Florida Senate - 2010                             CS for SB 2592
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Baker
       
       
       
       
       578-04907-10                                          20102592c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to petroleum contamination site
    3         cleanup; amending s. 215.32, F.S.; providing that
    4         unappropriated cash in the Inland Protection Trust
    5         Fund is not subject to certain transfers by the
    6         Legislature; amending s. 376.3071, F.S.; revising
    7         provisions relating to petroleum contamination site
    8         selection and cleanup criteria; deleting obsolete
    9         provisions relating to funding for limited interim
   10         soil-source removals; requiring the Department of
   11         Environmental Protection to utilize natural
   12         attenuation monitoring strategies to transition sites
   13         into long-term natural attenuation monitoring under
   14         specified conditions; providing for natural
   15         attenuation and active remediation of sites; requiring
   16         the department to evaluate certain costs and
   17         strategies; prohibiting a local government from
   18         denying any development permit based solely on the
   19         presence of petroleum contamination for any
   20         construction, repairs, or renovations performed in
   21         conjunction with tank upgrade activity in an existing
   22         retail fuel facility; requiring that such facility be
   23         fully operational before the request for the building
   24         permit; requiring that the construction, repairs, or
   25         renovations be performed by a licensed contractor;
   26         requiring that the construction, repairs, or
   27         renovations performed in conjunction with such permit
   28         comply with the applicable provisions of chs. 489 and
   29         553, F.S.; providing an exception; establishing a low
   30         scored site initiative; providing conditions for
   31         participation; requiring the department to issue
   32         certain determinations and orders; providing that
   33         certain sites are eligible for payment of preapproved
   34         costs; requiring assessment work to be completed
   35         within a certain timeframe; providing payment and
   36         funding limitations; deleting provisions relating to
   37         nonreimbursable voluntary cleanup; providing an
   38         effective date.
   39  
   40  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   41  
   42         Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
   43  215.32, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   44         215.32 State funds; segregation.—
   45         (2) The source and use of each of these funds shall be as
   46  follows:
   47         (b)
   48         1. The trust funds shall consist of moneys received by the
   49  state which under law or under trust agreement are segregated
   50  for a purpose authorized by law. The state agency or branch of
   51  state government receiving or collecting such moneys is shall be
   52  responsible for their proper expenditure as provided by law.
   53  Upon the request of the state agency or branch of state
   54  government responsible for the administration of the trust fund,
   55  the Chief Financial Officer may establish accounts within the
   56  trust fund at a level considered necessary for proper
   57  accountability. Once an account is established within a trust
   58  fund, the Chief Financial Officer may authorize payment from
   59  that account only upon determining that there is sufficient cash
   60  and releases at the level of the account.
   61         2. In addition to other trust funds created by law, to the
   62  extent possible, each agency shall use the following trust funds
   63  as described in this subparagraph for day-to-day operations:
   64         a. Operations or operating trust fund, for use as a
   65  depository for funds to be used for program operations funded by
   66  program revenues, with the exception of administrative
   67  activities when the operations or operating trust fund is a
   68  proprietary fund.
   69         b. Operations and maintenance trust fund, for use as a
   70  depository for client services funded by third-party payors.
   71         c. Administrative trust fund, for use as a depository for
   72  funds to be used for management activities that are departmental
   73  in nature and funded by indirect cost earnings and assessments
   74  against trust funds. Proprietary funds are excluded from the
   75  requirement of using an administrative trust fund.
   76         d. Grants and donations trust fund, for use as a depository
   77  for funds to be used for allowable grant or donor agreement
   78  activities funded by restricted contractual revenue from private
   79  and public nonfederal sources.
   80         e. Agency working capital trust fund, for use as a
   81  depository for funds to be used pursuant to s. 216.272.
   82         f. Clearing funds trust fund, for use as a depository for
   83  funds to account for collections pending distribution to lawful
   84  recipients.
   85         g. Federal grant trust fund, for use as a depository for
   86  funds to be used for allowable grant activities funded by
   87  restricted program revenues from federal sources.
   88  
   89  To the extent possible, each agency must adjust its internal
   90  accounting to use existing trust funds consistent with the
   91  requirements of this subparagraph. If an agency does not have
   92  trust funds listed in this subparagraph and cannot make such
   93  adjustment, the agency must recommend the creation of the
   94  necessary trust funds to the Legislature by no later than the
   95  next scheduled review of the agency’s trust funds pursuant to s.
