HCS HB 1854 -- NATURAL RESOURCES

SPONSOR:  Bivins

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
Energy and Environment by a vote of 9 to 2.

This substitute changes the laws regarding natural resources.

DAM AND RESERVOIR SAFETY

The substitute:

(1)  Revises the membership of the Dam and Reservoir Safety
Council by requiring a registered geologist with experience on
dam safety to serve in place of an engineering geologist and
requiring that one member be an owner of a regulated high hazard
dam;

(2)  Revises the definition of "dam" to include structures that
are 25 feet or more in height with a storage volume of at least
50 acre-feet of water;

(3)  Defines "high hazard" as dams where the loss of human life
is probable or expected if the dam were to fail.  High hazard
dams will be regulated with construction and operating permits;

(4)  Requires the owner of a dam to register with the Department
of Natural Resources by providing specified information on the
ownership interests and nature of the dam.  This registration
process will supersede the registration and safety permit process
in effect prior to August 28, 2008.  Owners of dams must register
within six months after August 28, 2008, unless their safety or
registration permit issued prior to that date is still in effect;

(5)  Requires the owner of a high hazard dam to obtain an
operating permit from the department.  Owners of high hazard dams
must apply for an operating permit within one year after
August 28, 2008, or at another time specified by the council.
Owners of dams regulated under the Federal Power Act must apply
for an operating permit no later than three months after
August 28, 2008.  If the classification status of a dam changes,
it will be immediately subject to the requirements of the new
classification.  Ownership transfers must be reported to the
Chief Engineer of the Dam and Reservoir Safety Program within the
department in order to remove the obligations under Chapter 236,
RSMo.  The council is authorized to establish rules concerning
the operation and inspection of high hazard dams;

(6)  Requires high hazard dams to be inspected in order to
receive an operating permit.  Inspection fees will be $450 per
year for high hazard dams.  Agricultural dams, certain dams used
for fireclay quarry reclamation, and any dam providing 30 or less
megawatts of power that emits water fully contained on federal
property with no permanent structures are exempt from the
inspection fees.  The council is authorized to establish
inspection and construction fees for dams licensed under the
Federal Power Act;

(7)  Requires dams regulated under the Federal Power Act to be
inspected yearly and requires 24-hour monitoring of Taum Sauk
Dam.  Other high hazard dams must be inspected at least once
every three years;

(8)  Assesses a permit application review fee of $3,000 or 1% of
the cost of a new high hazard dam constructed after August 28,
2008, and specifies the deadlines for all inspection and
application fees;

(9)  Requires a geologic report to accompany an application for a
construction permit for a high hazard dam;

(10)  Creates the Dam and Reservoir Fee Subaccount in the Natural
Resources Protection Fund for the administration and enforcement
of Chapter 236 for the deposit of moneys from inspection and
construction permits and other sources; and

(11)  Imposes a penalty of between $500 and $10,000, confinement
in the county jail for at least 30 days to not more than one
year, or both for violating the operating permit provisions of
the substitute.

MANUFACTURER RESPONSIBILITY AND CONSUMER CONVENIENCE EQUIPMENT
COLLECTION AND RECOVERY ACT

The substitute establishes the Manufacturer Responsibility and
Consumer Convenience Equipment Collection and Recovery Act which
requires manufacturers to develop recovery plans for certain
equipment such as televisions and computers.  The substitute does
not apply to motor vehicles, telephones, or property that are
recovered based on contractual provisions.  The department must
approve the recovery plans before televisions and computers may
be sold in Missouri.  The Attorney General may enforce the
provisions of the substitute by injunction.  If federal law
establishes a national program for the collection and recycling
of computer equipment, the department may adopt an agency
statement that interprets the federal law as preemptive over the
state statutes.

SURFACE MINING AND GRAVEL EXCAVATION

The Land Reclamation Commission is required to establish an
administrative process to identify which land areas are
unsuitable for all or certain types of surface mines.  Any person
may petition the commission to have a decision reviewed. Criteria
for allowing surface mining and criteria involving the types of
land useable for surface mining are specified in the substitute.

Any surface mine operator must send, by certified mail, a notice
of intent to operate a surface mine to individuals who own
property across a river or stream or on the other side of a
right-of-way from the proposed mine plan area.  These provisions
do not apply to any land where a surface mining operation was in
existence or applied for before August 28, 2008.

All new surface mining permit applications must contain an
environmental impact assessment, and any explosives used by
surface mining operations must be handled in accordance with
existing state and federal laws and regulations established by
the commission.  Requirements for the notice of blasting,
recording of information, types of explosives, and fire
certification for those conducting blasting are specified.

