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H0492.........................................by TRANSPORTATION AND DEFENSE
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES - Amends existing law to provide the definition of
"emergency" in the Hazardous Substance Emergency Response Act.
02/03 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/04 Rpt prt - to Transp
02/11 Rpt out - to Env Aff
H0492
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-fifth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2000
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 492
BY TRANSPORTATION AND DEFENSE COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO THE HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACT; AMENDING SECTION
3 39-7103, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF "EMERGENCY"; AND PROVID-
4 ING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
6 SECTION 1. That Section 39-7103, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
7 amended to read as follows:
8 39-7103. DEFINITIONS. As used in this chapter:
9 (1) "Military division" means the military division of the office of the
10 governor.
11 (2) "Emergency" means an abrupt release, or imminent threat of a release,
12 which in the reasonable judgment of the local emergency response authority,
13 threatens immediate and irreparable harm to the environment or the health and
14 safety of any individual and which requires immediate action for the protec-
15 tion of the public, or containment or and control of a hazardous substance.
16 (3) "Hazardous substance incident" means an emergency circumstance
17 requiring a response by the state emergency response team or the local emer-
18 gency response authority to a release of a hazardous substance. A hazardous
19 substance incident may require containment or confinement or both, but does
20 not include site cleanup or remediation efforts after the incident commander
21 has determined the emergency has ended.
22 (4) "Hazardous substance" means:
23 (a) Any "hazardous substance" within the scope of section 101(14) of the
24 federal comprehensive environmental response, compensation and liability
25 act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. 9601(14);
26 (b) Any hazardous material within the scope of section 104 of the federal
27 hazardous materials transportation act, 49 U.S.C. 1803, and the federal
28 department of transportation regulations promulgated pursuant thereto; and
29 (c) Any extremely hazardous substance within the scope of section 302 of
30 the federal emergency planning and community right-to-know act, 42 U.S.C.
31 11002.
32 (5) "Incident commander" is the person in charge of all responders to a
33 hazardous substance incident and who is identified in the Idaho hazardous
34 materials emergency incident command and response plan or the private emer-
35 gency response plan.
36 (6) "Local emergency response authority" means those persons designated
37 under section 39-7105, Idaho Code, by the city, county, or the military divi-
38 sion to be first responders to hazardous substance incidents.
39 (7) "Person" means any individual, public or private corporation, part-
40 nership, joint venture, association, firm, trust, estate, the United States or
41 any department, institution, or agency thereof, the state or any department,
42 institution, or agency thereof, any municipal corporation, county, city, or
43 other political subdivision of the state, or any other legal entity whatsoever
2
1 which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
2 (8) "Private emergency response plan" means a plan designed to respond to
3 emergency releases of hazardous substances at a specific facility or under a
4 specific set of conditions.
5 (9) "Release" means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting,
6 emptying, discharging, escaping, dumping or disposing of a hazardous substance
7 into the environment. "Release" does not include any discharge of a hazardous
8 substance into the environment which is authorized by limits and conditions in
9 a federal or state permit relating to the protection of public health or the
10 environment so long as the permitted activity from which the release occurs is
11 in compliance with applicable limits and conditions of the permit.
12 (10) "State emergency response team" means one (1) of the state emergency
13 response teams authorized by the military division to respond to hazardous
14 substance incidents.
15 SECTION 2. This act shall be in full force and effect on and after July
16 1, 2000.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS09433
This proposal would add the term "imminent threat of a release" 39-7103 (2). As the
definition stands now, prudent emergency responses to accidents involving hazardous materials
don't fall under the state statute unless there is an actual release of chemical product. There are
several situations each year when the hazard created by the presence of the chemical dictates an
emergency response even if the container is not breached at the time of the accident.
FISCAL IMPACT
Since costs for most cases of this kind are recovered from a responsible party, there should be
minimal cost to the taxpayer. Through careful monitoring under the Idaho Hazardous Materials
Incident Command and Response Support Plan, cost to responsible parties can be controlled to
the minimum amount necessary to assist in reducing their exposure to further liability.
Contact: Mr. John Norris
Military Division
(208) 422-5471
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL IMPACT H 492