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H.B. 123
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DRUG LAB CLEANUP AND DISCLOSURE
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2004 GENERAL SESSION
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STATE OF UTAH
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Sponsor: David Litvack
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LONG TITLE
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General Description:
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This bill provides procedures for local health departments regarding property
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contaminated by illegal drug operations.
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Highlighted Provisions:
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This bill:
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. requires law enforcement agencies to report contaminated property locations to the
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local health department;
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. requires the local health departments to make these reports available to the public,
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as advisory information only;
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. requires the local health department to notify the property owner of the report, and
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also to notify the county or municipality if the property owner is not taking action
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regarding the contamination;
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. directs the state Department of Health to make rules that include certification
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standards regarding the decontamination of contaminated property;
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. requires the Department of Environmental Quality to establish a certification
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program for decontamination specialists;
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. requires clean-up of contamination and certification that a contaminated property
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has been cleaned up;
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. establishes a program to certify specialists who provide evaluation, sampling, and
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clean-up of contaminated properties; and
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. includes in the real estate definition of stigmatized property that is not subject to
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disclosure contaminated property that has been decontaminated.
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Monies Appropriated in this Bill:
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None
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Other Special Clauses:
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None
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Utah Code Sections Affected:
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AMENDS:
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57-1-1, as last amended by Chapter 10, Laws of Utah 1991
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ENACTS:
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19-6-901, Utah Code Annotated 1953
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19-6-902, Utah Code Annotated 1953
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19-6-903, Utah Code Annotated 1953
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19-6-904, Utah Code Annotated 1953
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19-6-905, Utah Code Annotated 1953
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19-6-906, Utah Code Annotated 1953
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Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
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Section 1.
Section
19-6-901
is enacted to read:
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Part 9. Illegal Drug Operations Site Reporting and Decontamination Act
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19-6-901. Title.
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This part is known as the "Illegal Drug Operations Site Reporting and Decontamination
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Act."
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Section 2.
Section
19-6-902
is enacted to read:
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19-6-902. Definitions.
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As used in this part:
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(1) "Board" means the Solid and Hazardous Waste Control Board, as defined in
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Section
19-1-106
, within the Department of Environmental Quality.
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(2) "Certified decontamination specialist" means an individual who has met the
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standards for certification as a decontamination specialist and has been certified by the board
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under Subsection
19-6-906
(2).
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(3) "Contaminated" or "contamination" means polluted by hazardous materials that
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cause property to be unfit for human habitation or use due to immediate or long-term health
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hazards.
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(4) "Contamination list" means a list maintained by the local health department of
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properties:
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(a) reported to the local health department under Section
19-6-903
; and
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(b) determined by the local health department to be contaminated.
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(5) "Decontaminated" means property that at one time was contaminated, but the
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contaminants have been removed.
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(6) "Hazardous materials":
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(a) has the same meaning as "hazardous or dangerous materials" as defined in Section
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58-37d-3
; and
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(b) includes any illegally manufactured controlled substances.
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(7) "Health department" means a local health department under Title 26A, Local
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Health Authorities.
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(8) "Owner of record":
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(a) means the owner of real property as shown on the records of the county recorder in
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the county where the property is located; and
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(b) may include an individual, financial institution, company, corporation, or other
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entity.
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(9) "Property":
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(a) means any real property, site, structure, part of a structure, or the grounds
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surrounding a structure; and
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(b) includes single-family residences, outbuildings, garages, units of multiplexes,
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condominiums, apartment buildings, warehouses, hotels, motels, boats, motor vehicles, trailers,
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manufactured housing, shops, or booths.
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(10) "Reported property" means property that is the subject of a law enforcement report
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under Section
19-6-
903.
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Section 3.
Section
19-6-903
is enacted to read:
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19-6-903. Law enforcement reporting and records -- Removal from list.
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(1) (a) When any state or local law enforcement agency in the course of its official
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duties observes any paraphernalia of a clandestine drug laboratory operation, including
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chemicals or equipment used in the manufacture of unlawful drugs, the agency shall report the
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location where the items were observed to the local health department.
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(b) (i) The law enforcement officer shall make the report under Subsection (1)(a) at the
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location where the observation occurred, if making the report at that time will not compromise
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an ongoing investigation.
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(ii) If the report cannot be made at the location, the report shall be made as soon
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afterward as is practical.
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(c) The report under Subsection (1)(a) shall include:
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(i) the date of the observation;
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(ii) the name of the reporting agency and the case number of the case that involves the
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location of the observation;
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(iii) the contact information of the officer involved, including name and telephone
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number;
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(iv) the address of the location and descriptions of the property that may be
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contaminated; and
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(v) a brief description of the evidence at the location that led to the belief the property
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at the location may be contaminated.
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(2) The law enforcement agency shall forward to the local health department copies of
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the reports made under Subsection (1).
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(3) (a) Upon receipt of a complaint or a report from law enforcement regarding
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possibly contaminated property, the local health officer or his designee shall determine if
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reasonable evidence exists that the property is contaminated.
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(b) The local health department shall place property considered to be contaminated on
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a contamination list.