   96  215.3206.
   97         3. All such moneys are hereby appropriated to be expended
   98  in accordance with the law or trust agreement under which they
   99  were received, subject always to the provisions of chapter 216
  100  relating to the appropriation of funds and to the applicable
  101  laws relating to the deposit or expenditure of moneys in the
  102  State Treasury.
  103         4.a. Notwithstanding any provision of law restricting the
  104  use of trust funds to specific purposes, unappropriated cash
  105  balances from selected trust funds may be authorized by the
  106  Legislature for transfer to the Budget Stabilization Fund and
  107  General Revenue Fund in the General Appropriations Act.
  108         b. This subparagraph does not apply to trust funds required
  109  by federal programs or mandates; trust funds established for
  110  bond covenants, indentures, or resolutions whose revenues are
  111  legally pledged by the state or public body to meet debt service
  112  or other financial requirements of any debt obligations of the
  113  state or any public body; the Inland Protection Trust Fund; the
  114  State Transportation Trust Fund; the trust fund containing the
  115  net annual proceeds from the Florida Education Lotteries; the
  116  Florida Retirement System Trust Fund; trust funds under the
  117  management of the State Board of Education or the Board of
  118  Governors of the State University System if, where such trust
  119  funds are for auxiliary enterprises, self-insurance, and
  120  contracts, grants, and donations, as those terms are defined by
  121  general law; trust funds that serve as clearing funds or
  122  accounts for the Chief Financial Officer or state agencies;
  123  trust funds that account for assets held by the state in a
  124  trustee capacity as an agent or fiduciary for individuals,
  125  private organizations, or other governmental units; and other
  126  trust funds authorized by the State Constitution.
  127         Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (5) and paragraph
  128  (b) of subsection (11) of section 376.3071, Florida Statutes,
  129  are amended to read:
  130         376.3071 Inland Protection Trust Fund; creation; purposes;
  131  funding.—
  132         (5) SITE SELECTION AND CLEANUP CRITERIA.—
  133         (c) The department shall require source removal, if
  134  warranted and cost-effective, at each site eligible for
  135  restoration funding from the Inland Protection Trust Fund.
  136         1. Funding for free product recovery may be provided in
  137  advance of the order established by the priority ranking system
  138  under paragraph (a) for site cleanup activities. However, a
  139  separate prioritization for free product recovery shall be
  140  established consistent with paragraph (a). No more than $5
  141  million shall be encumbered from the Inland Protection Trust
  142  Fund in any fiscal year for free product recovery conducted in
  143  advance of the priority order under paragraph (a) established
  144  for site cleanup activities.
  145         2. Funding for limited interim soil-source removals for
  146  sites that will become inaccessible for future remediation due
  147  to road infrastructure and right-of-way restrictions resulting
  148  from a pending Department of Transportation road construction
  149  project or for secondary containment upgrading of underground
  150  storage tanks required under chapter 62-761, Florida
  151  Administrative Code, may be provided in advance of the order
  152  established by the priority ranking system under paragraph (a)
  153  for site cleanup activities. The department shall provide
  154  written guidance on the limited source removal information and
  155  technical evaluation necessary to justify a request for a
  156  limited source removal in advance of the priority order pursuant
  157  to paragraph (a) established for site cleanup activities.
  158  Prioritization for limited source removal projects associated
  159  with a secondary containment upgrade in any fiscal year shall be
  160  determined on a first-come, first-served basis according to the
  161  approval date issued under s. 376.30711 for the limited source
  162  removal. Funding for limited source removals associated with
  163  secondary containment upgrades shall be limited to 10 sites in
  164  each fiscal year for each facility owner and any related person.
