View Bill Status
View Bill Text
View Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact
H0728......................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT PILOT INITIATIVE - Amends and adds to existing law
relating to land remediation to provide for the Idaho Community
Reinvestment Pilot Initiative; to provide for a fund; to provide for
financial assistance to eligible property owners conducting voluntary
cleanup; to provide limitations on the financial assistance; to provide for
the development of annual priority lists for community revitalization
projects by the Department of Environmental Quality; to provide for
community investment rebate requests, reviews and certifications; and to
prohibit eligible property owners that receive community investment rebates
from receiving a specified property tax exemption.
02/23 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/24 Rpt prt - to Com/HuRes
02/28 Rpt out - Ref'd to Rev/Tax
03/15 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/16 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/20 3rd rdg - PASSED - 62-0-8
AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bastian, Bayer,
Bedke, Bilbao, Black, Block, Boe, Bolz, Brackett, Bradford, Cannon,
Chadderdon, Clark, Collins, Deal, Denney, Edmunson, Eskridge,
Field(18), Field(23), Garrett, Hart, Harwood, Henbest, Henderson,
Kemp, Lake, LeFavour, Loertscher, Martinez, Mathews, McGeachin,
McKague, Miller, Mitchell, Moyle, Nielsen, Nonini, Pasley-Stuart,
Ring, Ringo, Roberts, Rusche, Rydalch, Sali, Sayler, Schaefer,
Shepherd(2), Shepherd(8), Shirley, Skippen, Smith(30), Smith(24),
Smylie, Snodgrass, Trail, Wills, Wood
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Bell, Crow, Ellsworth, Jaquet, Pence, Raybould,
Stevenson, Mr. Speaker
Floor Sponsor - McGeachin
Title apvd - to Senate
03/21 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Loc Gov
03/24 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/27 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/28 3rd rdg - PASSED - 34-0-1
AYES -- Andreason, Brandt, Broadsword, Bunderson, Burkett(Clark),
Burtenshaw, Cameron, Coiner, Compton, Corder, Darrington, Davis,
Fulcher, Gannon, Geddes, Goedde, Hill, Jorgenson, Kelly, Keough,
Langhorst, Little, Lodge, Malepeai, Marley, McGee, McKenzie, Pearce,
Richardson, Schroeder, Stegner, Stennett, Werk, Williams
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Sweet
Floor Sponsor - Kelly
Title apvd - to House
03/29 To enrol
03/30 Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/31 Pres signed - To Governor
03/31 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 308
Effective: 7/01/06; Section 3 Sunsets
contingent on certification of DEQ director
to Secretary of State that provisions of
Section 3 have been met
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2006
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 728
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO LAND REMEDIATION; AMENDING SECTION 39-7202, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE
3 ADDITIONAL LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS; AMENDING SECTION 39-7203, IDAHO CODE, TO
4 DEFINE ADDITIONAL TERMS; AMENDING CHAPTER 72, TITLE 39, IDAHO CODE, BY THE
5 ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 39-7211, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE IDAHO
6 COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT PILOT INITIATIVE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE IDAHO COMMU-
7 NITY REINVESTMENT PILOT INITIATIVE FUND, TO PROVIDE FOR FINANCIAL ASSIS-
8 TANCE TO ELIGIBLE PROPERTY OWNERS CONDUCTING VOLUNTARY CLEANUP, TO PROVIDE
9 LIMITATIONS ON THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
10 ANNUAL PRIORITY LISTS FOR COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION PROJECTS BY THE DEPART-
11 MENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, TO PROVIDE FOR COMMUNITY INVESTMENT REBATE
12 REQUESTS, REVIEWS AND CERTIFICATIONS AND TO PROHIBIT ELIGIBLE PROPERTY
13 OWNERS THAT RECEIVE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT REBATES FROM RECEIVING A SPECI-
14 FIED PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION; AND PROVIDING A CONTINGENT SUNSET DATE.
15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
16 SECTION 1. That Section 39-7202, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
17 amended to read as follows:
18 39-7202. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature hereby finds and declares:
19 (1) That it is the policy of the state of Idaho to provide for the pro-
20 tection of the public health, welfare, safety, and environment; and to foster
21 the remediation, transfer, reuse, or redevelopment of sites or groups of sites
22 based on the risk to human health and the environment where releases or
23 threatened release of hazardous substances or petroleum exists. The
24 minimization of risk to public health and the environment on a commercial and
25 industrial site offers significant potential economic benefit to local commu-
26 nities and is vital to their use and reuse as sources of employment, housing,
27 recreation and open-space areas.
