Chapter 696
AN ACT
SB 737
Relating to water quality; appropriating money; limiting expenditures;
and declaring an emergency.
Whereas it is the goal
of the State of Oregon’s water quality protection scheme to protect, maintain
and improve the quality of the waters of this state; and
Whereas persistent,
bioaccumulative and toxic pollutants can pose a threat to the health and
well-being of humans, fish and wildlife, especially aquatic species; and
Whereas there are many
different sources of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic pollutants that
contribute to the presence of such pollutants in the waters of this state; and
Whereas the State of
Be It Enacted by the People of
the State of
SECTION 1. Sections 2 to 8 of this 2007 Act are added
to and made a part of ORS chapter 468B.
SECTION 2. As used in sections 2 to 8 of this 2007 Act:
(1) “Legacy” means a
pollutant, the use of which has been banned or restricted for several years,
that remains at detectable levels in sediment and tissue samples.
(2) “Municipality” means
a city or special district that operates and maintains a sewage treatment
facility.
(3) “Permittee” means a
municipality in possession of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
permit or water pollution control facility permit issued by the Department of
Environmental Quality pursuant to ORS 468B.050 for a sewage treatment facility
that has a dry weather design flow capacity of one million gallons per day or
more.
(4) “Persistent
pollutant” means a substance that is toxic and either persists in the
environment or accumulates in the tissues of humans, fish, wildlife or plants.
SECTION 3. (1) The Department of Environmental Quality
shall conduct a study of persistent pollutants discharged in the State of
(2) The department’s
report shall include, but is not limited to, the following components:
(a) A priority listing
of persistent pollutants that pose a threat to the waters of this state, as
defined in ORS 196.800, and have documented harmful effects on the health and
well-being of humans, fish or wildlife, especially aquatic species, based on
factors including, but not limited to:
(A) Toxicological and
bioaccumulative factors;
(B) The feasibility of
reduction options;
(C) Data concerning
pollutant dose and response; and
(D) Data regarding the
magnitude and significance of specific ongoing and legacy discharges.
(b) Identification of
individual point, nonpoint and legacy sources of priority listed persistent
pollutants from existing data, including an analysis identifying the quantity,
concentration and volume of such pollutants discharged by individual sources on
an annual basis.
(c) An evaluation and
assessment of source reduction and technological control measures that can
reduce the discharge of persistent pollutants into the waters of this state,
including an assessment of the costs and effectiveness of such measures and
which measures should be prioritized for reducing such pollutants.
(3) The department may
contract with a private organization to conduct the study required under this
section.
(4) The department shall
consult with interested local and tribal governments, state and federal
agencies and other private organizations in preparing the report required under
this section.
(5)(a) The department
shall prepare and report the priority listing described in subsection (2)(a) of
this section to the Seventy-fifth Legislative Assembly, in the manner provided
by ORS 192.245, on or before June 1, 2009.
(b) After June 1, 2009,
the department shall report to the Legislative Assembly or an interim committee
related to the environment whenever the department adds to, or removes from,
the priority listing described in subsection (2)(a) of this section a
persistent pollutant.
(6) For the purpose of
defraying the cost of conducting and administering the study under this
section, the department may impose a surcharge on permits issued by the
department to permittees. Moneys collected under this subsection shall be
deposited into the Persistent Pollutant Control Account established under
section 7 of this 2007 Act.
SECTION 4. (1)(a) By July 1, 2011, each permittee shall
submit to the Department of Environmental Quality a plan for reducing the
permittee’s discharges of persistent pollutants listed on the priority listing
described in section 3 (2)(a) of this 2007 Act:
(A) That occur in
concentrations greater than the maximum contaminant levels established by the
National Primary Drinking Water Regulations adopted pursuant to the Safe
Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.; or
(B) For which no maximum
contaminant levels have been adopted, but that the Environmental Quality
Commission determines by rule should be included in permittees’ plans for
reducing permittees’ discharges of priority-listed persistent pollutants.
