§2075.2.  Sewage treatment facility; privately owned; surety required; nonfunctional system

A.(1)  Any applicant for, or prospective transferee of, a permit for the discharge of effluent from any privately owned sewage treatment facility regulated by the Public Service Commission shall be required to provide and maintain a bond or other acceptable financial security instrument.  Any applicant, prospective transferee, or permittee may apply to the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality for approval of a single financial security instrument, having a maximum amount of two hundred fifty thousand dollars, to satisfy the requirements of this Section for all such permits held or to be held.  In determining whether to approve the application for a single financial security instrument, the secretary may consider the assets, debts, and compliance history of the applicant, the condition and capacity of the facilities to be covered by such security, and any other factor that may impact the applicant's ability to operate and maintain the facilities.  Any such bond or other instrument shall be payable to the Department of Environmental Quality and shall be conditioned upon substantial compliance with the requirements of the Louisiana Water Control Law and any permit issued or enforced under that law.  Any bond shall be executed by the permittee and a corporate surety licensed to do business in the state.  The purpose of the bond or other financial security shall be the protection of public health, welfare, and the environment.  The department shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement this Section.

(2)  The secretary or his designee may enter an order requiring forfeiture of all or part of the bond or other financial security, if he determines that:

(a)  The continued operation or lack of operation and maintenance of the facility covered by this Section represents a threat to public health, welfare, or the environment because the permittee is unable or unwilling to adequately operate and maintain the facility or the facility has been actually or effectively abandoned by the permittee.  Evidence justifying such a determination includes but is not limited to:

(i)  The discharge of pollutants exceeding limitations imposed by applicable permits.

(ii)  Failure to utilize or maintain adequate disinfection facilities.

(iii)  Failure to correct overflows or backups from the collection system.

(iv)  A declaration of a public health emergency by the state health officer.

(v)  A determination by the Public Service Commission that the permittee is financially unable to properly operate or maintain the system.

(b)  Reasonable and practical efforts under the circumstances have been made to obtain corrective actions from the permittee.

(c)  It does not appear that corrective actions can or will be taken within an appropriate time as determined by the secretary.

(3)  The proceeds of any forfeiture shall be used by the secretary, or by any receiver appointed by a court under R.S. 30:2075.3, to address or correct the deficiencies at the facility or to maintain and operate the system.  The proceeds shall be in addition to any other funds appropriated to the department and may be expended under the authority of this Section without additional action by the legislature.  Use of such proceeds under this Section shall not be subject to R.S. 38:2181 et seq.

(4)  Review of any decision of the secretary under this Section shall be exclusively by appeal to the Nineteenth Judicial District Court, under R.S. 30:2050.21.  The decision of the secretary shall not be stayed pending the appeal.

(5)  This Subsection shall be applicable to the following actions, when taken after July 1, 1999, or upon the effective date of the rules promulgated under Paragraph (1), whichever occurs earlier:

(a)  Issuance of a new discharge permit.

(b)  Renewal of an existing discharge permit.

(c)  Modification of an existing discharge permit.

(d)  Transfer of an existing discharge permit to a different permittee.

(6)(a)  After a permittee has provided a bond or other acceptable financial security instrument under this Section and has maintained the financial security for not less than seven years, the permittee may petition the secretary for a waiver or reduction of the financial security.  The secretary may, in his discretion, grant the petition, if:

(i)  The facility has been in substantial compliance with the required permits under the Louisiana Water Control Law for not less than seven years.

(ii)  The permittee provides the secretary with a letter from the Louisiana Public Service Commission stating that the permittee is in good standing and that the commission has no objection to the waiver or reduction of the financial security.

(b)  The secretary may, in his discretion, issue, renew, modify, or transfer a permit without the required financial security being provided by the permittee, if:

(i)  The permittee has made a reasonable, good faith effort to obtain the required financial security, but has been unable to do so.

(ii)  The issuance, renewal, modification, or transfer of the permit is necessary to ensure uninterrupted sewage treatment or is otherwise necessary to protect human health or the environment.

(iii)  The permittee provides the secretary with a letter from the Louisiana Public Service Commission stating that the permittee is in good standing and that the commission has no objection to the issuance, renewal,  modification, or transfer.

(c)  In no case shall a discharge be allowed by permit to continue for more than six months without the required bond or other financial security being provided by the permittee as required by this Section, unless the permittee has petitioned for and has been granted a release from the requirement to provide and maintain such financial security as provided in Subsection A.

B.  If the treatment facility is to be acquired by a homeowners' association, by act of sale or donation, for operation and maintenance, the original permittee must submit the legal name of the association, with one person as "environmental contact" for any matter relating to the treatment plant.  The permittee shall also include the current mailing address and telephone number for the environmental contact, which shall be submitted to the department at least sixty days prior to legal transfer of the facility.

C.  No person shall be evicted from his residence and no business entity shall be evicted from its place of business for disconnecting such premises from a nonfunctional community sewage treatment system to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage; however, any action undertaken by a person shall be taken in such a manner so as to insure that sewage from his residence or business is properly treated in a waste water treatment system approved by the appropriate state agencies.

D.  Repealed by Acts 1999, No. 399, §2.

Acts 1993, No. 1029, §1; Acts 1999, No. 303, §1, eff. June 14, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 399, §§1, 2; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 93, §1; Acts 2004, No. 667, §1, eff. July 5, 2004.