Title XI, NATURAL RESOURCES (Ch. 455 - 485)

The department shall be the agency of the state to prevent, abate, and control the exposure of the citizens of the state to hazardous conditions as defined in this part 4 of subchapter IV . [C79, 81, §455B.111 ] C83, §455B.382 2021 Acts, ch 76, §150 Referred to in §459.506

The department shall: 1. Establish such rules pursuant to the provisions of chapter 17A as are necessary to protect the public from unnecessary exposure to hazardous substances. 2. Develop a comprehensive plan for the prevention, abatement and control of hazardous conditions with…

The director shall: 1. Provide technical advice and assistance to other state agencies, to political subdivisions of the state, and to other persons upon request for the control, abatement, and prevention of hazardous conditions. 2. Collect and disseminate such information, publi…

All public agencies, as defined in chapter 28E , shall cooperate in the development and implementation of a state hazardous condition contingency plan. The plan shall detail the manner in which public agencies shall participate in the response to a hazardous condition. The direct…

A person manufacturing, storing, handling, transporting, or disposing of a hazardous substance shall notify the department and the local police department or the office of the sheriff of the affected county of the occurrence of a hazardous condition as soon as possible but not la…

1. When any hazardous condition exists, the director may remove or provide for the removal and disposal of the hazardous substance at any time, unless the director determines such removal will be properly and promptly accomplished by the owner or operator of the vessel, vehicle, …

1. If it is determined by the director that an emergency exists respecting any matter affecting or likely to affect the public health, the director may issue any order necessary to terminate the emergency without notice and without hearing. Any such order shall be binding and eff…

Judicial review of any order or other action of the commission or of the director may be sought in accordance with the terms of chapter 17A . Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 17A , petitions for judicial review may be filed in the district court of the county in which th…

Nothing contained in this part 4 of subchapter IV shall be deemed to grant to the department any authority or jurisdiction under this part 4 with respect to the following: 1. Hazardous conditions existing solely within and which will probably continue to exist solely within comme…

1. The attorney general shall, at the request of the department, institute any legal proceedings, including an action for an injunction or temporary injunction, necessary to obtain compliance with the provisions of this part 4 of subchapter IV . In any legal proceedings any previ…

1. a. A person having control over a hazardous substance is strictly liable to the state or a political subdivision for all of the following: (1) The reasonable cleanup costs incurred by the state or its political subdivisions or the agents of the state or a political subdivision…

1. A person employed by the state is not liable for damages incurred as a result of actions taken by the person when acting in the person’s official capacity pursuant to this part, rules adopted pursuant to this part and the hazardous condition contingency plan. 2. A person who p…

A person shall not refuse entry or access to, or harass or obstruct an authorized representative of the department who seeks entry or access for the purpose of investigating or responding to a hazardous condition. The representative shall present appropriate credentials. Upon a s…

Information obtained under this part 4, or a rule, order, or condition adopted or issued under this part 4 , or an investigation authorized thereby, shall be available to the public unless the information constitutes trade secrets or information which is entitled to confidential …

1. Liability to the state under this part 4 or part 5 of this subchapter IV is a debt to the state. Liability to a political subdivision under this part 4 of subchapter IV is a debt to the political subdivision. The debt, together with interest on the debt at the maximum lawful r…

Immediately upon the incurrence of any liability to the state under this part , the debtor shall submit to the director a report consisting of documentation of the debtor’s liabilities and assets, including if filed, a copy of the biennial report submitted to the secretary of sta…

1. A person who provides assistance or advice in mitigating or attempting to mitigate the effects of an actual or threatened hazardous condition or in preventing, cleaning up or disposing of or in attempting to prevent, clean up or dispose of a hazardous condition is not liable f…

As used in this part 5, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. “Disposal” means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of a hazardous waste or hazardous substance into or on land or water so that the hazardous waste or hazardous substance or …

1. A hazardous substance remedial fund is created within the state treasury. Moneys received from fees, penalties, general revenue, federal funds, gifts, bequests, donations, or other moneys so designated shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the fund. Any une…

1. The person who generates hazardous waste or the owner or operator of a hazardous waste disposal facility who transports hazardous wastes off of the site where the hazardous waste was generated or off the disposal facility site shall pay a fee of ten dollars for each ton up to …

The director shall annually on January 1 give a full accounting of moneys received, moneys expended, sources and recipients, and purposes of the expenditures for the preceding fiscal year in the hazardous substance remedial fund to the general assembly and the governor. 84 Acts, …

1. The director shall maintain and make available for public inspection a registry of confirmed hazardous waste or hazardous substance disposal sites in the state. The director shall take all necessary action to ensure that the registry provides a complete listing of all sites. T…

1. The director shall annually on January 1 transmit a report to the general assembly and the governor identifying all hazardous waste or hazardous substance disposal sites in the state listed on the registry. A copy of the report shall also be sent to the board of supervisors of…

