3.25.080 Releases of Hazardous Substances - Notice

(a) Report of Release: Any owner or operator who has information that a hazardous substance has been released to the environment at the owner or operator's facility and may be a threat to human health or the environment shall report such information to the department immediately.

(1) To the extent known, the report shall include:

(A) The identification and location of the hazardous substance;

(B) The volume or extent of the release;

(C) Circumstances of the release and the discovery; and

(D) Any remedial actions planned, completed, or underway. All other persons are encouraged to report such information to the department.

(2) The following, which is not an exhaustive list, are examples of situations that generally should be reported under this section:

(A) Contamination in a water supply well.

(B) Contaminated seeps, sediment or surface water.

(C) Vapors in a building, utility vault or other structure that appear to be entering the structure from nearby contaminated soil or groundwater.

(D) Free product such as petroleum product or other organic liquids on the surface of the ground or in the groundwater.

(E) Any contaminated soil or unpermitted disposal of waste materials that would be classified as a hazardous waste under federal or state law.

(F) Any abandoned containers such as drums or tanks, above ground or buried, still containing more than trace residuals of hazardous substances.

(G) Sites where unpermitted industrial waste disposal has occurred.

(H) Sites where hazardous substances have leaked or been dumped on the ground.

(I) Leaking underground petroleum storage tanks.

(3) Exemptions. The following releases are exempt from these notification requirements:

(A) Application of pesticides and fertilizers for their intended purposes and according to label instructions, if the use of those pesticides and fertilizers are otherwise permitted on the Reservation under Tribal law;

(B) Lawful and non-negligent use of hazardous substances by a natural person for personal or domestic purposes;

(C) A release in accordance with a permit that authorizes the release;

(D) A release previously reported to the department in fulfillment of a reporting requirement in this chapter or in another law or regulation;

(E) A release previously reported to the United States Environmental Protection Agency under CERCLA, Section 103(c) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 9603(c)), if notice of such report is provided to the department; or

(F) An approved release to a permitted wastewater facility.

An exemption from the notification requirements in this section does not imply a release from liability under this chapter.

(b) Department response. Within ninety days of receiving information under this section, the department shall conduct an initial investigation in accordance with this chapter. For sites where a responsible party has taken immediate action or conducted an independent cleanup action, the department shall review reports that document independent cleanup actions. The review of such reports shall include an evaluation of whether the site qualifies for removal from the hazardous sites list or whether further remedial action is required.

(c) Other obligations. Nothing in this section shall eliminate any obligations to comply with reporting requirements that may exist in a permit or under other laws.