Article 12.5 - The Perchlorate Contamination Prevention Program

California Health and Safety Code — §§ 25249.1-25249.2

Sections (7)

Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 608, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2004.

For the purposes of this article, the following definitions shall apply:

(a)“Management” means disposal, storage, packaging, processing, pumping, recovery, recycling, transportation, transfer, treatment, use, and reuse.
(b)“Perchlorate” means all perchlorate-containing compounds.
(c)“Perchlorate facility” means all contiguous land, and the structures, appurtenances

and improvements on the land, that has been used for the management of perchlorate material. A perchlorate facility may consist of one or more units, or combination of units, that is or has been used for the management of perchlorate material.

(d)“Perchlorate material” means perchlorate and all perchlorate-containing substances, including, but not limited to, waste perchlorate and perchlorate-containing waste.
(e)“Public drinking water well” has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 25299.97.

Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 608, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2004. Note: Sections 25249.5 to 25249.14 are in Chapter 6.6, which follows Section 25259.

On or before July 1, 2004, the owner or operator of a perchlorate facility, located within a 5-mile radius of a public drinking water well that has been found by any state or local agency to be contaminated with perchlorate, shall submit to the Environmental Protection Agency a summary of any subsurface and any groundwater monitoring, investigation, or remediation work that has been performed at the facility. The owner or operator shall submit the information electronically, if it is available in electronic format.

Exemptions from Warning Requirement.

Section 25249.6 shall not apply to any of the following:

(a)An exposure for which federal law governs warning in a manner that preempts state authority.
(b)An exposure that takes place less than twelve months subsequent to the listing of the chemical in question on the list required to be published under subdivision (a) of Section

25249.8.

(c)An exposure for which the person responsible can show that the exposure poses no significant risk assuming lifetime exposure at the level in question for substances known to the state to cause cancer, and that the exposure will have no observable effect assuming exposure at one thousand (1000) times the level in question for substances known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity, based on evidence and standards of comparable scientific validity to the evidence and standards which form the scientific basis for the listing of such chemical pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 25249.8. In any action brought to enforce Section 25249.6, the burden of showing that an exposure meets the criteria of this subdivision shall be on the defendant.

Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 1023, Sec. 238. Effective September 29, 1996. Note: This section was added on Nov. 4, 1986, by initiative Prop. 65.

Definitions.

For purposes of this chapter:

(a)“Person” means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation, company, partnership, limited liability company, and association.
(b)“Person in the course of doing business” does not include any person employing fewer than 10 employees in his or her business; any city, county, or district or any

department or agency thereof or the state or any department or agency thereof or the federal government or any department or agency thereof; or any entity in its operation of a public water system as defined in Section 116275.

(c)“Significant amount” means any detectable amount except an amount which would meet the exemption test in subdivision (c) of Section 25249.10 if an individual were exposed to such an amount in drinking water.
(d)“Source of drinking water” means either a present source of drinking water or water which is identified or designated in a water quality control plan adopted by a regional board as being suitable for domestic or municipal uses.
(e)“Threaten to violate” means to create a condition in which there is a substantial probability that a violation will occur.
(f)“Warning” within the meaning of Section 25249.6 need not be provided separately to each exposed individual and may be provided by general methods such as labels on consumer products, inclusion of notices in mailings to water customers, posting of notices, placing notices in public news media, and the like, provided that the warning accomplished is clear and reasonable. In order to minimize the burden on retail sellers of consumer products including foods, regulations implementing Section 25249.6 shall to the extent practicable place the obligation to provide any warning materials such as labels on the producer or packager rather than on the retail seller, except where the retail seller itself is responsible for introducing a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity into the consumer product in question.

Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 228, Sec. 22. Effective August 11, 2003. Note: This section was added on Nov. 4, 1986, by initiative Prop. 65.

(a)The Governor shall designate a lead agency and other agencies that may be required to implement this chapter, including this section. Each agency so designated may adopt and modify regulations, standards, and permits as necessary to conform with and implement this chapter and to further its purposes.
(b)The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury. The director of the lead agency designated by the

Governor to implement this chapter may expend the funds in the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement and administer this chapter.

(c)In addition to any other money that may be deposited in the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Fund, all of the following amounts shall be deposited in the fund:
(1)Seventy-five percent of all civil and criminal penalties collected pursuant to this chapter.
(2)Any interest earned upon the money deposited into the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Fund.
(d)Twenty-five percent of all civil and criminal penalties collected pursuant to this chapter shall be paid to the office of the city attorney, city prosecutor, district attorney, or Attorney

General, whichever office brought the action, or in the case of an action brought by a person under subdivision (d) of Section 25249.7, to that person.

Preservation Of Existing Rights, Obligations, and Penalties.   Nothing in this chapter shall alter or diminish any legal obligation otherwise required in common law or by statute or regulation, and nothing in this chapter shall create or enlarge any defense in any action to enforce such legal obligation. Penalties and sanctions imposed under this chapter shall be in addition to any penalties or sanctions otherwise prescribed by law.

Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 510, Sec. 2. (AB 1583) Effective January 1, 2018.

The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development shall post in a conspicuous location on its Internet Web site, and include with any informational materials provided to businesses relating to a business’s obligations under state law, a disclaimer that states the following:

Proposition 65, officially known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, requires businesses to provide a clear and reasonable warning before knowingly and

intentionally exposing anyone to chemicals that are known to the state to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. It is important to know that a product that receives certification from the United States Food and Drug Administration, or another federal agency or state agency, is not necessarily exempt from California requirements for chemical exposure warnings. Businesses should be aware of the levels of harmful chemicals in their products and of applicable Proposition 65 requirements. For more information on Proposition 65 and how to comply with its requirements, please visit https://oehha.ca.gov.