  165  The limited source removal for secondary containment upgrades
  166  shall be completed no later than 6 months after the department
  167  issues its approval of the project, and the approval
  168  automatically expires at the end of the 6 months. Funding for
  169  Department of Transportation and secondary containment upgrade
  170  source removals may not exceed $50,000 for a single facility
  171  unless the department makes a determination that it is cost
  172  effective and environmentally beneficial to exceed this amount,
  173  but in no event shall the department authorize costs in excess
  174  of $100,000 for a single facility. Department funding for
  175  limited interim soil-source removals associated with Department
  176  of Transportation projects and secondary containment upgrades
  177  shall be limited to supplemental soil assessment, soil
  178  screening, soil removal, backfill material, treatment or
  179  disposal of the contaminated soil, dewatering related to the
  180  contaminated soil removal in an amount of up to 10 percent of
  181  the total interim soil-source removal project costs, treatment,
  182  and disposal of the contaminated groundwater and preparation of
  183  the source removal report. No other costs associated with the
  184  facility upgrade may be paid with department funds. No more than
  185  $1 million for Department of Transportation limited source
  186  removal projects and $10 million for secondary containment
  187  upgrade limited source removal projects conducted in advance of
  188  the priority order established under paragraph (a) for site
  189  cleanup activities shall be encumbered from the Inland
  190  Protection Trust Fund in any fiscal year. This subparagraph is
  191  repealed effective June 30, 2010.
  192         2.3. Once free product removal and other source removal
  193  identified in this paragraph are completed at a site, and
  194  notwithstanding the order established by the priority ranking
  195  system under paragraph (a) for site cleanup activities, the
  196  department may reevaluate the site to determine the degree of
  197  active cleanup needed to continue site rehabilitation. Further,
  198  the department shall determine if the reevaluated site qualifies
  199  for natural attenuation monitoring, long-term natural
  200  attenuation monitoring, or no further action. If additional site
  201  rehabilitation is necessary to reach no further action status,
  202  the site rehabilitation shall be conducted in the order
  203  established by the priority ranking system under paragraph (a).
  204  and The department shall is encouraged to utilize natural
  205  attenuation and monitoring strategies and, when cost-effective,
  206  transition sites eligible for restoration funding assistance to
  207  long-term natural attenuation monitoring where the plume is
  208  shrinking or stable and confined to the source property
  209  boundaries and the petroleum products’ chemicals of concern meet
  210  the natural attenuation default concentrations, as defined by
  211  department rule. If the plume migrates beyond the source
  212  property boundaries, natural attenuation monitoring may be
  213  conducted in accordance with department rule, or if the site no
  214  longer qualifies for natural attenuation monitoring, active
  215  remediation may be resumed. If the petroleum products’ chemicals
  216  of concern increase or are not significantly reduced after 42
  217  months of monitoring, active remediation shall be resumed as
  218  necessary. For sites undergoing active remediation, the
  219  department shall evaluate the cost of natural attenuation
  220  monitoring pursuant to s. 376.30711 to ensure that site
  221  mobilizations are performed in a cost-effective manner. Sites
  222  that are not eligible for state restoration funding may
  223  transition to long-term natural attenuation monitoring using the
  224  criteria in this subparagraph. Nothing in this subparagraph
  225  precludes a site from pursuing a “No Further Action” order with
  226  conditions where site conditions warrant.
  227         3. The department shall evaluate whether higher natural
  228  attenuation default concentrations for natural attenuation
  229  monitoring or long-term natural attenuation monitoring are cost
  230  effective and would adequately protect public health and the
  231  environment. The department shall also evaluate site-specific
  232  characteristics that would allow for higher natural attenuation
  233  or long-term natural attenuation concentration levels.
  234         4.A local government may not deny a building permit based
  235  solely on the presence of petroleum contamination for any
  236  construction, repairs, or renovations performed in conjunction
  237  with tank upgrade activity in an existing retail fuel facility.
  238  Such facility must have been fully operational prior to the
  239  request for the building permit and any construction, repairs,
  240  or renovations must be performed by a licensed contractor. All
  241  building permits and any construction, repairs, or renovations
  242  performed in conjunction with such permits must comply with the
  243  applicable provisions of chapters 489 and 553.
  244         (11)
  245         (b) Low-scored site initiative Nonreimbursable voluntary
  246  cleanup.Notwithstanding s. 376.30711, any site For sites with
  247  releases reported prior to January 1, 1995, the department shall
  248  issue a determination of “No Further Action” at sites ranked
  249  with a total priority ranking score of 10 points or less may
  250  voluntarily participate in the low-scored site initiative,
  251  whether or not the site is eligible for state restoration
  252  funding.
  253         1. To participate in the low-scored site initiative, the
  254  responsible party or property owner must affirmatively
  255  demonstrate that, which meet the following conditions are met:
  256         a.1.Upon reassessment pursuant to department rule, the
  257  site retains a priority ranking score of 10 points or less No
  258  free product exists in wells, boreholes, subsurface utility
  259  conduits, or vaults or buildings and no other fire or explosion
  260  hazard exists as a result of a release of petroleum products.
