Florida Senate - 2017 CS for SB 532 By the Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation; and Senators Galvano, Stewart, Benacquisto, Rouson, Book, and Young 592-02187-17 2017532c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to public notification of pollution; 3 creating s. 403.076, F.S.; providing a short title; 4 creating s. 403.077, F.S.; providing goals and 5 legislative findings; specifying authority of the 6 Department of Environmental Protection; specifying 7 that the act does not alter or affect the emergency 8 management responsibilities of certain other 9 governmental entities; creating s. 403.078, F.S.; 10 defining the term “reportable pollution release”; 11 requiring an owner or operator of an installation at 12 which a reportable pollution release occurred to 13 provide certain information to the department within 14 24 hours after the discovery of a reportable pollution 15 release; authorizing the owner or operator to amend 16 such notice; specifying compliance and enforcement 17 requirements; requiring owners or operators to provide 18 notice when a reportable pollution release migrates 19 outside the property boundaries of the installation; 20 requiring the department to publish such information 21 in a specified manner; requiring the department to 22 establish an electronic mailing list; requiring the 23 department to provide a reporting form and e-mail 24 address for such notice; specifying that providing a 25 notice does not constitute an admission of liability 26 or harm; specifying penalties for violations; 27 requiring the department to adopt rules; amending s. 28 403.121, F.S.; specifying penalties for failure to 29 provide required notice; providing an effective date. 30 31 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 32 33 Section 1. Section 403.076, Florida Statutes, is created to 34 read: 35 403.076 Short title.—Sections 403.076-403.078 may be cited 36 as the “Public Notice of Pollution Act.” 37 Section 2. Section 403.077, Florida Statutes, is created to 38 read: 39 403.077 Public notice of pollution; goals and findings.— 40 (1) It is a goal of the state that the public be timely 41 notified of a discovered, reportable pollution release that may 42 pose an immediate danger to the public health, safety, or 43 welfare. 44 (2) The department has the authority and the duty to 45 control and prohibit pollution of the air, land, and water of 46 this state and has the primary responsibility to ensure that the 47 public is aware of reportable pollution releases. Alerting the 48 department about reportable pollution releases, within the 49 timeframes and in the manner provided by this act, will better 50 inform the department and the public regarding such releases and 51 the need, if any, to take action to protect the public health, 52 safety, and welfare. 53 (3) This act does not alter or affect the emergency 54 management responsibilities of the Governor, the Division of 55 Emergency Management, or the governing body of any political 56 subdivision of the state pursuant to chapter 252. 57 Section 3. Section 403.078, Florida Statutes, is created to 58 read: 59 403.078 Public notification of pollution.— 60 (1) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term 61 “reportable pollution release” means the release or discharge of 62 a substance from an installation to the air, land, or waters of 63 the state which is discovered by the owner or operator of the 64 installation, which is not authorized by law, and which is: 65 (a) Reportable to the State Watch Office within the 66 Division of Emergency Management pursuant to department rules, 67 permit, order, or variance; 68 (b) Reportable to the department or a contracted county 69 pursuant to department rules governing storage tank systems 70 under ss. 376.303, 376.321, and 376.322; 71 (c) Reportable to the department pursuant to department 72 rules requiring notice for noncompliance from underground 73 injection control systems where such noncompliance may endanger 74 public health or the environment and has the potential to 75 contaminate potable water wells outside the property boundaries 76 of the installation; 77 (d) A hazardous substance at or above the quantity 78 established in Table 302.4 of 40 C.F.R. s. 302.4, revised as of 79 July 1, 2016, for such substance, for which notification is 80 required by 40 C.F.R. s. 302.6; or 81 (e) An extremely hazardous substance pursuant to 40 C.F.R. 82 s. 355.61, at or above the quantity established in Appendices A 83 and B of 40 C.F.R. part 355, revised as of July 1, 2016, for 84 such substance, for which notice is required by 40 C.F.R. s. 85 355.33. 86 (2) OWNER AND OPERATOR RESPONSIBILITIES.— 87 (a) In the event of a reportable pollution release, any 88 person who is an owner or operator of the installation at which 89 the reportable pollution release occurred must provide a notice 90 containing the following information, to the extent known at the 91 time of such notice, to the department within 24 hours after its 92 discovery: 93 1. The name and address of the installation where the 94 reportable pollution release occurred. 