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AB-387 School facilities: site contamination.(1999-2000)

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AB387:v90#DOCUMENT

Assembly Bill No. 387
CHAPTER 992

An act to amend Sections 17070.50 and 17268 of, and to add Sections 17072.13, 17213.2, and 17213.3 to, the Education Code, relating to school facilities.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  October 10, 1999. Approved by Governor  October 10, 1999. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 387, Wildman. School facilities: site contamination.
Under Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998, an eligible school district may receive funding for new construction of school facilities.
This bill would provide that in addition to this funding for new construction and subject to certain limitations, that funding may be provided for 50% of the cost of the evaluation of hazardous materials, as defined, at a site to be acquired by the school district and for 50% of the response cost of removal of hazardous waste or solid waste, the removal of hazardous substance, or other remedial action in connection with hazardous substances at that site and up to 100% of these costs in the case of financial hardship assistance, as defined. This bill would permit a school district with a site that meets an environmental hardship criteria, as described, to apply to the State Allocation Board for site acquisition funding for that site prior to having construction plans for that site approved by the Division of the State Architect and the State Department of Education. The bill would require the State Allocation Board to develop regulations that allow school districts with financial hardship site acquisition funding prior to ownership of the site or evidence that the site is in escrow.
Existing law prohibits the governing board of a school district from approving a project involving the acquisition of a schoolsite or the construction of a school by the school district unless specified actions are taken with regard to potential contamination of the site, including a determination by the lead agency, as defined, that the property purchased or to be built upon is not the site of a current or former hazardous waste disposal site or solid waste disposal site, or a hazardous substance release site.
The bill would require a school district that owns a proposed schoolsite as a condition of receiving state funds to enter into an agreement with the Department of Toxic Substances Control to oversee response action if a preliminary endangerment assessment discloses the presence of a hazardous material release, or threatened release, or the presence of naturally occurring hazardous materials, at a proposed schoolsite at concentrations that could pose a significant risk to children or adults, and the school district owns the proposed schoolsite. The bill would also require the school district to take response action pursuant to the Carpenter-Presley-Tanner Hazardous Substance Account Act as may be required by the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
This bill would make certain prohibitions inapplicable to schoolsites acquired prior to January 1, 2000.
The bill would require the State Department of Education to monitor the performance of the Department of Toxic Substances Control in meeting timeframes under its provisions and would require a report of findings to the Department of General Services and the Department of Finance. The bill would also require the State Department of Education to report to the Department of General Services and the Department of Finance every 6 months for a period of 2 years, the amount of fees or other charges of any state agency review paid by school districts regarding schoolsites, and any concerns about those fees or charges.
This bill would provide that it would not become operative unless and until SB 162 is chaptered and becomes operative.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 17070.50 of the Education Code is amended to read:

17070.50.
 The board shall not apportion funds to any school district, unless the applicant school district has certified to the board that the services of any architect, structural engineer, or other design professional for any work under the project have been obtained pursuant to a competitive process that is consistent with the requirements of Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 4525) of Division 5 of Title 1 of the Government Code and has obtained the written approval of the State Department of Education that the site selection, and the building plans and specifications, comply with the standards adopted by the department pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c), respectively, of Section 17251.

SEC. 2.

 Section 17072.13 is added to the Education Code, to read:

