2006 Legislation
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HOUSE BILL NO. 728 – Community reinvstmnt pilot initiatv

HOUSE BILL NO. 728

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Bill Status



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

Bill Text


                                                                        
                                                                        
  ]]]]              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 / Fiscal Impact



                       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