25297.1. (a) (1) For purposes of implementing, pursuant to Section 25297.01, the local oversight program for the abatement of, and oversight of the abatement of, unauthorized releases of hazardous substances from underground storage tanks, the board may enter into in an agreement specified in subdivision (b) with the local agency.
(2) A city or county that the board selected pursuant to this section, as it read on January 1, 2012, which entered into an agreement with the board before July 1, 2013, may apply to the board for certification pursuant to Section 25297.01. The city or county may continue to implement the oversight program until July 1, 2013, and after that date the city or county shall either be certified or be subject to subdivision (e) of Section 25297.01.
(3) On and after June 30, 2013, the board may enter into an agreement pursuant to this section only with a city or county certified pursuant to Section 25297.01.
(b) In implementing the local oversight program for the abatement of, and oversight of the abatement of, unauthorized releases of hazardous substances from underground storage tanks, the board may select a local agency to enter into an agreement with the board. When selecting a local agency, the board shall, from among those local agencies that apply to the board, give first priority to those local agencies that have demonstrated prior experience in cleanup, abatement, or other actions necessary to remedy the effects of unauthorized releases of hazardous substances from underground storage tanks. The board shall enter into an agreement with only those local agencies that have implemented this chapter and that, except as provided in Section 25404.5, have begun to collect and transmit to the board the surcharge or fees pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 25287. The agreement shall provide for the local agency to perform, or cause to be performed, any cleanup, abatement, or other action necessary to remedy the effects of a release of hazardous substances from an underground storage tank with respect to which the local agency has enforcement authority pursuant to this section. The board may not enter into an agreement with a local agency for soil contamination cleanup or for groundwater contamination cleanup unless the board determines that the local agency has a demonstrated capability to oversee or perform the cleanup. The implementation of the cleanup, abatement, or other action shall be consistent with procedures adopted by the board pursuant to subdivision (d) and shall be based upon cleanup standards specified by the board or regional board.
(c) The board shall provide funding to a local agency that enters into an agreement pursuant to subdivision (b) for the reasonable costs incurred by the local agency in overseeing any cleanup, abatement, or other action taken by a responsible party to remedy the effects of unauthorized releases from underground storage tanks.
(d) The board shall adopt administrative and technical procedures, as part of the state policy for water quality control adopted pursuant to Section 13140 of the Water Code, for cleanup and abatement actions taken by a local agency with which the board has entered into an agreement pursuant to this section. The procedures shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Guidelines as to which sites may be assigned to the local agency.
(2) The content of the agreements.
(3) Procedures by which a responsible party may petition the board or a regional board for review, pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 13320) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of the Water Code, or pursuant to Chapter 9.2 (commencing with Section 2250) of Division 3 of Title 23 of the California Code of Regulations, or any successor regulation, as applicable, of actions or decisions of the local agency in implementing the cleanup, abatement, or other action.
(4) Protocols for assessing and recovering money from responsible parties for any reasonable and necessary costs incurred by the local agency in implementing this section, as specified in subdivision (i), unless the cleanup or abatement action is subject to subdivision (d) of Section 25296.10.
(5) Quantifiable measures to evaluate the outcome of a pilot program established pursuant to this section.
(e) Any agreement between the regional board and a local agency to carry out a local oversight program pursuant to this section shall require both of the following:
(1) The local agency shall establish and maintain accurate accounting records of all costs it incurs pursuant to this section and shall periodically make these records available to the board. The Controller may annually audit these records to verify the hourly oversight costs charged by a local agency. The board shall reimburse the Controller for the cost of the audits of a local agency’s records conducted pursuant to this section.
(2) The board and the department shall make reasonable efforts to recover costs incurred pursuant to this section from responsible parties, and may pursue any available legal remedy for this purpose.
(f) The board shall develop a system for maintaining a database for tracking expenditures of funds pursuant to this section, and shall make this data available to the Legislature upon request.
(g) (1) Sections 25355.5 and 25356 do not apply to expenditures from the Toxic Substances Control Account for oversight of abatement of releases from underground storage tanks as part of the local oversight program conducted pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant to this section.
