additional site rehabilitation is necessary to reach “No Further Action” status, the department is encouraged to utilize natural attenuation and monitoring where site conditions warrant.
The Inland Protection Trust Fund may only be used to fund the activities in ss. 376.30-376.317 except ss. 376.3078 and 376.3079. Amounts on deposit in the Inland Protection Trust Fund in each fiscal year shall first be applied or allocated for the payment of amounts payable by the department pursuant to paragraph (o) under a service contract entered into by the department pursuant to s. 376.3075 and appropriated in each year by the Legislature prior to making or providing for other disbursements from the fund. Nothing in this subsection shall authorize the use of the Inland Protection Trust Fund for cleanup of contamination caused primarily by a discharge of solvents as defined in s. 206.9925(6), or polychlorinated biphenyls when their presence causes them to be hazardous wastes, except solvent contamination which is the result of chemical or physical breakdown of petroleum products and is otherwise eligible. Facilities used primarily for the storage of motor or diesel fuels as defined in ss. 206.01 and 206.86 shall be presumed not to be excluded from eligibility pursuant to this section.
Moneys in the fund shall then be obligated for activities described in paragraphs (4)(a)-(e) at individual sites in accordance with such established criteria. However, nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to restrict the department from modifying the priority status of a rehabilitation site where conditions warrant, taking into consideration the actual distance between the contamination site and groundwater or surface water receptors or other factors that affect the risk of exposure to petroleum products’ chemicals of concern. The department may use the effective date of a department final order granting eligibility pursuant to subsections (9) and (13) and ss. 376.305(6) and 376.3072 to establish a prioritization system within a particular priority scoring range.
However, nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to restrict the department from temporarily postponing completion of any site rehabilitation program for which funds are being expended whenever such postponement is deemed necessary in order to make funds available for rehabilitation of a contamination site with a higher priority status.
Provided, however, that a site may be determined eligible by the department for good cause shown, including, but not limited to, demonstration by the owner or operator that to achieve compliance would cause an increase in the potential for the spread of the contamination.
If, in order to avoid prolonged delay, the department in its discretion deems it necessary to expend sums from the fund to cover ineligible sites or costs as set forth in this paragraph, the department may do so and seek recovery and reimbursement therefor in the same manner and in accordance with the same procedures as are established for recovery and reimbursement of sums otherwise owed to or expended from the fund.
Any person convicted of such a violation shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
The limited contamination assessment report shall be sufficient to support the proposed course of action and to estimate the cost of the proposed course of action. Any costs incurred related to conducting the limited contamination assessment report are not refundable from the Inland Protection Trust Fund. Site eligibility under this subsection, or any other provision of this section, shall not constitute an entitlement to preapproved advanced cleanup or continued restoration funding. The applicant shall certify to the department that the applicant has the prerequisite authority to enter into a preapproved advanced cleanup contract with the department. This certification shall be submitted with the application.
However, the department may consider in-kind services from eligible counties and municipalities in lieu of the $30,000 deductible. The cost of conducting initial remedial action as defined by department rules shall be an eligible restoration cost pursuant to this provision.
Nothing contained herein shall prevent the department from assessing civil penalties for noncompliance as provided herein.
Sites meeting the criteria of this subsection for which a site rehabilitation completion order was issued prior to June 1, 2008, do not qualify for the 2008 increase in site rehabilitation funding assistance and are bound by the pre-June 1, 2008, limits. Sites meeting the criteria of this subsection for which a site rehabilitation completion order was not issued prior to June 1, 2008, regardless of whether or not they have previously transitioned to nonstate-funded cleanup status, may continue state-funded cleanup pursuant to s. 376.30711 until a site rehabilitation completion order is issued or the increased site rehabilitation funding assistance limit is reached, whichever occurs first. At no time shall expenses incurred outside the preapproved site rehabilitation program under s. 376.30711 be reimbursable.
