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CALIFORNIA CODES ANNOTATED
HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
Division 20. Miscellaneous Health and Safety Provisions
Chapter 6.95. Hazardous Materials Release Response Plans and Inventory
Article 1. Business and Area Plans
Date:
08/31/2009
Document:
Cal Health & Saf Code § 25503.5 (2011)
§ 25503.5. Business plans for emergency response to release of hazardous material
(a)
(1) A business, except as provided in subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), shall establish and implement a business plan for emergency response to a release or threatened release of a hazardous material in accordance with the standards prescribed in the regulations adopted pursuant to Section 25503, if the business handles a hazardous material or a mixture containing a hazardous material that has a quantity at any one time during the reporting year that is any of the following:
(A) Equal to, or greater than, a total weight of 500 pounds or a total volume of 55 gallons.
(B) Equal to, or greater than, 200 cubic feet at standard temperature and pressure, if the substance is compressed gas.
(C) If the substance is a radioactive material, it is handled in quantities for which an emergency plan is required to be adopted pursuant to Part 30 (commencing with Section 30.1), Part 40 (commencing with Section 40.1), or Part 70 (commencing with Section 70.1), of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or pursuant to any regulations adopted by the state in accordance with those regulations.
(2) In meeting the requirements of this subdivision, a business may, if it elects to do so, use the format adopted pursuant to Section 25503.4.
(b)
(1) Oxygen, nitrogen, and nitrous oxide, ordinarily maintained by a physician, dentist, podiatrist, veterinarian, or pharmacist, at his or her office or place of business, stored at each office or place of business in quantities of not more than 1,000 cubic feet of each material at any one time, are exempt from this section and from Section 25505. The administering agency may require a one-time inventory of these materials for a fee not to exceed fifty dollars ($50) to pay for the costs incurred by the agency in processing the inventory forms.
(2)
(A) Lubricating oil is exempt from this section and Sections 25505 and 25509, for a single business facility, if the total volume of each type of lubricating oil handled at that facility does not exceed 55 gallons and the total volume of all types of lubricating oil handled at that facility does not exceed 275 gallons, at any one time.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "lubricating oil" means any oil intended for use in an internal combustion crankcase, or the transmission, gearbox, differential, or hydraulic system of an automobile, bus, truck, vessel, airplane, heavy equipment, or other machinery powered by an internal combustion or electric powered engine. "Lubricating oil" does not include used oil, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 25250.1.
(c)
(1) Hazardous material contained solely in a consumer product for direct distribution to, and use by, the general public is exempt from the business plan requirements of this chapter unless the administering agency has found, and has provided notice to the business handling the product, that the handling of certain quantities of the product requires the submission of a business plan, or any portion thereof, in response to public health, safety, or environmental concerns.
(2) In addition to the authority specified in paragraph (4), the administering agency may, in exceptional circumstances, following notice and public hearing, exempt from the inventory provisions of this chapter any hazardous substance specified in subdivision (p) of Section 25501 if the administering agency finds that the hazardous substance would not pose a present or potential danger to the environment or to human health and safety if the hazardous substance was released into the environment. The administering agency shall specify in writing the basis for granting any exemption under this paragraph. The administering agency shall send a notice to the agency within five days from the effective date of any exemption granted pursuant to this paragraph.
(3) The administering agency, upon application by a handler, may exempt the handler, under conditions that the administering agency determines to be proper, from any portion of the business plan, upon a written finding that the exemption would not pose a significant present or potential hazard to human health or safety or to the environment or affect the ability of the administering agency and emergency rescue personnel to effectively respond to the release of a hazardous material, and that there are unusual circumstances justifying the exemption. The administering agency shall specify in writing the basis for any exemption under this paragraph.
(4) The administering agency, upon application by a handler, may exempt a hazardous material from the inventory provisions of this chapter upon proof that the material does not pose a significant present or potential hazard to human health and safety or to the environment if released into the workplace or environment. The administering agency shall specify in writing the basis for any exemption under this paragraph.
(5) An administering agency shall exempt a business operating a farm for purposes of cultivating the soil or raising or harvesting any agricultural or horticultural commodity from filing the information in the business plan required by subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 25504 if all of the following requirements are met:
(A) The handler annually provides the inventory of information required by Section 25509 to the county agricultural commissioner before January 1 of each year.
(B) Each building in which hazardous materials subject to this chapter are stored is posted with signs, in accordance with regulations that the agency shall adopt, that provide notice of the storage of any of the following:
(i) Pesticides.
(ii) Petroleum fuels and oil.
(iii) Types of fertilizers.
(C) Each county agricultural commissioner forwards the inventory to the administering agency within 30 days from the date of receipt of the inventory.
(6) The administering agency shall exempt a business operating an unstaffed remote facility located in an isolated sparsely populated area from the hazardous materials business plan and inventory requirements of this article if the facility is not otherwise subject to the requirements of applicable federal law, and all of the following requirements are met:
(A) The types and quantities of materials onsite are limited to one or more of the following:
(i) Five hundred standard cubic feet of compressed inert gases (asphyxiation and pressure hazards only).
(ii) Five hundred gallons of combustible liquid used as a fuel source.
(iii) Two hundred gallons of corrosive liquids used as electrolytes in closed containers.
(iv) Five hundred gallons of lubricating and hydraulic fluids.
(v) One thousand two hundred gallons of flammable gas used as a fuel source.
(B) The facility is secured and not accessible to the public.
(C) Warning signs are posted and maintained for hazardous materials pursuant to the California Fire Code.
(D) A one-time notification and inventory are provided to the administering agency along with a processing fee in lieu of the existing fee. The fee shall not exceed the actual cost of processing the notification and inventory, including a verification inspection, if necessary.
(E) If the information contained in the initial notification or inventory changes and the time period of the change is longer than 30 days, the notification or inventory shall be resubmitted within 30 days to the administering agency to reflect the change, along with a processing fee, in lieu of the existing fee, that does not exceed the actual cost of processing the amended notification or inventory, including a verification inspection, if necessary.
(F) The administering agency shall forward a copy of the notification and inventory to those agencies that share responsibility for emergency response.
(G) The administering agency may require an unstaffed remote facility to submit a hazardous materials business plan and inventory in accordance with this article if the agency finds that special circumstances exist such that development and maintenance of the business plan and inventory are necessary to protect public health and safety and the environment.
(d) Onpremise use, storage, or both, of propane in an amount not to exceed 300 gallons that is for the sole purpose of heating the employee working areas within that business is exempt from this section, unless the administering agency finds, and provides notice to the business handling the propane, that the handling of the onpremise propane requires the submission of a business plan, or any portion thereof, in response to public health, safety, or environmental concerns.
(e) The administering agency shall provide all information obtained from completed inventory forms, upon request, to emergency rescue personnel on a 24-hour basis.
(f) The administering agency shall adopt procedures to provide for public input when approving any applications submitted pursuant to paragraph (3) or (4) of subdivision (c).
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