28 (2) That establishing a voluntary program for the remediation of hazard-
29 ous substance or petroleum contaminated sites will encourage innovation and
30 cooperation between the state, local communities, and interested persons and
31 will promote the economic revitalization of property. It is intended that this
32 program will provide for an expedited remediation process by eliminating the
33 need for many adversarial enforcement actions and delays in remediation plan
34 approvals.
35 (3) That providing financial assistance to eligible property owners who
36 conduct voluntary cleanups will promote the economic revitalization of prop-
37 erty, particularly in rural communities, and will reduce or eliminate the need
38 for many adversarial enforcement actions and delays in remediation plan
39 approvals.
40 SECTION 2. That Section 39-7203, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
41 amended to read as follows:
2
1 39-7203. GENERAL DEFINITIONS. As used in this chapter:
2 (1) "Board" means the board of environmental quality.
3 (2) "Department" means the department of environmental quality.
4 (3) "Eligible property owner" means any individual, association, partner-
5 ship, firm, joint stock company, trust, estate, private corporation, or any
6 other nonpublic entity that is the current owner of a contaminated property,
7 but that did not cause, contribute, or consent to the release that led to the
8 contamination or own the property at the time of the release that led to the
9 contamination. An eligible property owner shall not include any individual,
10 association, partnership, firm, joint stock company, trust, estate, private
11 corporation, or any other nonpublic entity that is:
12 (a) Affiliated with any individual or entity that caused, contributed, or
13 consented to the release that led to the contamination, or owned the prop-
14 erty at the time of the release that led to the contamination, whether
15 directly or through a direct or indirect familial relationship, or any
16 contractual, corporate, or financial relationship, excluding such rela-
17 tionships created by a contract for the sale of the property at issue; or
18 (b) The owner as a result of a reorganization of an entity that caused,
19 contributed, or consented to the release that led to the contamination, or
20 that owned the property at the time of the release that led to the contam-
21 ination.
22 (4) "Hazardous substance" has the meaning set forth in section 101(14) of
23 the comprehensive environmental, response, compensation and liability act
24 (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. 9601 (14) as amended.
25 (45) "Person" means any individual, association, partnership, firm, joint
26 stock company, trust, estate, political subdivision, public or private corpo-
27 ration, state or federal governmental department, agency or instrumentality,
28 or any other legal entity which is recognized by law as the subject of rights
29 and duties.
30 (56) "Petroleum" includes petroleum asphalt and crude oil or any part of
31 petroleum asphalt or crude oil that is liquid at standard conditions of tem-
32 perature and pressure (sixty (60) degrees Fahrenheit and fourteen and seven-
33 tenths (14.7) pounds per square inch absolute).
34 (7) "Qualifying remediation costs" means reasonable costs incurred per-
35 forming remediation activities integral to achieving the cleanup goals identi-
36 fied in a remediation work plan approved by the department.
37 (68) "Release" means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting,
38 emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing
39 into the environment, including the abandonment or discarding of barrels, con-
40 tainers, or other closed receptacles containing any hazardous substance or
41 petroleum.
42 (79) "Remediation" means any of the following:
43 (a) Actions necessary to prevent, minimize, or mitigate damages to the
44 public health or welfare or to the environment, which may otherwise result
45 from a release or threat of a release; or
46 (b) Actions consistent with a permanent remedy taken instead of, or in
47 addition to, removal actions in the event of a release or threatened
48 release of a hazardous substance or petroleum into the environment to
49 eliminate the release of hazardous substances or petroleum so that the
50 hazardous substances or petroleum do not migrate to cause substantial dan-
51 ger to present or future public health or welfare or the environment; or
52 (c) The cleanup or removal of released hazardous substances or petroleum
53 from the environment.
54 (810) "Site" means a parcel of real estate for which an application has
55 been submitted under section 39-7204, Idaho Code.
3
1 (11) "Technical professional" means a professional geologist or profes-
2 sional engineer registered in the state of Idaho.