  261         b.2. No excessively contaminated soil, as defined by
  262  department rule, exists onsite as a result of a release of
  263  petroleum products.
  264         c.3.A minimum of 6 months of groundwater monitoring
  265  indicates that the plume is shrinking or stable Public supply
  266  wells for consumptive use of water expected to be affected by
  267  the site shall not be located within a 1/2-mile radius of the
  268  site; private supply wells for consumptive use of water expected
  269  to be affected by the site shall not be located within a 1/4
  270  mile radius of the site; and there must be no current or
  271  projected consumptive use of the water affected by the site for
  272  at least the following 3 years. Where appropriate, institutional
  273  controls meeting the requirements of subparagraph (5)(b)4. may
  274  be required by the department to meet these criteria.
  275         d.4. The release of petroleum products at the site does
  276  shall not adversely affect adjacent surface waters, including
  277  their effects on human health and the environment.
  278         e.5. The area of groundwater containing the petroleum
  279  products’ chemicals of concern in concentrations greater than
  280  the boundary values defined in subparagraph 7. is less than one
  281  quarter acre and is confined to the source property boundaries
  282  of the real property on which the discharge originated.
  283         f.6. Soils onsite that are subject to human exposure found
  284  between land surface and 2 feet below land surface shall meet
  285  the soil cleanup target levels criteria established by
  286  department rule or human exposure is limited by pursuant to sub
  287  subparagraph (5)(b)9.a. Where appropriate, institutional or
  288  engineering controls meeting the requirements of subparagraph
  289  (5)(b)4. may be required by the department to meet these
  290  criteria.
  291         2. Upon affirmative demonstration of the conditions under
  292  subparagraph 1., the department shall issue a determination of
  293  “No Further Action.” Such determination acknowledges that
  294  minimal contamination exists onsite and that such contamination
  295  is not a threat to human health or the environment. If no
  296  contamination is detected, the department may issue a site
  297  rehabilitation completion order.
  298         3. Sites that are eligible for state restoration funding
  299  may receive payment of preapproved costs for the low-scored site
  300  initiative as follows:
  301         a. A responsible party or property owner may submit an
  302  assessment plan designed to affirmatively demonstrate that the
  303  site meets the conditions under subparagraph 1. Notwithstanding
  304  the priority ranking score of the site, the department may
  305  preapprove the cost of the assessment pursuant to s. 376.30711,
  306  including 6 months of groundwater monitoring, not to exceed
  307  $30,000 for each site. The department may not pay the costs
  308  associated with the establishment of institutional or
  309  engineering controls.
  310         b. The assessment work shall be completed no later than 6
  311  months after the department issues its approval.
  312         c. No more than $10 million for the low-scored site
  313  initiative shall be encumbered from the Inland Protection Trust
  314  Fund in any fiscal year. Funds shall be made available on a
  315  first-come, first-served basis and shall be limited to 10 sites
  316  in each fiscal year for each responsible party or property
  317  owner.
  318         7. Concentrations of the petroleum products’ chemicals of
  319  concern in groundwater at the property boundary of the real
  320  property on which the petroleum contamination originates shall
  321  not exceed the criteria established pursuant to sub-subparagraph
  322  (5)(b)7.a. Where appropriate, institutional or engineering
  323  controls meeting the requirements of subparagraph (5)(b)4. may
  324  be required by the department to meet these criteria.
  325         8. The department is authorized to establish alternate
  326  cleanup target levels for onsite nonboundary wells pursuant to
  327  the criteria in subparagraph (5)(b)8.
  328         9. A scientific evaluation that demonstrates that the
  329  boundary criteria in subparagraph 7. will not be exceeded and a
  330  1-year site-specific groundwater monitoring plan approved in
  331  advance by the department validates the scientific evaluation.
  332  If the boundary criteria in subparagraph 7. are exceeded at any
  333  time, the department may order an extension of the monitoring
  334  period for up to 12 additional months from the time of the
  335  excess reading. The department shall determine the adequacy of
  336  the groundwater monitoring system at a site. All wells required
  337  by the department pursuant to this paragraph shall be installed
  338  before the monitoring period begins.
  339         10. Costs associated with activities performed pursuant to
  340  this paragraph for sites which qualify for a determination of
  341  “No Further Action” under this paragraph shall not be
  342  reimbursable from the Inland Protection Trust Fund.
  343         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.