17072.13.
 In addition to the amounts provided pursuant to Sections 17072.10 and 17072.12, the board may provide funding as follows:
(a) For 50 percent of the cost of the evaluation of hazardous materials at a site to be acquired by a school district and for 50 percent of the other response costs of the removal of hazardous waste or solid waste, the removal of hazardous substances, or other remedial action in connection with hazardous substances at that site. Except as provided in subdivision (b), the funding provided pursuant to this section may not exceed 50 percent of a number calculated by subtracting the school district’s cost of the site from what the appraised value of the site would be after the response action is completed.
(b) The board may provide funding for up to 100 percent of the cost of the evaluation of hazardous materials at a site to be acquired by a school district eligible for financial hardship assistance pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 17075.10) and for up to 100 percent of the other response costs for the site. The funding provided pursuant to this subdivision may not exceed 100 percent of a number calculated by subtracting the school district’s cost of the site from what the appraised value of the site would be after the response action is completed.
(c) A school district with a site that meets the environmental hardship criteria set forth in paragraph (1) may apply to the State Allocation Board for site acquisition funding for that site prior to having construction plans for that site approved by the Division of the State Architect and State Department of Education.
(1) A project is eligible for environmental hardship site acquisition funding if both the following apply:
(A) The remedial action plan for the site approved by the Department of Toxic Substances Control, pursuant to Section 17213, is estimated by the Department of Toxic Substances Control to take six months or more to complete.
(B) The State Department of Education determines that the site is the best available alternative site.
(2) The initial site-specific reservation pursuant to this subdivision shall be for a period of one year. Extension may be approved in one-year intervals upon demonstration to the State Allocation Board of progress toward acquisition. In the event there is not demonstrable progress, the State Allocation Board shall have the option of rescinding the reservation.
(3) Environmental hardship site acquisition funds approved by the State Allocation Board can be used only for the site identified in the remedial action plan approved by the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
(4) The date that the State Allocation Board approves the environmental hardship site acquisition funding will become the State Allocation Board approval date for the project’s construction funding for that site.
(5) A school district may apply to the State Allocation Board for construction funding for the environmental hardship site when the project has received final Division of the State Architect plan approval and final State Department of Education site and plan approval.
(d) The cost incurred by the school districts when complying with any requirement identified in this section are allowable costs for purposes of an applicant under this chapter and may be reimbursed in accordance with Section 17072.12.
(e) The State Allocation Board shall develop regulations that allow school districts with financial hardship site acquisition funding prior to ownership of the site or evidence that the site is in escrow.

SEC. 3.

 Section 17213.2 is added to the Education Code, to read:

17213.2.
 As a condition of receiving state funds pursuant to Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 17070.10), all of the following apply:
(a) If a preliminary endangerment assessment prepared pursuant to Section 17213.1 discloses the presence of a hazardous materials release, or threatened release, or the presence of naturally occurring hazardous materials, at a proposed schoolsite at concentrations that could pose a significant risk to children or adults, and the school district owns the proposed schoolsite, the school district shall enter into an agreement with the Department of Toxic Substances Control to oversee response action at the site and shall take response action pursuant to the requirements of the state act as may be required by the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a school district need not take action in response to a release of hazardous material to groundwater underlying the schoolsite if the release occurred at a site other than the schoolsite and if the following conditions apply:
(1) The school district did not cause or contribute to the release of a hazardous material to the groundwater.
(2) Upon the request of the Department of Toxic Substances Control or its authorized representative the school district provides the Department of Toxic Substances Control or its authorized representative with access to the schoolsite.
(3) The school district does not interfere with the response action activities.
(c) If at anytime during the response action the school district determines that there has been a significant increase in the estimated cost of the response action, the school district shall notify the State Department of Education.
(d) A school district that is required by the Department of Toxic Substances Control to take response action at a proposed schoolsite is subject to both of the following prohibitions:
(1) The school district may not begin construction of a school building until the Department of Toxic Substances Control determines all of the following:
(A) That the construction will not interfere with the response action.
(B) That site conditions will not pose a significant threat to the health and safety of workers involved in the construction of the school building.
(C) That the nature and extent of any release or threatened release of hazardous materials or the presence of any naturally occurring hazardous materials have been fully characterized.
(2) The school district may not occupy a school building following construction until it obtains from the Department of Toxic Substances Control a certification that all response actions, except for operation and maintenance activities, necessary to ensure that hazardous materials at the schoolsite no longer pose a significant risk to children and adults at the schoolsite have been completed and that the response action standards and objectives established in the final removal action work plan or remedial action plan have been met and are being maintained. After a school building is constructed and occupied, a school district may continue with ongoing operation and maintenance activities if the Department of Toxic Substances Control certifies before occupancy that neither site conditions nor the ongoing operation and maintenance activities pose a significant risk to children or adults at the schoolsite.
(e) If, at any time during construction at a schoolsite, a previously unidentified release or threatened release of a hazardous material or the presence of a naturally occurring hazardous material is discovered, the school district shall cease all construction activities at the sites notify the Department of Toxic Substances Control, and take actions required by subdivision (a) that are necessary to address the release or threatened release or the presence of any naturally occurring hazardous materials. Construction may be resumed if the Department of Toxic Substances Control determines that the construction will not interfere with any response action necessary to address the hazardous material release or threatened release or the presence of a naturally occurring hazardous material, determines that the site conditions will not pose a significant threat to the health and safety of workers involved in the construction of the schoolsite, and certifies that the nature and extent of the release, threatened release, or presence of a naturally occurring hazardous material have been fully characterized.
(f) Construction may proceed at any portions of the site that the Department of Toxic Substances Control determines are not affected by the release or threatened release of hazardous materials, or presence of any naturally occurring hazardous materials, provided that all of the following apply:
(1) Those portions of the site have been fully characterized.
(2) The Department of Toxic Substances Control determines that the construction will not interfere with any response action necessary to address the release or threatened release of hazardous materials, or presence of any naturally occurring hazardous materials.
(3) The site conditions will not pose a significant threat to the health and safety of workers involved with construction.
(g) The Department of Toxic Substances Control shall notify the State Department of Education, the Division of the State Architect, and the Office of Public School Construction when the Department of Toxic Substances Control certifies that all necessary response actions have been completed at a schoolsite.
(h) The school district shall reimburse the Department of Toxic Substances Control for all response costs incurred by the department.
(i) The costs incurred by the school districts when complying with this section are allowable costs for purposes of an applicant under Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 17070.10) of Part 10 and may be reimbursed in accordance with Section 17072.13.