The department shall not obligate funds in excess of the annual appropriation.
and provided that the real property owner or the owner or operator of the drycleaning facility or the wholesale supply facility has not willfully concealed the discharge of drycleaning solvents and has remitted all taxes due pursuant to ss. 376.70 and 376.75, has provided documented evidence of contamination by drycleaning solvents as required by the rules developed pursuant to this section, has reported the contamination prior to December 31, 1998, and has not denied the department access to the site.
and provided that the real property owner or the owner or operator of the drycleaning facility or the wholesale supply facility has not willfully concealed the discharge of drycleaning solvents, has provided documented evidence of contamination by drycleaning solvents as required by the rules developed pursuant to this section, has reported the contamination prior to December 31, 1998, and has not denied the department access to the site.
The defense provided by this paragraph does not apply to any liability under a federally delegated program.
The defense provided by this paragraph does not apply to any liability under a federally delegated program.
The department shall require source removal, as a risk reduction measure, if warranted and cost-effective. Once source removal at a site is complete, the department shall reevaluate the site to determine the degree of active cleanup needed to continue. Further, the department shall determine if the reevaluated site qualifies for monitoring only or if no further action is required to rehabilitate the site. If additional site rehabilitation is necessary to reach “no further action” status, the department is encouraged to utilize natural attenuation and monitoring where site conditions warrant.
For uncontaminated wells (only one shall apply):
Capacity (gallons per day) | Points |
greater than 1,000,000 | 90 |
100,000 to 1,000,000 | 60 |
less than 100,000 | 30 |
For contaminated wells (only one shall apply):
Capacity (gallons per day) | Points |
greater than 1,000,000 | 25 |
100,000 to 1,000,000 | 15 |
less than 100,000 | 5 |
Distance | Points |
within 500 feet | 40 |
within 1/4 mile | 30 |
within 1/2 mile | 20 |
within 1 mile | 10 |
Distance | Points |
within 500 feet | 15 |
within 1/4 mile | 10 |
within 1/2 mile | 8 |
within 1 mile | 5 |
DRASTIC Index | Points |
79 and below | 3 |
80 to 99 | 6 |
100 to 119 | 9 |
120 to 139 | 12 |
140 to 159 | 15 |
160 to 179 | 18 |
180 to 199 | 21 |
200 to 266 | 24 |
The department shall reconsider the applications of facilities that meet the criteria set forth in this paragraph and that were previously determined to be ineligible due to failure to comply with secondary containment requirements. The facilities must meet all other eligibility requirements.
The immunity set forth in this subsection also applies to any nearby real property owner. This immunity shall continue to apply to any real property owner who transfers, conveys, leases, or sells property on which a drycleaning facility is located so long as the voluntary cleanup activities continue. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, this subsection applies to causes of action accruing on or after the effective date of this act and applies retroactively to causes of action accruing before the effective date of this act for which a lawsuit has not been filed before the effective date of this act.
“(1) The executive director of the Department of Revenue is authorized, and all conditions are deemed met, to adopt emergency rules under ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54(4), Florida Statutes, for the purpose of implementing this act.
“(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, such emergency rules shall remain in effect for 6 months after the date adopted and may be renewed during the pendency of procedures to adopt permanent rules addressing the subject of the emergency rules.”
Any person bringing such an action must prove negligence to recover damages under this subsection. For the purposes of this subsection, noncompliance with this act, or any of the rules promulgated pursuant hereto, as the same may hereafter be amended, shall be prima facie evidence of negligence.
If moneys on deposit in the trust fund are not sufficient to satisfy the needed remedial or corrective action, and if the responsible party does not take remedial and corrective action in a timely manner or if a catastrophic event occurs, a temporary transfer of the required amount, or a maximum of $10 million, from the Florida Coastal Protection Trust Fund pursuant to s. 376.11(4)(i) is authorized. The Florida Coastal Protection Trust Fund shall be reimbursed immediately upon deposit into the Minerals Trust Fund of moneys referred to in paragraph (b).
Pursuant to this subsection, the owner or operator of a drycleaning facility must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Department of Revenue that failure to remit all taxes due in a timely manner was not due to willful and overt actions to avoid payment of taxes.
The local pollution control program shall not be delegated authority to take action on or to make decisions regarding any brownfield site on land owned by the local government. Any delegation agreement entered into pursuant to this subsection shall contain such terms and conditions necessary to ensure the effective and efficient administration and enforcement of the statutory requirements of the brownfield program as established by the act and the relevant rules and other criteria of the department.