Title 35, Title 35 — Public Health And Safety

Long-term abandoned mine reclamation account. (a) There is created the long-term abandoned mine reclamation account. The state treasurer shall, upon direction from the department, deposit up to thirty percent (30%) of the amount of all funds provided to the state by the United St…

Definitions. (a) As used in this act: (i) "Administrator" means the administrator of the abandoned mine land division of the department of environmental quality; (ii) "Mine subsidence loss" means loss caused by lateral or vertical movement, including collapse which results theref…

Mine subsidence loss insurance program; established; rulemaking authority. (a) The governor shall establish an insurance program to cover mine subsidence loss to specified structures in this state. The program shall be operated by the director of the department of environmental q…

Applicability of Wyoming Insurance Code; exemption. (a) The Wyoming Insurance Code applies to transactions under this act except: (i) The state and its officers, agencies and employees are exempt from the licensing, financial and tax requirements imposed by chapters 3, 4, 6, 7 an…

Account created; premiums to be deposited; payment of expenses and claims. There is created a mine subsidence loss insurance account. All premiums, fees, amounts recovered under the program and, where appropriate, grants shall be deposited into this account. The legislature shall…

Short title; purpose; department report. (a) This article is known and may be cited as the "Storage Tank Act of 2007". (b) The legislature recognizes the threat to the public health, safety, welfare and the environment caused by pollution to soil and water from underground and ab…

Definitions. (a) As used in this article: (i) "Corrective action" means an action taken to investigate, minimize, eliminate or clean up a release to protect the public health, safety and welfare or the environment; (ii) "Corrective action account" means the account established in…

Rules and regulations. (a) The council shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to administer this article after recommendation from the director of the department, the administrators of the various divisions and their respective advisory boards. The rules shall include b…

Noninsurance proviso. Nothing in this article shall be construed as creating an insurance company nor in any way subjecting the accounts created to the laws of the state regulating insurance or insurance companies.

Tank registration; proof of insurance. (a) After each new installation or modification of a regulated storage tank system the owner of a tank shall register the tank with the department on forms developed and furnished by the department. The registration form shall be submitted u…

Tank notification required; change of owner; installation requirements; inspections. (a) In the event of the transfer of any tank to a different owner, notification of the transfer shall be provided to the department by the new and former owners. Such notifications shall be made …

Reporting releases. An owner or operator shall report a known or suspected release to the department as required by rules and regulations.

Right of entry; inspection. (a) When requested by an authorized agent of the state the owner or operator shall: (i) Provide information to determine compliance with the statutes and rules and regulations; (ii) Provide access to any site or premises where a tank is located or wher…

Public notice; right to intervene. (a) The department shall notify the affected public of all confirmed releases requiring a plan for soil and groundwater remediation, and upon request, provide or make available to the interested public information concerning the nature of the re…

Corrective action account created; use of monies; cost recovery. (a) There is created the corrective action account. This account is intended to provide for financial assurance coverage required by federal law and shall be used by the department to take corrective action in respo…

Tank fee; deposit into corrective action account; late fee. (a) On or before January 1 of each year the owner of a tank shall pay a fee to the department of two hundred dollars ($200.00) per tank owned. This fee shall be deposited in the corrective action account. (b) On April 1 …

Restoration standard. Any owner or operator, department or other person taking a corrective action shall restore the environment to a condition and quality consistent with standards established in rules and regulations.

Financial responsibility account. There is created the environmental pollution financial responsibility account. This account is intended to provide for financial assurance coverage required by federal law for underground storage tanks and establish financial assurance coverage f…

Uses of financial responsibility account monies. (a) As provided in this section, the department shall, on application by an owner or operator, direct the payment of monies from the financial responsibility account to satisfy judgments against the owner or operator for third part…

Tank requirements; rulemaking authority. (a) Cathodic protection shall be installed and operated on all internally lined underground storage tanks no later than June 30, 2008. (b) All underground storage tank systems that dispense more than five hundred thousand (500,000) gallons…

Tank system operators, installers and testers licensing; rulemaking authority. (a) After recommendation from the director and consultation with the appropriate advisory boards, the council shall promulgate rules and regulations to develop standards for the licensure of all tank s…

Temporarily out of use tanks; rulemaking. Except tanks within operating facilities, any underground or aboveground storage tank that has been temporarily out of use for more than twelve (12) months shall be permanently closed in accordance with department rule and regulation not …

Definitions. (a) As used in this article: (i) "High-level radioactive waste" means as defined in the "Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982" as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 10101 et seq.; (ii) "High-level radioactive waste storage" means the emplacement of high-level radioactive waste or spen…

