(1) If a
release has occurred at a site where the owner or operator cannot be identified,
after the director of the division of oil and public safety or a designee has mitigated
fire and safety hazards in accordance with section 8-20.5-208 and determined that
a release exceeds reportable quantities, the director of the division of oil and public
safety may initiate corrective action to mitigate any threat to subsurface soil,
groundwater, or surface water and develop a plan for cleanup in accordance with
subsection (3) of this section and shall recover costs pursuant to section 8-20.5-103.
(2) If a release has occurred at a site where the owner or operator can be
identified, and after fire and safety hazards have been mitigated in accordance with
section 8-20.5-208 and the director of the division of oil and public safety has
determined that the release exceeds reportable quantities, then the owner or
operator shall provide the director of the division of oil and public safety with a
corrective action plan to clean up subsurface soil, groundwater, and surface water
as a result of the release. In addition to the corrective action plan, the owner or
operator shall prepare a summary of the costs associated with the preferred
corrective action, taking into account economic and technological feasibility, in
accordance with the rules promulgated pursuant to section 8-20.5-104 (4)(d) and
shall submit the summary to the committee created in said section. The director of
the division of oil and public safety shall review and approve or disapprove the plan
and, if the plan is disapproved, the director shall provide the owner or operator with
a statement specifying the deficiencies in the plan. Within twenty working days
after receiving such statements, the owner or operator shall submit a revised plan
and shall be given an opportunity to take necessary and appropriate actions to
clean up subsurface soils, groundwater, and surface water. If the owner or operator
is unable or unwilling to take such necessary and appropriate actions, the director
of the division of oil and public safety may conduct corrective action to the extent
appropriate to protect subsurface soils, groundwater, or surface water as a result
of that release. Such action shall be taken after consideration of the risks posed to
the public health and shall be determined in light of current economic and
technological feasibility.
(3) After the director of the division of oil and public safety mitigates the
threat to subsurface soils, groundwater, and surface water as specified in
subsections (1) and (2) of this section, and the owner or operator of the tank from
which petroleum has been released is identified, the owner or operator shall pay the
required costs of investigation and mitigation pursuant to the financial
responsibility requirements set forth in sections 8-20.5-206, 8-20.5-207, and 8-20.5-303. The director of the division of oil and public safety may file suit in the
district court for the judicial district in which the release occurred to recover such
costs. The moneys obtained as a result of any suit brought pursuant to this section
shall be credited to the petroleum storage tank fund created in section 8-20.5-103.
(4) The director of the division of oil and public safety may order the owner
or operator of an aboveground storage tank from which a regulated substance has
been released to implement a corrective action plan approved under subsection (2)
of this section. Such order shall be served personally or by certified mail, return
receipt requested, upon the owner or operator.
(5) (a) If the director of the division of oil and public safety disapproves or
fails to approve the plan within thirty days following its submission, the director
shall immediately provide a statement of findings of fact outlining the reasons for
such disapproval or failure to approve, including the reasons the proposed plan fails
to meet the criteria outlined in this section. The statement shall be provided by
formal notice or by certified mail to the owner or operator within ten days after the
director's decision.
(b) The director of the division of oil and public safety may waive the
requirement for such a plan if the director determines that reasonable steps have
been taken to prevent further releases and that any previously released regulated
substance has been cleaned up to the extent appropriate to protect subsurface
soils, groundwater, or surface water as a result of that release at that specific
location. Such action shall be taken after consideration of the risks posed to the
public health and shall be determined in light of current economic and
technological feasibility.
(6) (a) Within ten days after notification of disapproval of the plan, the owner
or operator may file a written request with the director of the division of oil and
public safety for an informal conference regarding the disapproval. Upon receipt of
such a request, the director shall provide the owner or operator with a written
notice of the date, time, and place of the informal conference. The executive
director of the department or a designee shall preside at the informal conference,
during which the owner or operator and the director or the director's designee may
present information and arguments regarding the issues raised in the statement of
findings of fact.
(b) Within twenty days after the conference, the owner or operator may
resubmit a modified plan which addresses the deficiencies identified by the
department in the original plan. The department shall review the modifications to
the plan and, within twenty days, approve or disapprove the resubmitted plan. If,
after the conference, the owner or operator or the department determines that the
issues identified in the statement of findings of fact cannot be reasonably resolved,
the owner or operator or the department may request that the committee, created
in section 8-20.5-104, schedule and hold a hearing within thirty days to resolve the
issues identified in the statement of findings of fact.
(7) (a) At any time after receiving the statement of findings of fact, the
owner or operator or the department may request, in writing, a formal hearing
before the committee created in section 8-20.5-104. Upon such request, the
committee shall meet and review the initial plan and statement of findings of fact.
(b) The committee shall recommend such plan if any current release has
been mitigated and if any regulated substance which has been released has been or
will be cleaned up to the extent appropriate to protect subsurface soils,
groundwater, or surface water as a result of the release at that specific location.
The department shall give serious consideration to the recommendation of the
committee. Such action shall be taken after consideration of the risks posed to the
public and shall be determined in light of current economic and technological
feasibility. If the committee finds that a current release has not been mitigated or
that any regulated substance which has been released will not be cleaned up to the
extent appropriate, the committee shall issue a statement of findings of fact and
recommendations to the department for revisions to the plan. Such revisions, if
approved by the department, shall be incorporated into the plan by the department,
and the revised plan shall then be approved as provided in subsection (2) of this
section.
(8) Within thirty days following mitigation and cleanup, the department shall
notify the owner or operator, in writing, that the owner or operator has complied
with the requirements for mitigation and cleanup as outlined in this section.
(9) (a) For the purpose of implementing the provisions of this section, the
department or its designee is authorized for justifiable cause:
(I) To enter the property, premises, or place where a release or suspected
release from an aboveground storage tank is located;
(II) To monitor or test or require the owner or operator to monitor or test an
aboveground storage tank or any surrounding soils, groundwater, or surface water
where a suspected release from an aboveground storage tank has occurred. A
duplicate sample taken for testing shall be provided to any owner or operator who
the department reasonably believes may be responsible for the violation upon
request of such person. A duplicate copy of the analytical report pertaining to the
samples taken pursuant to this subparagraph (II) shall be provided as soon as
practicable to any person the department or its designee reasonably believes may
be responsible for the violation. When such tests are performed, the department
shall notify, when possible, any person reasonably believed to be an owner or
operator.
(b) If such entry or inspection is denied, the department shall obtain, from
the district or county court for the judicial district or county in which such property,
premises, or place is located, a warrant to enter and inspect any such property,
premises, or place prior to entry and inspection. The district and county courts of
the state of Colorado are authorized to issue such warrants upon proper showing of
the need for such entry and inspection.
(c) If requested by the department or its designee, the owner or operator of
an aboveground storage tank shall provide any information in such owner's or
operator's possession regarding the tank.
(10) (a) The department may consider water quality standards adopted by the
water quality control commission as guidelines for cleanup but shall assure that
cleanup requirements are appropriate, in light of economic and technical feasibility
and after consideration of the risks to public health, to protect subsurface soils,
groundwater, or surface water as a result of a release at a specific location.
(b) The department shall, if necessary, negotiate and enter into memoranda
of agreement with and apply for and receive grants from the United States
environmental protection agency.