SEC. 4.

 Section 17213.3 is added to the Education Code, to read:

17213.3.
 (a) The State Department of Education shall monitor the performance of the Department of Toxic Substances Control in meeting the timeframes applicable to the Department of Toxic Substances Control specified in subdivision (a) of Section 17213.1 and shall report its findings to the Department of General Services and the Department of Finance on a quarterly basis.
(b) The State Department of Education shall also report to the Department of General Services and the Department of Finance every six months for a period of two years, the amount of fees or other charges of any state agency review paid by school districts pursuant to this chapter, and any concerns about those fees or charges.

SEC. 5.

 Section 17268 of the Education Code is amended to read:

17268.
 (a) The governing board of a school district that elects not to receive state funds pursuant to Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 17070.10) may not approve a project for the construction of a new school building, as defined in Section 17283, unless the project and its lead agency comply with the same requirements specified in subdivision (a) of Section 17213 for schoolsite acquisition.
(b) As a condition to receiving state funds pursuant to Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 17070.10, the governing board of a school district may not approve a project for the construction of a new school building or schoolsite on leased or acquired land unless the project and the school district comply with the requirements specified in Sections 17213.1 and 17213.2.
(c) The project shall not be subject to subdivision (b) for a minor addition to a school if the project is eligible for a categorical or statutory exemption under guidelines issued pursuant to Section 21083 of the Public Resources Code, as set forth in the California Environmental Quality Act.
(d) “School building,” as used in this section, means any building designed and constructed to be used for elementary or secondary school purposes by a school district.
(e) The requirements of Sections 17213, 17213.1 and 17213.2 shall not apply to a schoolsite if the acquisition occurred prior to January 1, 2000, to the extent a school district is subject to the requirements set forth in those sections pursuant to a judicial order or an order issued by, or an agreement with the Department of Toxic Substances Control regarding that site, and the school district is in full compliance with that order or agreement.
(f) For purposes of this section, the acceptance of construction bids shall constitute approval of the project.

SEC. 6.

 If a task force is created in Assembly Bill 1207 of the 1999–2000 Regular Session by the addition of Section 105515 to the Health and Safety Code, that task force shall evaluate the effectiveness of this act in ensuring that the health and learning abilities of children attending California’s schools are adequately protected. Among its recommendations to the Governor, the task force shall include any changes and improvements to the provisions of this act that would be necessary to protect the health and learning abilities of children attending California’s schools.

SEC. 7.

 Sections 1 to 6, inclusive, of this act shall not become operative unless and until Senate Bill 162 of the 1999–2000 Regular Session is chaptered and becomes operative.