3 SECTION 3. That Chapter 72, Title 39, Idaho Code, be, and the same is
4 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-
5 ignated as Section 39-7211, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:
6 39-7211. IDAHO COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT PILOT INITIATIVE. (1) There is
7 hereby established in the state treasury a fund to be known as the Idaho com-
8 munity reinvestment pilot initiative fund which shall consist of moneys appro-
9 priated to the fund, donations, gifts and grants from any source and any other
10 moneys which may hereafter be provided by law. The state treasurer shall be
11 the custodian of the fund and shall invest said moneys in accordance with law.
12 Any interest earned on the moneys in the fund shall be deposited in the fund.
13 Moneys in the fund shall be disbursed in accordance with the directions of the
14 director of the department of environmental quality. All moneys in the fund
15 are perpetually appropriated to the director for expenditure in accordance
16 with the provisions of this section.
17 (2) The state of Idaho hereby authorizes financial assistance to eligible
18 property owners conducting voluntary cleanup actions pursuant to this chapter.
19 The financial assistance authorized by this section shall not exceed one hun-
20 dred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) per project and shall be limited to,
21 subject to the one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) maximum, seventy-
22 percent (70%) of a project's qualifying remediation costs certified by the
23 department pursuant to this section.
24 (3) Pursuant to general fund appropriation, the maximum overall financial
25 assistance authorized by this section is one million five hundred thousand
26 dollars ($1,500,000) in qualified remediation cost expenditures. A maximum of
27 ten (10) projects may participate in the initiative.
28 (4) The department shall establish an annual priority list for community
29 revitalization projects. The priority list shall be used as the method for
30 allocating funds under this initiative.
31 (a) On an annual basis, the department shall establish, at a minimum, a
32 continuous three (3) month calendar period in which eligible property
33 owners may submit a written request, on a standard form developed by the
34 department, to participate.
35 (b) On an annual basis, the department shall develop a priority list
36 based on a weighted numerical points system established by the department.
37 The rating system shall consider the following criteria wherein the
38 department shall weigh each succeeding criteria less heavily than the pre-
39 ceding criteria:
40 (i) Whether the project is located in a city with a population of
41 under twenty thousand (20,000) residents;
42 (ii) The level of social and economic benefit expected from the pro-
43 posed reuse plan;
44 (iii) Whether contamination is preventing or complicating redevelop-
45 ment;
46 (iv) Whether a reuse plan meets local planning and reuse goals, is
47 compatible with long-term plans, and is ready to proceed;
48 (v) The level of human health risks the cleanup will remedy;
49 (vi) Current property conditions, including building safety con-
50 cerns, vacancy rates and the level of negative visual impact the
51 property has on the community.
52 (c) The department shall maintain annual priority lists of the twenty-
53 five (25) highest priority projects.
4
1 (d) After finalizing the priority list, the department shall contact, in
2 writing, the eligible property owners that submitted the ten (10) highest
3 ranked priority projects and will set a target date for the eligible prop-
4 erty owners to enter into a voluntary remediation agreement as described
5 in subsection (1) of section 39-7205, Idaho Code.
6 (e) The department may bypass a project, and submit in its place the next
7 highest priority project on the project list, for any of the following
8 reasons:
9 (i) The eligible property owner fails to enter into a voluntary
10 remediation agreement by the target date established by the depart-
11 ment;
12 (ii) The eligible property owner, in writing, withdraws its request
13 to participate; or
14 (iii) The voluntary remediation agreement is terminated or rescinded
15 by the department prior to commencement of remediation as described
16 in the voluntary remediation agreement approved by the department.
17 The department shall notify the bypassed eligible property owner of the
18 reason or reasons for the bypass.
