(a) For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Local officer” means a county health officer, city health officer, or county director of environmental health.
(2) “Person” has the same meaning as set forth in Section 25118.
(3) “Release” has the same meaning as set forth in Section 25320.
(4) “Remedial action” means any action taken by a responsible party to clean up a released waste, to abate the effects of a released waste, or to prevent, minimize, or mitigate damages that may result from the release of a waste. “Remedial action” includes the restoration, rehabilitation, or replacement of any natural resource damaged or lost as a result of the release of a waste.
(5) “Responsible party” means a person who, pursuant to this section, requests the local officer to supervise remedial action with respect to a released waste.
(6) “Waste” has the same meaning as set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 101075.
(b) Whenever a release of waste occurs and remedial action is required, the responsible party for the release may request the local officer to supervise the remedial action. The local officer may agree to supervise the remedial action if he or she determines, based on available information, that adequate staff resources and the requisite technical expertise and capabilities are available to adequately supervise the remedial action.
(c) Remedial action carried out under this section shall be carried out only pursuant to a remedial action agreement entered into by the local officer and the responsible party. The remedial action agreement shall specify the testing, monitoring, and analysis the responsible party will carry out to determine the type and extent of the contamination caused by the released waste that is the subject of the remedial action, the remedial actions that will be taken, and the cleanup goals that the local officer determines are necessary to protect human health or safety or the environment, and that, if met, constitute a permanent remedy to the release of the waste.
(d) A local officer who enters into a remedial action agreement, as described in subdivision (c), may, after giving the responsible party adequate notice, withdraw from the agreement at any time after making one of the following findings:
(1) The responsible party is not in compliance with the remedial action agreement.
(2) Appropriate staff resources, technical expertise, or technical capabilities are not available to adequately supervise the remedial action.
(3) The release of the waste that is the subject of the remedial action is of a sufficiently complex nature or may present such a significant potential hazard to human health or the environment that it should be referred to the Department of Toxic Substances Control or a California regional water quality control board.
(e) After determining that a responsible party has completed the actions required by the remedial action agreement and that a permanent remedy for the release of waste has been achieved, the local officer may provide the responsible party with a letter or other document that describes the release of waste that occurred and the remedial action taken, and certifies that the cleanup goals embodied in the remedial action agreement were accomplished.
(Added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 1023, Sec. 303.3. Effective September 29, 1996.)