Remediations (Site Cleanup Program and Brownfields)

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REIMBURSEMENT PROCESS FOR REGULATORY OVERSIGHT

We have identified your facility as requiring regulatory cleanup oversight.  Pursuant to Porter-Cologne, Section 13304, reasonable costs for such oversight can be recovered by the Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Water Board) from the responsible party.  The purpose of the enclosure is to explain the oversight billing process structure.

INTRODUCTION

Porter-Cologne, Division 7, Section 13304, authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) to set up Cost Recovery Programs.  A budget document was prepared and approved by the Legislature to establish authority for a Cost Recovery Program for Spills, Leaks, Investigations, and Cleanups (SLIC).  The program is set up so that reasonable expenses incurred by the State Water Board and Regional Water Boards in overseeing cleanup of illegal discharges, contaminated properties, and other unregulated releases adversely impacting the State's waters can be reimbursed by the responsible party.  Reasonable expenses will be billed to responsible parties and collected by the Fee Coordinator at the State Water Board in the Division of Clean Water Program's (CWP) Land Disposal Section.  The Fee Coordinator keeps an active billing list to ensure that charges for such expenses are appropriately assessed and collected in a timely manner.

THE BILLING SYSTEM

Each account has a unique charge number assigned to it.  Whenever any oversight work is done, the hours are billed to the charge number.  For these charges, the hours and the associated expenditures are billed on the quarterly billing as Labor Hours and Current Billing Period Charges.

Any time that cannot be directly related to an account, (such as billing and accounting work) will be charged to a special account number.  The Accounting Office totals these charges for the billing period and divides them equally among all facilities.  Even if there are no direct charges, the account may still be billed Administrative Charges.

The Overhead Charges are based on the number of labor hours charged to the account.  The overhead charges consist of rent, travel, supplies, training, and personnel services.  If there is no labor charged to the account during the billing period, there will be no overhead charges for that billing period with the exception of the last month of each fiscal year.  This is due to the fact that the labor charges end June 30 for the current fiscal year.  However, several kinds of overhead charges such as supply orders and travel expenses are paid after the fiscal year ends.  The State Water Board Accounting Office keeps track of these charges and distributes them back to all of the accounts based on the number of hours charged to each account for the whole fiscal year that has just ended.  Therefore, the quarterly statements for the last month of the fiscal year could show no labor hours charged for the billing period, but some overhead charges could be charged to the account.

The hours charged to an account are totaled each month by the employee and reported on a monthly timesheet.  The timesheets are submitted to the Accounting Office and entered into the automated accounting system, which computes the Labor and Overhead Charges based on the hours reported.

The monthly expenditure information for the billings are taken from monthly automated accounting reports.  A running balance on each of the accounts is kept on fee history sheets in each of the site files.  The information is extracted from the accounting report and the fee history sheet to produce the statement, and two copies of the statement are sent to the responsible party.  If a balance is owed, a check is to be remitted to the Accounting Office with a copy of the statement within 15 days after receipt of the bill.  The Accounting Office sends a report of payments to the Fee Coordinator to be included in the files.

Copies of the billings will be sent to the appropriate Regional Water Boards so they will be updated on the accounts, if the responsible party has any questions.  If the responsible party becomes delinquent in their quarterly payments, oversight work will cease immediately.  Work will not begin again unless the payments are brought up-to-date.

DAILY LOGS

A detailed description (daily log) of the actual work being done at each specific site is kept by each employee in the Regional Water Board who works on the cleanup oversight at the property.  Upon request, these logs are provided to the responsible party by the Regional Water Board staff.  They will not be included in the bi-monthly billing statement.

REMOVAL FROM THE BILLING SYSTEM

After the cleanup is complete, the account can be removed from the active billing system by the Regional Water Board submitting the appropriate form to the Fee Coordinator.  If a balance is due, the Fee Coordinator will send a final billing for the balance owed.  The responsible party should then submit a check to the Accounting Office to close the account.  The account is removed from the active billing list and will no longer be billed.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

No cleanup oversight will be performed unless the responsible party of the property acknowledges in writing that he/she is willing to reimburse the State for appropriate cleanup oversight costs.  As soon as the acknowledgment is received, the account will be added to the active SLIC Cost Recovery billing list and oversight work will begin.  Signing the acknowledgment does not constitute any admission of liability.  Any questions regarding the billing process, billing statement or charges should be directed to the Regional Board's staff.

Who Is Subject to the Act?

Facilities storing "petroleum" in  a single tank greater than 660 gallons or facilities storing "petroleum" in aboveground tanks or containers with a cumulative storage capacity of greater than 1,320 gallons.  (Section 25270.2 (k) of the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act defines certain tanks not subject to the program).

What is the Definition of Petroleum?

"Petroleum" means crude oil or any fraction which is liquid at 60 degrees Fahrenheit temperature at normal atmosphere pressure.  This includes petroleum based substances comprised of a complex blend of hydrocarbons, such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuels, residual fuel oils, lubricants, some petroleum solvents, and used oils.  Petroleum does not include liquid propane gas (LPG).

What Does the Act Require?

The Act requires owners or operators of aboveground petroleum storage tank facilities to:

1.file a storage statement,

2.pay a facility fee, and

3.prepare and implement a federal Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan.

What is a "Storage Statement"?

A "storage statement" must include the following information about your facility:

1.Name and address of the tank facility.

2.A contact person for the tank facility.

3.The total storage capacity of all petroleum storage tanks on the facility.

4.For each tank that exceeds 10,000 gallons capacity and which holds a substance containing at least five percent petroleum.

a)Location (on the facility)

b)Size (in gallons)

c)Age (in years)

d)Contents (type of petroleum product)

The above information should be submitted on a bland sheet of paper.  There is no required form.

What are the fees?

Beginning July 1, 1990, and every two years thereafter, you must remit a fee according to the following fee schedules:

The fees are deposited into the State Environmental Protection Trust Fund.  Funds are used for program activities such as facility inspection, enforcement, and cleanup oversight by Regional Board staff.

Where do I send my storage statement and fee?

Your check should be made payable to "SWRCB" and the phrase "aboveground tank" should be written on the check.  Your storage statement and check should be mailed to:

State Water Resources Control Board
Attention: Accounting Office
P.O. Box 100
Sacramento, CA 95812-0100

What is a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan?

An SPCC plan is a carefully thought-out plan, prepared in accordance with the guidelines contained in the United States Environmental Protection Agency's regulations on oil pollution prevention (40 CFR 112).  This plan discusses procedures, methods, and equipment in plact at the facility to prevent discharges of petroleum from reaching navigable waters.  An SPCC plan is certified by a Registered Professional Engineer and a complete copy is maintained on site.

Who is required to prepare and implement an SPCC plan?

All facilities subject to the Act must prepare an SPCC plan except farms, nurseries, logging, or construction sites if these businesses have a total storage capacity of less than 100,000 gallons or if their individual storage tanks are less than 20,000 gallons.  (Farms, nurseries, logging, or construction sites with the above stated storage capacities must still submit a storage statement and fee and comply with the conditions stated in Section 25270.5(d) of the Act).

Who conducts aboveground tank facility inspections?

The Regional Board may conduct periodic facility inspection to determine compliance with the SPCC plan.

Your local Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) may also check to verify whether an SPCC plan is in place at your facility.  The CUPA will then refer their finding to the Regional Board for follow-up.