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(4) The local health departments shall maintain searchable records of the properties on
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their contamination lists and shall:
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(a) make the records reasonably available to the public;
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(b) provide written notification to persons requesting access to the records that the
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records are only advisory in determining if specific property has been contaminated by
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clandestine drug lab activity; and
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(c) remove the contaminated property from the list when the following conditions have
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been met:
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(i) the local health department has monitored the decontamination process and, after
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documenting that the test results meet decontamination standards, has authorized the removal
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of or purging of the contamination information from the department's records; or
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(ii) a certified decontamination specialist submits a report to the local health
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department stating that the property is decontaminated.
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Section 4.
Section
19-6-904
is enacted to read:
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19-6-904. Decontamination specialist reporting to local health departments.
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(1) A certified decontamination specialist is required to report to the local health
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department the location of any property that is the subject of decontamination work by that
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decontamination specialist. The report shall be submitted prior to commencement of the
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decontamination work.
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(2) The report under Subsection (1) shall include:
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(a) sufficient information to allow the local health department to investigate and verify
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the location of the property, including the address and description of the property; and
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(b) a proposed work plan for decontaminating the property.
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(3) Upon completion of the decontamination process, a report certifying that the
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property is decontaminated shall be submitted to the local health department within 30 days.
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Section 5.
Section
19-6-905
is enacted to read:
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19-6-905. Notification of property owner -- Notification of municipality or county.
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(1) (a) If the local health department determines a property is contaminated, it shall
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notify the owner of record that the property has been placed on the contamination list and shall
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provide to the owner information regarding remediation options and the requirements
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necessary to clean up the property, obtain certification that the property is decontaminated, and
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remove the property from the contamination list.
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(b) The notification shall include a deadline for the owner to provide to the local health
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department information on how the owner plans to address the contamination.
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(c) This part does not require that decontamination be conducted by a certified
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decontamination specialist. However, upon completion of the decontamination, the property
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must be determined to be decontaminated in accordance with Subsection
19-6-903
(4)(c) in
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order to be removed from the contamination list.
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(2) If the local health department does not receive a response from the owner of record
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within the time period specified in the notice, or the owner of record advises the local health
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department that the owner does not intend to take action or that the reported property will be
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abandoned, the local health department shall notify the municipality in which the reported
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property is located, or the county, if the location is in an unincorporated area, of the owner of
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record's response or lack of response.
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Section 6.
Section
19-6-906
is enacted to read:
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19-6-906. Decontamination standards -- Specialist certification standards --
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Rulemaking.
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(1) The Department of Health shall make rules under Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah
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Administrative Rulemaking Act, in consultation with the local health departments and the
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Department of Environmental Quality, to establish:
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(a) decontamination and sampling standards and best management practices for the
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inspection and decontamination of property and the disposal of contaminated debris under this
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part;
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(b) appropriate methods for the testing of buildings and interior surfaces, and
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furnishings, soil, and septic tanks for contamination; and
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(c) when testing for contamination may be required.
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(2) The Department of Environmental Quality Solid and Hazardous Waste Control
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Board shall make rules under Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, in
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consultation with the Department of Health and local health departments, to establish within
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the Department of Environmental Quality Division of Environmental Response and
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Remediation:
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(a) certification standards for any private person, firm, or entity involved in the
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decontamination of contaminated property; and
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(b) a process for revoking the certification of a decontamination specialist who fails to
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maintain the certification standards.
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(3) All rules made under this part shall be consistent with other state and federal
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requirements.
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(4) The Department of Environmental Quality shall make rules under Title 63, Chapter
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46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, in consultation with the local health departments
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and the Department of Health, to establish procedures for the appropriate management of
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chemically contaminated properties.
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(5) The Department of Environmental Quality has authority to enforce the provisions
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under Subsections (2) and (4).
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Section 7.
Section
57-1-1
is amended to read:
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57-1-1. Definitions.
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As used in this title:
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(1) "Certified copy" means a copy of a document certified by its custodian to be a true
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and correct copy of the document or the copy of the document maintained by the custodian,
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where the document or copy is maintained under the authority of the United States, the state of
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Utah or any of its political subdivisions, another state, a court of record, a foreign government,
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or an Indian tribe.
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(2) "Document" means every instrument in writing, including every conveyance,
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affecting, purporting to affect, describing, or otherwise concerning any right, title, or interest in
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real property, except wills and leases for a term not exceeding one year.
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(3) "Real property" or "real estate" means any right, title, estate, or interest in land,
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including all nonextracted minerals located in, on, or under the land, all buildings, fixtures and
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improvements on the land, and all water rights, rights-of-way, easements, rents, issues, profits,
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income, tenements, hereditaments, possessory rights, claims, including mining claims,
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privileges, and appurtenances belonging to, used, or enjoyed with the land or any part of the
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land.
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(4) "Stigmatized" means:
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(a) the site or suspected site of a homicide, other felony, or suicide; [or]
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(b) the dwelling place of a person infected, or suspected of being infected, with the
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Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or any other infectious disease that the Utah Department of
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Health determines cannot be transferred by occupancy of a dwelling place[.]; or
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(c) property that has been found to be contaminated, and that the local health
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department has subsequently found to have been decontaminated in accordance with Title 19,
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Chapter 6, Part 9, Illegal Drug Operations Site Reporting and Decontamination Act.
Legislative Review Note
as of 1-29-04 10:07 AM
A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.