HCS HB 933 -- ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITS

SPONSOR:  Townley (Bivins)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on
Conservation and Natural Resources by a vote of 11 to 8.

This substitute details the conditions under which noncompliance
with environmental regulations by an entity subject to
environmental law will be protected from administrative, civil,
and criminal penalties and prosecution and public disclosure
pursuant to Chapter 610, RSMo.

The principal conditions include:

(1)  Discovery of the noncompliance through a voluntary, as
opposed to a legally mandated, internal environmental audit or
compliance management system;

(2)  Full and timely disclosure of the noncompliance to the
Department of Natural Resources;

(3)  Discovery and disclosure of the noncompliance prior to any
governmental inspection or investigation, third-party complaint,
whistle-blower employee report, or imminent discovery by any
regulatory department or agency;

(4)  Time limits for correcting the noncompliance;

(5)  Written agreements to take necessary steps to prevent
recurrence;

(6)  Absence of occurrence of the identical noncompliance by the
facility within the previous three years or within the previous
five years at facilities owned or operated by the same entity;
and

(7)  The entity's cooperation with the department to determine
the applicability of the protections afforded by the substitute.

FISCAL NOTE:  Not available at time of printing.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill will help improve the
environment.  Compliance is the objective of the bill; and with
these changes, the industry can voluntarily comply without risk
of penalty.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Bivins; Associated
Industries of Missouri; Chemistry Council of Missouri; Missouri
Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and St. Louis Regional
Community Growth Association.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that environmental
audits are necessary to bring companies into compliance, and the
provisions of the bill will hurt the enforcement options of the
Department of Natural Resources.  The scope of the bill needs to
be narrowed and the role of the department more defined.  The
bill goes beyond existing federal audit policies.

Testifying against the bill were Division of Air and Land
Protection; and Sierra Club.

Marc Webb, Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
92nd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 23, 2004 at 11:14 am