HB 305-OIL/HAZARDOUS SUB.:CLEANUP/REIMBURSEMENT  2:32:41 PM CO-CHAIR JOSEPHSON announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 305, "An Act relating to oil and hazardous substances and waiver of cost recovery for containment and cleanup of certain releases; and providing for an effective date." 2:33:18 PM KRISTIN RYAN, Director, Division of Spill Prevention and Response (SPAR), Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), introduced HB 305 at the request of the governor. Ms. Ryan informed the committee DEC increased its cost recovery efforts recently, which has created difficulties for homeowners who are responsible for spills of home heating oil. In fact, homeowners are reluctant to contact DEC because they don't want to receive a bill. She said a homeowner is required by state law to pay for the cost to cleanup a spill of a hazardous substance and to repair the environment, which would not be changed by the bill. The change made by HB 305 would be that SPAR would no longer have to bill a responsible homeowner for providing technical assistance. Technical assistance includes supporting a homeowner who is overwhelmed by a situation of which he/she has no expertise, financially or emotionally. Further, homeowners do not have the experience or skill needed to address the problem. After contact by a homeowner, SPAR inspects the site of the spill and provides advice; currently, SPAR is required to send a bill, which prevents homeowners from asking for help. Ms. Ryan said SPAR seeks relief from its mandate of recovering its expenses of providing assistance to homeowners, which she opined would help homeowners respond to the spill more efficiently, and prevent additional damage due to a delay in reporting a spill. She pointed out SPAR is the only division in DEC that is required to recover its cost - other environmental programs are funded through a permit system - but consumers do pay a "permit fee" when they buy gas and pay almost one penny per gallon for SPAR's assistance. Finally, SPAR has found insurance companies are unwilling to provide insurance to homeowners against home heating oil spills, thus homeowners are faced with an expensive financial burden as the cleanup at a home can cost from $10,000 to $60,000, depending on the circumstances, for example, leaks migrating under house foundations are dangerous to dwellers. 2:39:33 PM REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH directed attention to a summary from DEC to the co-chairs dated 2/7/18 which reported in 2017, there were 37 crude oil spills totaling 1,655 gallons, and 1,503 non-crude oil spills totaling 188,379 gallons [document not provided]. He asked whether homeowner spills are included in the non-crude oil spill summary. MS. RYAN said yes. She explained SPAR's annual report identifies spills by type of product, and refined fuel is the predominant product spilled. In addition, spills are identified by types of industry and location. Home heating oil tank spills typically account for approximately 2 percent of overall spills, which she cautioned may be seriously underreported. REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked whether DEC would recover costs for a spill, for example, at a school. MS. RYAN said HB 305 does not affect DEC penalty statutes; however, a spill of any volume could draw a penalty. REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked if, under HB 305, one would not be billed for a call to DEC to report an oil spill, but would be subject to a penalty. MS. RYAN said HB 305 only addresses cost recovery and does not change DEC's ability to enforce a penalty if warranted. REPRESENTATIVE PARISH surmised the intent of HB 305 is to reduce homeowners' anxiety - that is related to a spill - by allowing the state to provide assistance without cost; in addition, the state would no longer be compelled to bill a homeowner for assistance. MS. RYAN said yes. 2:45:31 PM REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER suggested homeowners have other worries after an oil spill, such as whether their property is condemned. MS. RYAN said the bill is specific about cost recovery for providing technical assistance; the homeowner is still liable for cleaning up the release. [DEC] maintains a database of sites when contamination remains above cleanup level in order to protect human health. REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER gave an example of a property where monitoring was needed for 10 years. MS. RYAN explained institutional controls and monitoring are required in difficult situations where the contamination level remains high, or during treatment. If HB 305 becomes law, SPAR would not have to send a bill each year for monitoring reports. REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH expressed support for the intent and purpose of HB 305; he asked whether callers are identified when assistance is requested. MS. RYAN acknowledged SPAR frequently provides assistance to anonymous callers. 2:51:12 PM The committee took an at-ease from 2:51 p.m. to 2:52 p.m. [CO-CHAIR JOSEPHSON opened public testimony on HB 322.] 2:52:31 PM FABIENNE PETER-CONTESSE informed the committee she works for the state and is testifying as a private citizen and a 36-year resident of Juneau. She expressed support for HB 305, which would allow DEC to waive cost recovery for small oil spills in residential units. Ms. Peter-Contesse said the underground oil tank leaked at her home in Juneau and she reported the spill to DEC. She received advice from DEC, hired a contractor to dig out and clean the tank, and began remediation. Remediation cost tens of thousands of dollars for cleanup, equipment, disposal, and soil testing, none of which was covered by homeowner's insurance. The staff at DEC were "exceptional" and in 2017, she received a bill for their assistance. Ms. Peter-Contesse said she did everything she was advised to do, and staff at DEC said they were required to recover their costs. After receiving more advice and more bills, she decided not to contact DEC further. At that point, "it put a barrier between us and DEC that shouldn't exist." Although she is a responsible homeowner who wishes to clean up the property, she is not willing to continue to communicate with DEC and get charged. She acknowledged the state's fiscal crisis and the need to increase revenue; however, DEC garners no more than $60,000-$70,000 per year from cost recovery and residents already pay into the SPAR fund. Ms. Peter-Contesse said the existing statute does not help DEC and the state achieve the goal of cleaning up the oil spill and advising residents how to do so. 2:57:11 PM CO-CHAIR JOSEPHSON asked if Ms. Peter-Contesse was levied a penalty for the spill. MS. PETER-CONTESSE said no. She was unsure of the regulations addressing residential oil spills. CO-CHAIR JOSEPHSON observed this is evidence DEC exercises restraint when issuing penalties. He said the foregoing testimony is compelling. REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH urged for uniformity of laws for those who accidently spill oil. He said he supported HB 305, and urged the committee to treat responsible parties equitably. 3:00:30 PM REPRESENTATIVE PARISH asked how much more remediation would have cost without help from DEC. MS. PETER-CONTESSE said she saved money by getting assistance from DEC and doing most of the work without a contractor. She cautioned getting a bill from DEC may prevent others from doing the right thing. [HB 305 was held over.]