Ventura County Municipal Code Art. 2 Liability for Violation of Hazardous Waste and Substance Control Laws

(Rep. Reen. by Ord. 3907—9/19/89)

(Rep. Reen. by Ord. 4105—12/19/95)

(Rep. Reen. by Ord. 4169—6/23/98)

The purpose of this Article is to establish liability for reimbursement of the County's expenses incurred in connection with corrective action necessitated by violations of the hazardous waste and substance control laws. The authority for this Article includes the general police power, Sections 510 and 1155.6 of the Health and Safety Code, and the provisions of Chapter 6.5 (commencing with 25100) and Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 25280) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code.

For the purposes of this Article, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "County" means, in addition to the County of Ventura, any special district governed by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.

(b) "Corrective Action" includes, without limitation, any "remedial action" within the meaning of Section 25322 of the Health and Safety Code and any "removal" within the meaning of Section 25323 of the Health and Safety Code.

(c) "Disposal" has the meaning assigned to that term by Section 25113 of the Health and Safety Code.

(d) "Hazardous Waste or Substance" means a waste or substance that:

(1) consists of a material listed in either the list of chemicals or the list of common names appearing in Appendix X of Chapter 11 of Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations;

(2) exhibits any of the characteristics identified in Article 3 (commencing with Section 66261.20) of Chapter 11 of Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations;

(3) is listed in Article 4 (commencing with Section 66261.30) of Chapter 11 of Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations; or

(4) is defined as a "hazardous substance" of "hazardous material" or "hazardous waste" by Sections 25281, 25316, 25400 or 25501 of the Health and Safety Code.

(e) "Hazardous Waste and Substance Control Laws" means Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100), or Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 25280) of Chapter 6.75 (commencing with Section 25299.10) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code or any permit, rule, regulation, standard or requirement issued or promulgated pursuant to such chapters.

(f) "Manager" means the Manager of the Environmental Health Division of the Ventura County Resource Management Agency and his or her duly appointed representatives.

(g) "Release" has the meaning assigned to that term by Section 25320 and Section 25321 of the Health and Safety Code.

(h) "Unauthorized Disposal or Release" means any disposal of a hazardous waste or substance which is in violation of the provisions of Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, any "unauthorized release" within the meaning of Section 25281 of the Health and Safety Code, or any release of a hazardous waste or substance which is not "a release authorized or permitted pursuant to state law" within the meaning of Section 25326 of the Health and Safety Code.

If the County takes any corrective action which, in the judgment of either the Manager or the Chief Administrative Officer of a special district governed by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, is reasonably necessary to remedy or prevent an imminent substantial danger to the public health, domestic livestock, wildlife or the environ-ment arising out of any unauthorized disposal or release of any hazardous waste or substance, the following described persons shall be jointly and severally liable to the County for the cost incurred by it in taking any such corrective action:

(a) The person or persons whose negligent or willful act or omission proximately caused such disposal or release;

(b) The person or persons who owned or had custody or control of the hazardous waste or substance at the time of such disposal or release, without regard to fault or proximate cause; and

(c) The person or persons who owned or had custody or control of the container which held such hazardous waste or substance at the time of or immediately prior to such disposal or release, without regard to fault or proximate cause.

If the Manager issues a lawful order directing any person who has violated or is in violation of any provisions of the hazardous waste or substance control laws to take corrective action respecting such violation, and if such person does not take such corrective action on or before the date specified in the order, the County may take or contract for the taking of such corrective action. If such corrective action is taken by or contracted for by the County, the person to whom the order was directed shall be liable to the County for the cost incurred by it in taking or contracting for such corrective action. If such corrective action is taken by the person to whom the order is directed or by such person's agent, the person to whom the order is directed shall be liable to the County for the County's cost of supervising such corrective action or otherwise verifying compliance with the order.

The costs referred to in Section 4557 and Section 4558 shall include, in addition to the County's direct out-of-pocket expenses, the cost of all County personnel engaged in such work computed in accordance with the County's standard accounting procedures for computing the hourly cost of services by such personnel. The amount of such costs for which liability is imposed pursuant to this Article shall be recoverable in a civil action by the County and shall be in addition to any other fees or penalties authorized by law, provided that any sums actually received by the County in connection with such work pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 4527 of this Code, or Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 25280), 6.75 (commencing with Section 25299.10), 6.8 (commencing with Section 25300), or 6.95 (commencing with Section 25500) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, or any other provision of law, shall be credited against any amount recoverable in such civil action to the extent necessary to avoid double recovery by the County.