(b) Determinations made
by the commission under this subsection regarding persistent pollutants are not
standards of quality and purity for the waters of this state for the purposes
of ORS 468B.048.
(2) Plans submitted to
the department pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall include, but
are not limited to:
(a) A specific
description of the concentrations and estimated annual quantity of persistent
pollutants that are discharged, based on water quality
sampling data.
(b) The identification
of measures to reduce the discharge of persistent pollutants.
(c) The identification
of focused goals for reduction of persistent pollutants.
(3) Measures identified
to reduce persistent pollutants may include, but are not limited to:
(a) Collecting legacy
pesticides;
(b) Reducing the use of
mercury amalgams by dental offices;
(c) Implementing
technological control measures;
(d) Working with
businesses and manufacturers to reduce discharges through material process
changes;
(e) Collecting arm cuffs
from blood pressure monitors;
(f) Requiring
contractors to return heating, ventilating and air-conditioning system
thermostats;
(g) Recycling
fluorescent lamps;
(h) Recycling
rechargeable batteries;
(i) Monitoring abandoned
mining sites;
(j) Managing sediments
contaminated with persistent pollutants;
(k) Instituting policies
for cleaning school laboratories;
(L) Instituting
pharmaceutical take-back programs; and
(m) Taking steps to
reduce the presence of mercury in schools.
(4) The department shall
require, as a condition of receiving a new or renewed National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System permit or water pollution control facility permit
issued by the department pursuant to ORS 468B.050 for a sewage treatment
facility that has a dry weather design flow capacity of one million gallons per
day or more, that municipal applicants:
(a) Implement plans to
reduce the discharge of persistent pollutants according to pollution reduction
goals adopted by applicants for new permits.
(b) Implement plans to
reduce the discharge of persistent pollutants according to pollution reduction
goals adopted by applicants and submit updated discharge reduction plans with
applications to renew a permit.
(5) The department shall
incorporate a plan submitted pursuant to subsection (1) of this section by a
municipal applicant into a new or renewed National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System or water pollution control facility permit issued to the
applicant.
SECTION 5. In accordance with applicable provisions of
ORS chapter 183, the Environmental Quality Commission may adopt rules necessary
for the administration of sections 3 and 4 of this 2007 Act.
SECTION 6. (1) The Department of Environmental Quality
may apply to any circuit court for an order compelling compliance with any rule
adopted by the Environmental Quality Commission under section 5 of this 2007
Act. If the court finds that the defendant is not complying with any rule so
adopted, the court shall grant an injunction requiring compliance. The court,
on motion and affidavits, may grant a preliminary injunction ex parte upon such
terms as are just.
(2) The department need
not give security before the issuance of an injunction under this section.
(3) The court may award
reasonable attorney fees and costs to the department if the department prevails
in an action under this section.
SECTION 7. The Persistent Pollutant Control Account is
established, separate and distinct from the General Fund. Moneys may be
credited to the account from any public or private source. Moneys in the
account are continuously appropriated to the Department of Environmental
Quality and may be used only for the purposes described in sections 3 to 6 of
this 2007 Act.
SECTION 8. All moneys received by the Department of
Environmental Quality under section 6 of this 2007 Act shall be deposited to
the credit of the Persistent Pollutant Control Account established under
section 7 of this 2007 Act.
SECTION 9. Notwithstanding any other law limiting
expenditures, the limitation on expenditures established by section 2 (2),
chapter 712, Oregon Laws 2007 (Enrolled House Bill 5022), for the biennium
beginning July 1, 2007, as the maximum limit for payment of expenses from fees,
moneys or other revenues, including Miscellaneous Receipts and certain federal
funds, but excluding lottery funds and other federal funds, collected or
received by the Department of Environmental Quality, is increased by $229,430
for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of sections 2 to 8 of this 2007
Act.
SECTION 10. This 2007 Act being necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is
declared to exist, and this 2007 Act takes effect on its passage.
Approved by the Governor June 28, 2007
Filed in the office of Secretary of State July 2, 2007
Effective date June 28, 2007
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