19 (5) Eligible property owners may request a community investment rebate by
20 submitting documentation and certifications enumerated in paragraphs (a)
21 through (c) of this subsection to the department. Eligible property owners
22 shall submit this information no more than sixty (60) days after the depart-
23 ment issues a certificate of completion for the project. Eligible property
24 owners must receive a written certificate of completion from the department
25 before the department may certify qualifying remediation costs or provide a
26 community reinvestment rebate. Information to be submitted includes:
27 (a) Copies of contracts and documentation of contract negotiations,
28 accounts, invoices, sales tickets, or other payment records from pur-
29 chases, sales, leases, or other transactions involving actual costs incur-
30 red completing remediation activities in accordance with the work plan
31 approved by the department;
32 (b) Notarized documentation completed and signed by the participant cer-
33 tifying that all information contained in the application, including all
34 records of claims, costs incurred, and costs paid, are true and correct
35 and constitute qualifying remediation costs;
36 (c) Notarized documentation completed and signed by a technical profes-
37 sional certifying that a technical professional oversaw all remediation
38 work plan activities and that all costs associated with documents submit-
39 ted pursuant to this subsection constitute qualifying remediation costs.
40 (6) Community reinvestment rebate requests shall be reviewed and certi-
41 fied as follows:
42 (a) The department shall review each community reinvestment rebate
43 request and determine whether the request is complete. If the department
44 determines the request is incomplete, the department shall return the
45 request, with the deficiencies indicated, to the eligible property owner
46 by certified mail;
47 (b) Once a community reinvestment rebate request is deemed complete, the
48 department shall review the request and determine the project's qualifying
49 remediation costs. The department shall then issue a certification of the
50 qualifying remediation costs for all those costs found to be reasonable by
51 the department;
52 (c) The department shall issue the eligible property owner a community
53 reinvestment rebate in the amount it certified as qualified remediation
54 costs no more than thirty (30) days after department certification;
55 (d) Any eligible property owner or technical professional determined in a
5
1 civil enforcement action to have submitted a false statement, representa-
2 tion or certification in any application, record, report, plan or other
3 document submitted to the department, shall reimburse the state of Idaho
4 for moneys wrongfully rebated and shall be liable for civil penalties and
5 expenses incurred by the department in accordance with chapter 1, title
6 39, Idaho Code.
7 (7) Eligible property owners that receive a community investment rebate
8 are not eligible to receive the property tax exemption established under sec-
9 tion 63-602BB, Idaho Code.
10 SECTION 4. Section 3 of this act shall be null, void and of no force and
11 effect on and after the date the director of the Department of Environmental
12 Quality certifies to the Secretary of State that the department has expended
13 funds at ten community revitalization projects pursuant to the provisions of
14 Section 3 of this act.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 16105
Since passage of the Idaho Land Remediation Act in 1996, only two (2)
parties have cleaned up properties under this Act, both of which were
responsible for the contamination at issue. This lack of
participation leaves largely unfulfilled the Legislature's stated
goal(s) of eliminating public health risks and providing economic
benefits to local communities by allowing contaminated, blighted
properties to become sources of employment, housing, recreation and
community open-space.
This Pilot Initiative aims to achieve the Legislature's goal(s) in
promulgating the Act by increasing the number of private sector
cleanup and redevelopment projects conducted under the Act. The Pilot
Initiative offers ten (10) high priority projects up to $150,000 in
Community Reinvestment Rebates. A private party is entitled to the
maximum rebate only after expending $215,000 conducting a DEQ-approved
cleanup action at a high priority site. High priority sites are those
in rural areas where environmental contamination is complicating
private sector redevelopment of a blighted, under-utilized property.
The Pilot Initiative requires no additional IDEQ funding; each dollar
of funding equates a dollar spent removing contamination that presents
a public health risk. IDEQ will gather data regarding total cleanup
expenditures, construction expenditures, housing units and jobs
located at participating projects, increases property taxes paid at
participating properties, and reuse of existing infrastructure to
determine the state and local benefits the Pilot Initiative provides.
The Legislature can use this data to determine whether the Pilot
Initiative should be modified, expanded or terminated.
FISCAL NOTE
There will be no fiscal impact in state fiscal year 2007. The
Initiative's maximum potential impact on the state's general fund is
$1,500,000 over an estimated four-year period. The initiative sunsets
after (10) projects; each project is limited to a maximum of $150,000
in financial assistance. It is unlikely that each of the ten (10)
selected projects will qualify the maximum amount ($150,000) available
to each project, thus it is unlikely the initiative will reach the
maximum potential impact identified above.
Contact
Name: Keith R. Donahue, Idaho Dept of Environmental Quality
Phone: (208) 373-0495
Name: Joe Nagel, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
Phone: (208) 373-0188
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 728