95 2. The name and title of the reporting person and the 96 nature of his or her relationship to the installation. 97 3. The identification numbers for any active department 98 permits, variances, registrations, or orders that are relevant 99 to the reportable pollution release. 100 4. The name and telephone number of a contact person for 101 further information. 102 5. The substance released. 103 6. The estimated quantity of the substance released and, if 104 applicable, the estimated quantity that has since been 105 recovered. 106 7. The cause of the release. 107 8. The source of the release. 108 9. The location of the release. 109 10. The date, time, and duration of the release. 110 11. The medium into which the substance was released, 111 including, but not limited to, the outdoor air, land, 112 groundwater, aquifer, or specified waters or wetlands. 113 12. Whether the released substance has migrated to land or 114 waters of the state outside the property boundaries of the 115 installation and the location of such migration. 116 13. To the extent available, toxicological information 117 associated with the substance released as specified on a safety 118 data sheet or comparable source published by the Occupational 119 Safety and Health Administration or the Centers for Disease 120 Control and Prevention, or their successor agencies. 121 122 The owner or operator may also include in the notice any other 123 information he or she wishes in order to assist in the 124 protection of the public health, safety, and welfare. 125 (b) If multiple parties are subject to the notification 126 requirements based on a single reportable pollution release, a 127 single notification made by one party in accordance with this 128 section constitutes compliance on behalf of all parties subject 129 to the requirement. However, if the notification is not made in 130 accordance with this section, the department may pursue 131 enforcement against all parties subject to the requirement. 132 (c) If, after providing notice pursuant to paragraph (a), 133 the installation owner or operator determines that a reportable 134 pollution release did not occur or that an amendment to the 135 notice is warranted, the installation owner or operator may 136 submit a letter to the department documenting such 137 determination. 138 (d) If, after providing notice under paragraph (a), the 139 installation owner or operator determines that a release subject 140 to the noticing requirements of this act has migrated outside 141 the property boundaries of the installation, the owner or 142 operator, within 24 hours after such discovery, must provide an 143 additional notice to the department. Such notice must comply 144 with the requirements of paragraph (a) and specify the extent of 145 the migration outside the property boundaries. 146 (3) DEPARTMENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES.— 147 (a) The department shall publish on a website accessible to 148 the public all notices submitted by an owner or operator 149 pursuant to subsection (2) within 24 hours of receipt. 150 (b) The department shall create an electronic mailing list 151 for such notices and allow the public, including local 152 governments, health departments, news media, and other 153 interested persons, to subscribe to and receive periodic direct 154 announcement of any notices submitted pursuant to subsection 155 (2). The department shall establish regional electronic mailing 156 lists, such as by county or district boundaries, to allow 157 subscribers to determine the notices they wish to receive by 158 geographic area. 159 (c) The department shall establish an e-mail address and an 160 online form as options for owners and operators to provide the 161 notice specified in paragraphs (2)(a) and (b). 162 (4) ADMISSION OF LIABILITY OR HARM.—Providing notice under 163 subsection (2) does not constitute an admission of liability or 164 harm. 165 (5) VIOLATIONS.—For failure to provide the notification 166 required by paragraphs (2)(a) or (2)(d), the owner or operator 167 shall be subject to the civil penalties specified in s. 403.121. 168 (6) ADOPTION OF RULES.—The department shall adopt rules 169 necessary to administer the provisions of this section. 170 Section 4. Present paragraph (f) of subsection (4) of 171 section 403.121, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph 172 (g), and a new paragraph (f) is added to that subsection, to 173 read: 174 403.121 Enforcement; procedure; remedies.—The department 175 shall have the following judicial and administrative remedies 176 available to it for violations of this chapter, as specified in 177 s. 403.161(1). 178 (4) In an administrative proceeding, in addition to the 179 penalties that may be assessed under subsection (3), the 180 department shall assess administrative penalties according to 181 the following schedule: 182 (f) For failure to provide required notice pursuant to s. 183 403.078, up to $10,000 per day for each day an installation 184 owner or operator is in violation of the section. 185 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.