Napa County Municipal Code Ch. 16.24 Corrective Action Plans—contamination

By agreement between the county and the State Water Resources Control Board entered into on January 4, 1989, the county is the local implementing agency pursuant to Subchapter 16 of Title 23 of the California Administrative Code and Part 280 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations for the approval, oversight, modification, and termination of corrective action plans (hereafter referred to as "corrective action plans") for the clean up of certain former underground tank sites within the county contaminated as the result of unauthorized releases of hazardous substances. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a procedure for such approval, oversight, modification, and termination which involves participation by the public as required by such state and federal regulations.

(Ord. 955 § 1 (part), 1990: prior code § 5860)

Unauthorized releases of hazardous substances from underground storage tanks shall be reported in accordance with that procedure established by resolution of the board of supervisors pursuant to Proposition 65 (Initiative Measure, November 4, 1986) for the reporting of unauthorized releases of hazardous substances generally.

(Ord. 955 § 1 (part), 1990: prior code § 5861)

No corrective action plan for an underground tank site or former underground tank site contaminated by unauthorized releases of hazardous substances and as to which the county has oversight pursuant to agreement with the State Water Resources Board as set forth in Section 16.24.060 of this chapter, shall be implemented unless it has first been approved pursuant to the following procedure:

A. Filing. The proposed corrective action plan shall be filed with the county department of environmental management.

B. Review by Director. The director of planning, building and environmental services or the director's designee (hereafter referred to as "the director") shall review the proposed plan for compliance with all applicable state, federal, and local regulations, and to determine whether implementation of the plan will create significant adverse environmental impacts which exceed the benefits to be gained from clean up of the contamination.

C. Tentative Decision. If the director determines that the proposed corrective action plan will comply with such state, federal, and local regulations and will not create adverse environmental impacts which outweigh the benefits to be gained from clean up of the contamination, the director shall issue a tentative decision approving or conditionally approving the plan. If the director determines that the proposed corrective action plan will not comply with such regulations or the benefits of clean up will not outweigh adverse impacts which would be caused by the plan, or both, he shall issue a tentative decision denying the plan.

D. Notice of Tentative Decision. Within seven calendar days of issue of the tentative decision, the director shall give notice of such issuance, including the date on which the tentative decision will become final if a public hearing is not requested. The notice shall be given by all of the following means:

1. Owner. Notice shall be delivered or placed in the mail to the owner of the site and the person filing the proposed corrective action plan, if different.

2. Publication. Notice shall be published as a display advertisement of at least one-eighth page, at least once in a newspaper of general distribution within the area where the contaminated site is located.

3. Posting. At least one notice shall be posted on each boundary of the site adjacent to a public or private roadway and if the site is not adjacent to any such roadway, notices shall be posted every one hundred feet along the boundary of the site. For purposes of such posting, the boundary of the site shall be deemed to be the boundary of the legal parcel or, if the site is comprised of more than one contiguous legal parcel, shall be deemed to be the noncontiguous portions of the boundaries of the parcels.

4. Affected Agencies. Notice shall be mailed to each local governmental agency within whose jurisdiction the site lies.

5. Adjacent Property Owners. Notice shall be mailed to the owners of all real property, including businesses, corporations, or other public or private entities, as shown on the latest equalized assessment roll, within three hundred feet of the site. In lieu of utilizing the assessment roll, the records of the county assessor or tax collector may be used if they contain more recent information than the assessment roll. Notice need not be sent pursuant to this subparagraph if the number of such owners to whom notice would be sent pursuant to this subparagraph exceeds one thousand.

6. Persons Requesting Notice. Notice shall be mailed to any person who has filed a written request therefor with the director of environmental management. Such requests may be submitted at any time during the calendar year and shall apply for the balance of such calendar year. Such requests shall be accompanied by that fee established by resolution of the board of supervisors.

E. Request for Public Hearing. The tentative decision shall become final on the date stated in the notice thereof unless prior to such date any member of the public files a written request with the director asking that a public hearing be held on the proposed corrective action plan.

F. Notice of Public Hearing. If a public hearing is requested pursuant to subsection (D)(5) above, the director shall set the hearing for a date no less than ten and no more than thirty calendar days from the date on which the tentative decision would have become final if no hearing had been requested. Notice of the time, date, and place of the public hearing shall be given by the director at least ten calendar days prior to the date of the hearing in the same manner and to the same persons as the notice of the tentative decision.

G. Conduct of the Public Hearing. The public hearing shall be conducted by the director. Any member of the public may attend and present oral testimony and/or submit written or other evidence. The proceedings shall be electronically recorded and the tapes thereof shall be retained in the custody of the director for a period of three years after the hearing except during such time as they may be undergoing transcription for preparation of the record on appeal.

H. Final Decision of the Director After the Public Hearing. Within five calendar days of the conclusion of the public hearing, the director shall issue a final decision approving, conditionally approving, or denying approval of the proposed corrective action plan. Notice of the final decision shall be given by the director in the same manner and to the same persons as the notice of the tentative decision.

(Ord. 955 § 1 (part), 1990: prior code § 5862)

(Ord. No. 1379, § 87, 1-29-2013)

If, as the result of monitoring of an approved corrective action plan or investigation of a complaint regarding the implementation of the plan, the director believes that a previously approved corrective action plan has failed or will fail to result in clean up of the contaminated site or will create significant unanticipated adverse environmental impacts which significantly outweigh the benefits of clean up of the site, the director may issue a tentative decision modifying or terminating the plan. Notice of such a tentative decision, the right to request a public hearing, the conduct of the hearing, and the issuance of a final decision shall be governed by the procedure set forth in Section 16.24.030 (C) through (H).

(Ord. 955 § 1 (part), 1990: prior code § 5863)

Any person may appeal a final decision of the director made pursuant to Section 16.24.030 or 16.24.040 in accordance with the procedures set forth in Chapter 2.88 of this code.

(Ord. 955 § 1 (part), 1990: prior code § 5864)

Pursuant to agreement with the State Water Resources Control Board, the county rather than said Board shall have oversight jurisdiction over, and the provisions of this chapter shall apply to, all corrective action plans for all potentially contaminated underground tank or former underground tank sites within the incorporated and unincorporated portions of the county, other than those where the owners of the sites are determined by the director to be either recalcitrant as to cleanup efforts or to be insolvent and unable on that basis to commence corrective efforts.

(Ord. 955 § 1 (part), 1990: prior code § 5865)