1. The director shall investigate each hazardous waste or hazardous substance disposal site listed in the registry to determine its relative priority. 2. The director shall identify each hazardous waste or hazardous substance disposal site by providing all of the following: a. Th…

1. Within sixty days after July 1, 1984, the director shall notify the owner of any part of a site to be included in the registry required by section 455B.426 . The notice shall be sent by certified mail to the owner’s last known address. Thirty days before a site is added to the…

1. A person shall not substantially change the manner in which a hazardous waste or hazardous substance disposal site on the registry pursuant to section 455B.426 is used without the written approval of the director. 2. A person shall not sell, convey, or transfer title to a haza…

When the director places a site on the registry as provided in section 455B.426 , then the director shall file with the county recorder a statement disclosing the period during which the site was used as a hazardous waste or hazardous substances disposal area. When the director f…

Acts or omissions of the director or the department in carrying out the duties imposed by sections 455B.423 through 455B.431 shall not be cause for a claim against the state within the meaning of chapter 669 . 84 Acts, ch 1108, §18 ; 86 Acts, ch 1245, §1899 Referred to in §455B.4…

As used in this part unless the context otherwise requires: 1. “Account” means the storage tank management account created in the groundwater protection fund created in section 455E.11 . 2. “Claimant” means an owner or operator who has filed a claim for assistance under the accou…

The general assembly finds that the release of regulated substances from underground storage tanks constitutes a threat to the public health and safety and to the natural resources of the state, and that existing regulatory programs of the department and other agencies do not ade…

1. The department shall establish and administer a storage tank management account financing program for the purpose of reimbursing eligible claimants for all or part of the costs of corrective action for petroleum releases previously eligible for payment from the Iowa comprehens…

1. Full recovery sought by department. The department may seek full recovery from an owner, operator, or other potentially responsible party liable for a release that is the subject of a corrective action for which moneys from the account are expended, or for which moneys from th…

1. The commission may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A conditioning receipt of moneys from the account transferred pursuant to 2024 Iowa Acts, ch. 1054 , to those petroleum-contaminated properties that present a higher degree of risk to the public health and safety or the envi…

1. Except as provided in subsection 2 , the owner or operator of an underground storage tank existing on or before July 1, 1985, shall notify the department in writing by May 1, 1986, of the existence of each tank and specify the age, size, type, location and uses of the tank. 2.…

The commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A relating to: 1. a. Release detection, prevention, and correction as may be necessary to protect human health and the environment, applicable to all owners and operators of underground storage tanks. The rules shall include …

The rules adopted by the commission under section 455B.474 shall be consistent with and shall not exceed the requirements of federal regulations relating to the regulation of underground storage tanks except as provided in section 455B.474, subsection 1 , paragraph “a” , subparag…

The director shall: 1. Inspect and investigate the facilities and records of owners and operators of underground storage tanks as may be necessary to determine compliance with this part and the rules adopted pursuant to this part. An inspection or investigation shall be concluded…

1. If there is substantial evidence that a person has violated or is violating a provision of this part or a rule adopted under this part , the director may issue an order directing the person to desist in the practice that constitutes the violation and to take corrective action …

1. A person who violates a provision of this part or a rule or order issued under this part is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars for each day during which the violation continues. The civil penalty is an alternative to a criminal penalty provided unde…

Except as provided in section 455B.477, subsection 5 , judicial review of an order or other action of the commission or the director may be sought in accordance with chapter 17A . Notwithstanding chapter 17A , the Iowa administrative procedure Act, petitions for judicial review m…

An owner or operator of an underground storage tank shall pay an annual storage tank management fee of sixty-five dollars per tank of over one thousand one hundred gallons capacity. The fees collected shall be deposited in the storage tank management account of the groundwater pr…

This part may be cited as the “Waste Management Assistance Act” . 87 Acts, ch 180, §1 ; 92 Acts, ch 1239, §21 ; 2001 Acts, ch 7, §4 ; 2002 Acts, ch 1162, §46

1. The purpose of this part is to promote the proper management of solid, hazardous, and low-level radioactive wastes in Iowa. 2. The department, in cooperation with the Iowa waste reduction center for safe and economic management of solid waste and hazardous substances establish…

As used in this part unless the context otherwise requires: 1. “Disposal” means the isolation of waste from the biosphere in a permanent facility designed for that purpose. 2. “Facilities” means land and improvements on land, buildings and other structures, and other appurtenance…

The director of the department of natural resources shall provide for administration of the provisions of this part. 87 Acts, ch 180, §5 ; 92 Acts, ch 1239, §21 ; 2001 Acts, ch 7, §7 ; 2002 Acts, ch 1162, §49

The department shall: 1. Recommend to the commission the adoption of rules necessary to implement this part. 2. Implement the waste management policy provided in section 455B.481 . 3. Represent the state in all matters pertaining to plans, procedures, negotiations, and agreements…