(a) The department shall establish a Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Facility Investigation and Cleanup Program, or LABRIC Program, which shall be responsible for identifying areas of the state that are eligible for expenditure of moneys from the Lead-Acid Battery Cleanup Fund pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 25215.5.

(b) The LABRIC Program shall provide public notice of the initiation of the investigation or site evaluation of any area reasonably suspected to have been contaminated by the operation of a lead-acid battery recycling facility. The public notice shall provide a summary of the information relied on by the department, as well as copies of any information or documents currently in the department’s possession regarding the facility, if subject to disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code). The department shall accept comment from the public on the public notice required by this subdivision and shall accept and review comments or information submitted at any time after the release of the public notice until the department completes its investigation pursuant to subdivision (c).

(c) (1) Upon completion of an investigation or site evaluation conducted pursuant to subdivision (b), the department, consistent with procedures included within the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), shall provide notice and an opportunity for comment on the proposed designation of a site as determined with reasonable certainty to have been contaminated by releases from the operation of a facility known to have been a lead-acid battery recycling facility. Reasonable certainty shall be established based on all reasonably available information, including information provided by the public, to conclude that the contamination in a specific area was directly attributable to releases from the lead-acid battery recycling facility.

(2) Any proposed designation, as described in paragraph (1), shall include an explanation of the basis for the department’s designation, a summary of the evidence relied on by the department in reaching the proposed designation, any information that might suggest the site was not involved in lead-acid battery recycling or that the contamination was not directly attributable to releases from the lead-acid battery recycling facility, and copies of any information or documents reviewed or relied on during the investigation and evaluation of the site, if subject to disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act.

(3) The department shall accept comments from the public consistent with the procedures included within the Administrative Procedure Act. The department shall investigate and respond to any reasonable information provided by the public that might suggest the area was not contaminated by the operation of a lead-acid battery recycling facility, or that the facility in question was not involved in the recycling of lead-acid batteries.

(4) A site designation shall be considered a final action, subject to judicial review in the same manner as provided pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act.

(d) (1) If, within two years of a public notice required by subdivision (b), the department is unable to designate a site as determined with reasonable certainty to have been contaminated by releases from the operation of a facility known to have been a lead-acid battery recycling facility, the public notice shall be deemed to have been withdrawn and expenditure pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 25215.5 for purposes of further investigation or evaluation for the site shall no longer be authorized.

(2) No less than 30 days before the deadline established pursuant to paragraph (1), the department may extend the deadline for the completion of an investigation initiated pursuant to subdivision (b), with good cause shown and adequate public notice of the basis for that extension, to no more than three months after the deadline established pursuant to paragraph (1).

(3) The department may, within its discretion, issue a new public notice pursuant to subdivision (b) for a site if the department determines that new evidence warrants continued or renewed investigation or evaluation of the site.

(e) Information regarding the department’s progress in implementing this section shall be included in the report required by subdivision (c) of Section 25215.5.

(Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 860, Sec. 10. (AB 142) Effective October 13, 2019.)