(2) A local agency that enters into an agreement pursuant to subdivision (b) shall notify the responsible party, for any site subject to a cleanup, abatement, or other action taken pursuant to the local oversight program established pursuant to this section, that the responsible party is liable for not more than 150 percent of the total amount of site-specific oversight costs actually incurred by the local agency.
(h) Any aggrieved person may petition the board or regional board for review of the action or failure to act of a local agency that enters into an agreement pursuant to subdivision (b), at a site subject to cleanup, abatement, or other action conducted as part of the local oversight program established pursuant to this section, in accordance with the procedures adopted by the board or regional board pursuant to subdivision (d).
(i) (1) For purposes of this section, site-specific oversight costs include only the costs of the following activities, when carried out by the staff of a local agency or the local agency’s authorized representative, that are either technical program staff or their immediate supervisors:
(A) Responsible party identification and notification.
(B) Site visits.
(C) Sampling activities.
(D) Meetings with responsible parties or responsible party consultants.
(E) Meetings with the regional board or with other affected agencies regarding a specific site.
(F) Review of reports, workplans, preliminary assessments, remedial action plans, or postremedial monitoring.
(G) Development of enforcement actions against a responsible party.
(H) Issuance of a closure document.
(2) The responsible party is liable for the site-specific oversight costs, calculated pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4), incurred by a local agency, in overseeing any cleanup, abatement, or other action taken pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant to this section to remedy an unauthorized release from an underground storage tank.
(3) Notwithstanding the requirements of any other law, the amount of liability of a responsible party for the oversight costs incurred by the local agency and by the board and regional boards in overseeing any action pursuant to an agreement entered into pursuant to this section shall be calculated as an amount not more than 150 percent of the total amount of the site-specific oversight costs actually incurred by the local agency and shall not include the direct or indirect costs incurred by the board or regional boards.
(4) (A) The total amount of oversight costs for which a local agency may be reimbursed shall not exceed one hundred fifteen dollars ($115) per hour, multiplied by the total number of site-specific hours performed by the local agency.
(B) The total amount of the costs per site for administration and technical assistance to local agencies by the board and the regional board entering into agreements pursuant to subdivision (b) shall not exceed a combined total of thirty-five dollars ($35) for each hour of site-specific oversight. The board shall base its costs on the total hours of site-specific oversight work performed by all participating local agencies. The regional board shall base its costs on the total number of hours of site-specific oversight costs attributable to the local agency that received regional board assistance.
(C) The amounts specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) are base rates for the 1990–91 fiscal year. Commencing July 1, 1991, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the board shall adjust the base rates annually to reflect increases or decreases in the cost of living during the prior fiscal year, as measured by the implicit price deflator for state and local government purchases of goods and services, as published by the United States Department of Commerce or by a successor agency of the federal government.
(5) In recovering costs from responsible parties for costs incurred under this section, the local agency shall prorate any costs identifiable as startup costs over the expected number of cases that the local agency will oversee during a 10-year period. A responsible party who has been assessed startup costs for the cleanup of any unauthorized release that, as of January 1, 1991, is the subject of oversight by a local agency, shall receive an adjustment by the local agency in the form of a credit, for the purposes of cost recovery. Startup costs include all of the following expenses:
(A) Small tools, safety clothing, cameras, sampling equipment, and other similar articles necessary to investigate or document pollution.
(B) Office furniture.
(C) Staff assistance needed to develop computer tracking of financial and site-specific records.
(D) Training and setup costs for the first six months of the local agency program.
(6) This subdivision does not apply to costs that are required to be recovered pursuant to Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 25385) of Chapter 6.8.
(j) The inoperation of former paragraph (1) of this subdivision does not affect the validity of any action taken by the Santa Clara Valley Water District before June 30, 2005, and does not provide a defense for an owner, operator, or other responsible party who fails to comply with that action.
(k) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), any agreement entered into before January 1, 2013, between a regional board and a water district to oversee, coordinate, or implement a cooperative oversight program will remain in effect in accordance with the terms of that agreement or the terms of that agreement as may be amended from time to time.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 536, Sec. 6. (AB 1701) Effective January 1, 2013. Superseded on January 1, 2024; see amendment by Stats. 2022, Ch. 258.)