CA Health & Safety Code § 25390.4 (2021)
2021 California Code|Health and Safety Code - HSC|DIVISION 20 - MISCELLANEOUS HEALTH AND SAFETY PROVISIONS|CHAPTER 6.8 - Hazardous Substance Account|ARTICLE 7.8 - Orphan Share Reimbursement Trust Fund|Section 25390.4.

25390.4.  (a) A potentially responsible party may file a claim pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 25390.3 only if all of the following apply:(1) The site is listed pursuant to Section 25356.(2) The department or the regional board has approved a final remedy for the site under Section 25356.1.(3) The department and the potentially responsible party have entered into a written, enforceable cleanup agreement or order embodied in a consent order issued pursuant to Section 25355.5 or 25358.3, or the regional board and the potentially responsible party have entered into a written, enforceable cleanup agreement or order that provides for the completion of all response actions necessary at the site, conducted pursuant to this chapter and under the oversight and at the direction of the department or the regional board. The agreement shall provide for the payment by the potentially responsible party of the department’s or the regional board’s response costs.(4) The potentially responsible party demonstrates, and the department or the regional board finds, that the potentially responsible party has and will have sufficient financial resources to complete all required response actions.(5) The potentially responsible party is in compliance with the agreement provided in paragraph (3), and with any other applicable order or agreement pertaining to the potentially responsible party’s obligations with respect to the site.(6) The potentially responsible party has prepared and provided the information required under subdivision (b) of Section 25390.5.(7) The claim for reimbursement is for the costs incurred for response actions that were subject to the oversight and approval of the department or the regional board.(b) The administrator of the fund shall prescribe appropriate application forms and procedures for claims filed pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 25390.3 that shall include all of the following:(1) Requirements that the claimant provide, at a minimum, all of the following documentation:(A) A sworn verification of the claim to the best of the information known to the claimant or within the claimant’s possession or control.(B) All records and information pertaining to the site and relevant to the ownership, operation, or control of the site, or to the ownership, possession, generation, treatment, transportation, storage or disposal of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant at or in connection with the site, within the possession or control of the claimant, including, but not limited to, the information specified in subdivision (b) of Section 25358.1.(C) Certification of all response costs that have been, or will be, incurred at the site by the potentially responsible party, and an estimate of the total cost of completion of the approved final remedy at the site.(2) Procedures specifying that claims shall be filed only at the two following specific time periods during the performance of a response action:(A) After the final remedy is selected under Section 25356.1.(B) After the department or the regional board determines that the response action is complete. The department or the regional board shall not include operation and maintenance activities in determining whether the response action is complete under this subparagraph.(c) The administrator of the fund shall annually, on a fiscal year basis, pay claims for reimbursement from the fund filed by potentially responsible parties under paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 25390.3, in accordance with the following procedures:(1) Claims for funds available during each fiscal year shall be filed with the administrator by July 30 of that fiscal year.(2) For sites with multiple responsible parties, all potentially responsible parties that have entered into the cleanup agreement specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 25390.4 shall file a single claim.(3) (A) The administrator shall allocate the money available in the fund for the fiscal year among the claims filed by the July 30 deadline. The allocation shall be based on the determination of the orphan share percentage at the facility under the process set forth in Section 25390.5, the long-term financial stability and short-term resources available in the fund, and the administrator’s fiduciary duty with respect to the fund. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the administrator shall pay claims for funds in the order in which they are received.(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if an appropriation from the General Fund is made to the fund in any fiscal year, the administrator may alter the order of payment of claims required by subparagraph (A) by using funds appropriated from the General Fund to pay claims based on the threat to public health or the environment posed by a site or the need to improve economic and environmental conditions in redeveloping communities.(4) The total amount allocated to any one site shall not exceed 10 percent of the total amount available each fiscal year in the fund. If, due to this limit or to the unavailability of funds, a claimant receives only partial or no reimbursement of the orphan share paid by that claimant, the claim shall be paid in the following fiscal year and shall be given priority over all claims filed after the claim was initially received, subject to the discretion of the administrator set forth in paragraph (3).(5) The administrator’s proposed allocation shall be subject to public review and comment for 30 days.(d) The state and the fund have no obligation to provide full reimbursement to a claimant. The fund shall be allocated at the discretion of the administrator, subject to the requirements of this article. In enacting this article, the Legislature intends that claimants be reimbursed only to the extent that money is available in the fund and is allocated to the claimant by the administrator.(Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 135, Sec. 95. Effective January 1, 2001. See operational conditions in Section 25390.9.)