Application to site a high-level radioactive waste storage facility; requirements; payment of costs. (a) Any person undertaking the siting of any high-level radioactive waste storage facility shall do so in accordance with this article. Facilities subject to this article are exem…

Preparation of the report by the department. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the department shall within twenty-one (21) months of receipt of an application and the application fee under W.S. 35-11-1502, prepare a report which examines the environmental, soci…

Public review of any report for the siting of a high-level radioactive waste storage facility; submission to legislature. (a) The department shall submit any report prepared under W.S. 35-11-1503 for public review as required under this section. The public shall be afforded an op…

Benefits agreement. No benefits agreement shall be finally effective until authorized by the legislature under W.S. 35-11-1506. The benefits agreement shall be sufficient to offset adverse environmental, public health, social or economic impacts to the state as a whole, and speci…

Legislative approval of the siting of high- level radioactive waste storage facilities; conditions. (a) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, no construction may commence, nor shall any high-level radioactive waste storage facility be sited within this state, unle…

Injunction proceedings; penalties. (a) When, in the opinion of the governor, a person is violating or is about to violate any provision of this article, the governor shall direct the attorney general to apply to the appropriate court for an order enjoining the person from engagin…

Applicability; nonvoluntary remediation. (a) This article establishes the requirements and procedures necessary for voluntary remediation of eligible sites under this act, and shall not authorize unpermitted releases of contaminants to the environment of the state. Consistent wit…

Eligibility for voluntary remediation program; sites eligible; sites ineligible. (a) Eligible sites shall include sites which meet the following conditions: (i) Sites, or portions of sites, where releases occurred before the effective date of this article and: (A) The site, or po…

Participation in the voluntary remediation program; application; time for determination. To participate in the voluntary remediation program a person must submit an application to the department that identifies the owner and provides a location and description of the site. The ap…

Public participation; notice; plan. (a) Following any determination by the department that a site is an eligible site, or following the submission of any application to modify an existing remedy agreement, the owner or operator shall give written notice to all surface owners of r…

Voluntary remediation standards; site- specific, risk-based standards; considerations in choice of remedy; alternate standards for soil; alternate standards for soil or water; point of compliance; contamination from source not on site; alternate remediation standards for site con…

Preliminary remediation agreement; contents. (a) The preliminary remediation agreement shall contain the terms and conditions agreed to by the parties, which shall include the information and procedures required for completion of an environmental assessment or site characterizati…

Remedy agreement; prerequisite; contents; violation of agreement; changes to agreement; covenant not to sue; certificate of completion; recording; effect on orders or permits. (a) Except as provided in W.S. 35-11-1605(d), before an owner and the department may enter into a remedy…

No further action letters; findings; natural attenuation. (a) If the department determines that no further remediation is required on a site, the department shall, upon request, provide the owner or prospective purchaser a no further action letter, subject to reopener or terminat…

Use control areas; when establishment required; procedure; contents of petition; notice; failure of governmental entity to act; enforcement; exception. (a) The owner of a site who proposes long-term restrictions on the use of the site shall petition to the appropriate governmenta…

Reopening or termination of remedy agreements, covenants not to sue, certificates of completion or no further action determinations; conditions; recording. (a) The department may reopen a remedy agreement, covenant not to sue or certificate of completion at any time if: (i) The c…

Disputes; appeal. If a person and the department are unable after good faith efforts to resolve a dispute arising under this article pursuant to the provisions of an agreement, the person may appeal the department's decision to the council.

Fees; notice; appeal. The department shall implement a fee system and schedule of fees which are applicable to the preliminary remediation agreements, remedy agreements, certificates of completion and no further action letters authorized under this article. Fees shall cover all r…

Remediation requirements for nonvoluntary sites. (a) The remediation requirements for sites that do not participate in the voluntary remediation program in W.S. 35-11-1601 through 35-11-1612 may include, in the discretion of the director requirements which: (i) Return contaminate…

Orphan site remediation; account created. (a) There is created an orphan site remediation account. The director may expend funds contained within the account for the purpose of remediation of orphan sites and the performance of any other activity as defined in this article. (b) A…

Definition of innocent owner. (a) "Innocent owner" means a person who did not cause or contribute to the source of contamination and who is one (1) of the following: (i) An owner of real property that has become contaminated as a result of a release or migration of contaminants f…

Immunity for innocent owners. (a) An innocent owner is not liable for investigation, monitoring, remediation or other response action regarding contamination attributable to a release, discharge or migration of contaminants on his property. (b) To be eligible for immunity under t…

Limitations. (a) Any person who knowingly transfers, conveys or obtains an interest in land to avoid liability for contamination, remediation or compliance with any provision of this act shall not be an innocent owner. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of W.S. 35-11-1802, an inn…