The substitute allows a property owner, an operator conducting
gravel removal at the request of a property owner, or a political
subdivision who contracts with an operator for excavation to
remove and sell excess gravel without a permit if the primary
purpose for removal is to manage seasonal gravel accretion on
property not used primarily for gravel mining.  Gravel removal
cannot be conducted from March 15 through June 1 and must be
performed solely on the property owner's or political
subdivision's property and not within a distance to be determined
by the commission of any building, structure, highway, road,
bridge, viaduct, water or sewer line, and pipeline or utility
line.  Property owners and operators must follow the departmental
guidelines regarding surface mining and gravel removal.

Property owners are limited to selling less than 5,000 tons of
gravel annually with a 1,500 ton per-site limitation and are
required to notify the department before any person or operator
conducts gravel removal from his or her property if it is
intended to be sold commercially.  Notification will include the
nature of the activity, the county and stream name in which the
site is located, and the property owner's name.  Any future
commercial gravel mining activities at the site will not require
the property owner to renotify the department.  Any operator
conducting gravel removal at the request of the property owner
who removes more than 5,000 tons of sand and gravel material
within a calendar year must have a watershed management practice
plan approved by the commission.  The application must be
accompanied by a $300 fee and must contain the name of the
watershed from which the operator will be conducting the removal,
the location where the sand and gravel will be removed, and the
description of the vehicles and equipment that will be used for
the removal.

Any person filing a complaint with the department for an alleged
violation must identify himself or herself by name and telephone
number; specify the date and location of the violation; and
provide adequate information as determined by the department of
the violation.  Any records, statements, or communications
submitted by any person to the department will be confidential
and used solely by the department to investigate the alleged
violation.

ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITS

The substitute allows the department to implement a unified
permit schedule process for applicants who need multiple permits
for a similar activity or project.  The department may waive
otherwise applicable procedural requirements for permits and
establish a schedule for issuing permits to an applicant.
Considerations for determining the timing of the unified permit
schedule are specified in the substitute.  Public comment periods
and substantive legal requirements cannot be waived by the
department to facilitate the new scheduling process.

ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITS

Companies are allowed to conduct voluntary environmental audits
in order to discover and correct noncompliance with environmental
regulations.  If a company complies with the voluntary audit
requirements, it will be exempt from certain types of criminal
and administrative penalties and may keep its voluntary audit
reports confidential.  Companies will not be exempt from any tort
actions by private parties.  In order to comply with the
voluntary audit requirements, a company must:

(1)  Discover noncompliance during a voluntary environmental
audit or through a compliance management system;

(2)  Disclose its noncompliance to the department within 21 days;

(3)  Make the disclosure prior to any legal actions or regulatory
investigations concerning the audit;

(4)  Correct any noncompliance within 60 days or as determined by
the department;

(5)  Agree to take steps to prevent future noncompliance with
environmental regulations;

(6)  Document that the reported noncompliance was not part of a
pattern and that a similar noncompliance did not occur in the
previous three years or within the past five years at another
facility owned by the company;

(7)  Prove that the noncompliance did not cause actual harm or
violate an administrative order or agreement; and

(8)  Provide certain specified information to the department.

The department cannot disclose any audit report information
relating to scientific and technological innovations in which the
owner has a proprietary interest that is protected from
disclosure by law.

AIR AND WATER QUALITY PERMITS

Recycling companies that convert animal parts into petroleum are
prohibited from retaining their air or water quality permits
issued by the department if they violate at least six times in a
12-month period or 12 times in a 36-month period Section 643.151
or Section 644.076 or any odor rule enacted by the department.
If a company violates state air, water, odor, or pollution
requirements more than once during a 36-month period, it will be
subject to a penalty of not less than $10,000 nor more than
$30,000 for each violation per day.

TRASH AND WASTE COLLECTION

St. Louis County is prohibited from enacting any ordinance
governing trash and waste collection in unincorporated areas of
the county without submitting the proposal to voters.

The substitute contains an emergency clause for the provisions
regarding trash and waste collection in St. Louis County.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Cost on General Revenue Fund of $135,263
in FY 2009, $143,936 in FY 2010, and $151,344 in FY 2011.  No
impact on Other State Funds in FY 2009, FY 2010, and FY 2011.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill creates an incentive
for industries to conduct environmental audits and solve problems
voluntarily.  The bill codifies existing practices and policies
of the Department of Natural Resources and does not grant
immunity for actual damages caused by the violation of
environmental laws or regulations.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Bivins; Associated
Industries of Missouri; Missouri Chamber of Commerce and
Industry; and American Council of Engineering Companies of
Missouri.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that it is unnecessary,
and the federal Environmental Protection Agency prefers audit
policies to be administered by state agencies and not codified in
state statute.

Testifying against the bill were Office of the Attorney General,
Missouri Sierra Club, and Missouri Conservation and Environmental
Alliance.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated October 15, 2008 at 3:11 pm