Louisiana HB 615: ENVIRONMENT/ENFORCEMENT: Authorizes certain voluntary health, safety, and environmental audits by facilities subject to regulation by the Department of Environmental Quality (EG INCREASE SD EX See Note)

Bill Text

HLS 19RS-1563 ENGROSSED
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 615 (Substitute for House Bill No. 510 by Representative Bishop)
BY REPRESENTATIVE BISHOP
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
ENVIRONMENT/ENFORCEMENT: Authorizes certain voluntary health, safety, and
environmental audits by facilities subject to regulation by the Department of
Environmental Quality
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 30:2044, relative to environmental compliance; to authorize the performance
3 of voluntary health, safety, and environmental audits; to provide for definitions; to
4 limit administrative or civil penalties for certain violations of statutes, regulations,
5 or permits disclosed as part of a voluntary health, safety, and environmental audit;
6 to provide for a privilege from disclosure in civil or administrative proceedings
7 reports of certain information contained in a voluntary health, safety, and
8 environmental audit; to provide an effective date; and to provide for related matters.
9 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. R.S. 30:2044 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
11 §2044. Voluntary health, safety, and environmental audits
12 A. Voluntary health, safety, and environmental audit. Facilities subject to
13 regulation under the provisions of this Subtitle, the rules promulgated pursuant to
14 this Subtitle, and the conditions of permits issued pursuant to this Subtitle may
15 conduct voluntary health, safety, and environmental audits. Such audits are intended
16 to discover and correct deficiencies in compliance with applicable environmental
17 requirements in order to further reduce risk to human health and the environment.
18 To encourage voluntary auditing, this Section provides a limited evidentiary
19 privilege to prevent audit information from being used in civil and administrative
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.

HLS 19RS-1563 ENGROSSED
HB NO. 615
1 proceedings against the owner or operator of the facility that conducted the audit.
2 Further, this Section provides a mechanism for facility owners and operators to
3 obtain a limited immunity from civil and administrative penalties for violations
4 voluntarily identified in audits, disclosed to the department, and timely corrected.
5 B. Privilege.
6 (1) In a civil or administrative proceeding, the owner or operator of a facility
7 shall not be compelled to disclose or reference, and may prevent another person from
8 disclosing or referencing, any information contained in a voluntary health, safety,
9 and environmental audit report. The evidentiary privilege granted by this Section
10 shall not be available in criminal proceedings. The privilege granted in this Section
11 shall not extend to the following "excluded issues":
12 (a) Reports or inspections that are required to be prepared or submitted by
13 the provisions of this Subtitle, the rules promulgated pursuant to this Subtitle, and
14 the conditions of permits issued pursuant to this Subtitle.
15 (b) Information that is required to be collected, developed, maintained, or
16 reported by this Subtitle, the rules promulgated pursuant to this Subtitle, or the
17 conditions of permits issued pursuant to this Subtitle.
18 (c) Information obtained by observation, sampling, or monitoring conducted
19 by the department.
20 (d) Information describing violations committed repeatedly by an owner or
21 operator of a facility with no attempt to bring the facility or operation into
22 compliance, so as to constitute a pattern of disregard of environmental or health and
23 safety laws. In order to be considered a pattern, the person must have committed
24 multiple violations of closely-related requirements resulting from separate and
25 distinct events within a three-year period at the same facility or operation.
26 (2) Except with respect to any excluded issue delineated in Paragraph (B)(1)
27 of this Section or for any information for which a waiver has been granted pursuant
28 to Subsection D of this Section, neither a subpoena nor a court order may be issued
29 to an owner or operator of a facility or to a person who conducted any part of a
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.

HLS 19RS-1563 ENGROSSED
HB NO. 615
1 voluntary health, safety, and environmental audit, a person who received a voluntary
2 health, safety, and environmental audit report, or a custodian of any results of a
3 voluntary health, safety, and environmental audit report to appear or testify in any
4 civil or administrative investigation or proceeding where the purpose of the subpoena
5 or order is to seek testimony about, or a document that is part of, a voluntary health,
6 safety, and environmental audit report or its exhibits and appendices.
7 (3) To facilitate identification of privileged information, each voluntary