0001| HOUSE BILL 1149 | 0002| 43rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 1997 | 0003| INTRODUCED BY | 0004| GARY K. KING | 0005| | 0006| | 0007| | 0008| | 0009| | 0010| AN ACT | 0011| RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT; PROVIDING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL | 0012| AUDITS; PROVIDING FOR MITIGATION OF PENALTIES FOR VOLUNTARY | 0013| DISCLOSURES ARISING FROM SELF-AUDITS; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. | 0014| | 0015| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: | 0016| Section 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the | 0017| "Environmental Audit Act". | 0018| Section 2. FINDINGS--PURPOSE.-- | 0019| A. The legislature finds that: | 0020| (1) protection of the environment is enhanced | 0021| by voluntary compliance with environmental laws; | 0022| (2) voluntary compliance is fostered by | 0023| self-audit of compliance and by management systems that assure | 0024| compliance; and | 0025| (3) it is in the public interest to encourage | 0001| self-audit of environmental compliance. | 0002| B. The purpose of the Environmental Audit Act is to | 0003| encourage improvements in environmental compliance by providing | 0004| for the mitigation of penalties for violations disclosed in an | 0005| environmental audit report. | 0006| Section 3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Environmental | 0007| Audit Act: | 0008| A. "department" means the department of | 0009| environment; | 0010| B. "environmental audit" means a voluntary | 0011| self-evaluation of compliance with any environmental law of: | 0012| (1) a facility by the owner or operator; or | 0013| (2) the operation of a facility by an owner or | 0014| operator; | 0015| C. "environmental audit report" means any | 0016| documentation or communication reporting the results of an | 0017| environmental audit; | 0018| D. "environmental law" means the Environmental | 0019| Improvement Act, the Air Quality Control Act, the Water Quality | 0020| Act, the Ground Water Protection Act, the Environmental | 0021| Compliance Act and the Solid Waste Act; and | 0022| E. "person" means an individual or any legal | 0023| entity. | 0024| Section 4. VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE.-- | 0025| A. The department shall establish regulations that | 0001| provide for mitigation of civil penalties in those | 0002| circumstances when an owner or operator makes a voluntary | 0003| disclosure of a violation of an environmental law to the | 0004| department and requests technical assistance to correct | 0005| deficiencies or operational problems in order to achieve | 0006| compliance, provided the following conditions are met: | 0007| (1) the voluntary disclosure is made within | 0008| ten working days after knowledge of the information disclosed | 0009| is obtained by the owner or operator; | 0010| (2) the owner or operator is the first person | 0011| to make the voluntary disclosure; | 0012| (3) the person submits a specific date and | 0013| schedule for achieving compliance to the department that is | 0014| approved by the department; | 0015| (4) the disclosure is contained in an | 0016| environmental audit report submitted to the department; and | 0017| (5) the person making the disclosure | 0018| cooperates with the department's investigation and with efforts | 0019| to achieve compliance. | 0020| B. The mitigation of penalties granted in | 0021| Subsection A of this section may be withdrawn and civil | 0022| penalties imposed if: | 0023| (1) the disclosure was not voluntary; | 0024| (2) the violation was committed willfully by | 0025| the person making the disclosure; | 0001| (3) the schedule for compliance is not | 0002| maintained; or | 0003| (4) the same or similar violation has not been | 0004| previously reported by the owner or operator. | 0005| C. The department shall establish regulations | 0006| pursuant to Subsection A of this section that provide for | 0007| confidentiality of proprietary information. Nothing in this | 0008| subsection shall be construed to make the audit confidential. | 0009| D. Submission to the department of an environmental | 0010| audit report that does not demonstrate a threat to public | 0011| health or safety shall not be exclusively the basis for denial | 0012| of a permit. The burden of demonstrating that a violation is | 0013| not a threat to public heath or safety is on the owner or | 0014| operator. | 0015| Section 5. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public | 0016| peace, health and safety that this act take effect immediately. | 0017|  | 0018| State of New Mexico | 0019| House of Representatives | 0020| | 0021| FORTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE | 0022| FIRST SESSION, 1997 | 0023| | 0024| | 0025| March 6, 1997 | 0001| | 0002| | 0003| Mr. Speaker: | 0004| | 0005| Your CONSUMER AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, to | 0006| whom has been referred | 0007| | 0008| HOUSE BILL 1149 | 0009| | 0010| has had it under consideration and reports same with | 0011| recommendation that it DO PASS, and thence referred to the | 0012| JUDICIARY COMMITTEE. | 0013| | 0014| Respectfully submitted, | 0015| | 0016| | 0017| | 0018| | 0019| | 0020| Gary King, Chairman | 0021| | 0022| | 0023| Adopted Not Adopted | 0024| | 0025| (Chief Clerk) (Chief Clerk) | 0001| | 0002| Date | 0003| | 0004| The roll call vote was 6 For 0 Against | 0005| Yes: 6 | 0006| Excused: Heaton, Rios, Sandel, Vigil | 0007| Absent: None | 0008| | 0009| | 0010| G:\BILLTEXT\BILLW_97\H1149 |