Montana Code 75-10-702. Rulemaking authority
75-10-702. Rulemaking authority. (1) The department is authorized to adopt rules for the implementation of this part, including but not limited to:
Terms Used In Montana Code 75-10-702
- Department: means the department of environmental quality provided for in 2-15-3501. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- Environment: means any surface water, ground water, drinking water supply, land surface or subsurface strata, or ambient air within the state of Montana or under the jurisdiction of the state of Montana. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- Facility: means :
(i)any building, structure, installation, equipment, pipe or pipeline (including any pipe into a sewer or publicly owned treatment works), well, pit, pond, lagoon, impoundment, ditch, landfill, storage container, motor vehicle, rolling stock, or aircraft; or
(ii)any site or area where a hazardous or deleterious substance has been deposited, stored, disposed of, placed, or otherwise come to be located. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- Hazardous or deleterious substance: means a substance that because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may pose an imminent and substantial threat to public health, safety, or welfare or the environment and is:
(a)a substance that is defined as a hazardous substance by section 101(14) of the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), 42 U. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: means an individual, trust, firm, joint-stock company, joint venture, consortium, commercial entity, partnership, association, corporation, commission, state or state agency, political subdivision of the state, interstate body, or the federal government, including a federal agency. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
- Release: means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing of a hazardous or deleterious substance directly into the environment (including the abandonment or discarding of barrels, containers, and other closed receptacles containing any hazardous or deleterious substance), but excludes releases confined to the indoor workplace environment, the use of pesticides as defined in 80-8-102 when they are applied in accordance with approved federal and state labels, and the use of commercial fertilizers, as defined in 80-10-101, when applied as part of accepted agricultural practice. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- Remedial action: includes all notification, investigation, administration, monitoring, cleanup, restoration, mitigation, abatement, removal, replacement, acquisition, enforcement, legal action, health studies, feasibility studies, and other actions necessary or appropriate to respond to a release or threatened release. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203
(a)rules for listing and delisting facilities on a priority list, required by 75-10-704, based on the following criteria:
(i)a facility eligible for listing must have a confirmed release or substantial threat of a release of a hazardous or deleterious substance that may pose an imminent and substantial threat to public health, safety, or welfare or the environment and the department shall provide a written description of the nature and severity of the threat;
(ii)if remedial actions to address the hazardous or deleterious substances are required at the facility by another state program, the department shall explain, in writing, its rationale for listing the facility;
(iii)listing and delisting must be done through a formal process that provides for public participation, including participation of the affected or potentially liable persons in the decisionmaking process, by giving public notice and providing opportunity for at least one public meeting in the community most likely to be threatened by the facility that is proposed for listing or delisting; and
(iv)a facility must be delisted when another state program assumes jurisdiction or when further remedial actions are not necessary;
(b)rules for establishing and implementing a system for prioritizing facilities, including categories for maximum and high-priority facilities, as required by 75-10-704, for remedial action based on potential effects on human health and the environment.
(2)The rulemaking authority granted in subsection (1) may not invalidate the existing priorities list. Rules promulgated pursuant to subsection (1) must provide for the reevaluation of facilities on the existing priorities list. A decision by the department to list, delist, or establish a priority for a facility must be made in writing.
(3)The department shall adopt, amend, or repeal rules that allow for the joint selection of remedial action contractors acceptable to the department and any person liable for remedial action under 75-10-715.