HB 130 -- Environmental Audits

Sponsor:  Bivins

This bill specifies 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 bill.

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated August 25, 2005 at 1:18 pm