(1) The Dry Cleaner Environmental Response Account is established separate and distinct from the General Fund in the State Treasury. All moneys collected under ORS 465.517, 465.520 and 465.523, all account expenditures recovered or otherwise received, penalties assessed under ORS 465.992 and all interest earned on moneys in the account shall be credited to the account.
(2) All moneys in the Dry Cleaner Environmental Response Account are continuously appropriated to the Department of Environmental Quality and, except as provided under this section, may be expended solely for the following purposes:
(a) Remedial action costs incurred by the department as a result of a release at or from a dry cleaning facility;
(b) Preapproved remedial action costs incurred by a person performing removal or remedial action as a result of a release at or from a dry cleaning facility under a department order or agreement expressly authorizing reimbursement from the account;
(c) The department’s costs of program development, administration, enforcement and cost recovery; and
(d) The department’s indirect costs attributable to removal or remedial action due to a release at or from a dry cleaning facility.
(3) The department may expend Dry Cleaner Environmental Response Account moneys only for those remedial action costs defined in ORS 465.200 (24) that are reasonable in the department’s judgment. The department shall consider at least the following factors, to the extent relevant information is available, in determining the order in which removals or remedial actions shall receive funding and the amount of funding:
(a) The dry cleaning facility’s risk to public health and the environment. Each facility’s risk shall be evaluated relative to the risk posed by other facilities.
(b) The need for removal or remedial action at the dry cleaning facility relative to account availability and the need for removal or remedial actions at other facilities.
(c) The nature of the activities for which expenditures are necessary, in the following order of preference:
(A) Direct cost of cleanup, provided that adequate technical investigation has been completed;
(B) Direct cost of technical investigation and remedy evaluation;
(C) Administrative and indirect costs; and
(D) Enforcement, cost recovery and legal costs.
(4) If the department takes action at a facility, location or area where hazardous substances have been released as a result of both dry cleaning operations and other activities, including but not limited to laundry operations, account moneys may be used only for that portion of the removal or remedial action determined by the department to be necessitated by the release of dry cleaning solvent by the dry cleaning facility.
(5) Moneys in the account expended for remedial action costs may be expended solely for costs in excess of the following deductible amounts:
(a) For a release from a dry cleaning facility employing five or fewer individuals at the time of release, including any dry cleaning owner, dry cleaning operator or full-time employee, $5,000;
(b) For a release from a dry cleaning facility employing more than five individuals at the time of release, including any dry cleaning owner, dry cleaning operator or full-time employee, $1,000 per owner, operator or full-time employee up to $10,000; and
(c) For a release from an inactive site, $10,000.
(6) The dry cleaning owner or dry cleaning operator of the facility shall be responsible for:
(a) Paying the deductible amount. The department may bring a civil action to recover any moneys expended from the account in payment of costs properly payable under this paragraph by the dry cleaning owner or dry cleaning operator.
(b) Investigating whether an insurance policy provides coverage for the costs arising from a release or threatened release and obtaining payment for those costs. In order to receive an exemption from administrative action, judicial action or liability under ORS 465.503, the dry cleaning owner or dry cleaning operator:
(A) Must initiate all actions reasonably necessary to obtain coverage from an insurance policy that may be available to pay costs associated with a release or threatened release; and
(B) May not take any action that may prejudice the owner’s or operator’s ability to obtain, under an insurance policy, coverage of or payment of costs associated with a release or threatened release.
(7) The department may not expend moneys out of the Dry Cleaner Environmental Response Account:
(a) For the payment of any claim or judgment against the state or its agencies for loss of business, damage or destruction of property or personal injury arising from removal or remedial action undertaken under ORS 465.260.
(b) For remedial action and other costs under this section if the dry cleaning owner or dry cleaning operator failed to comply with the waste minimization requirements under ORS 465.505, and the failure to comply with the requirements is determined by the department to be a contributing factor in the release. [1995 c.427 §7; 2001 c.495 §5; 2003 c.407 §4]
Section: Previous 465.479 465.480 465.482 465.500 465.503 465.505 465.507 465.510 465.515 465.517 465.520 465.523 465.525 465.527 465.530 NextLast modified: August 7, 2008