(a) Each year, the owner or operator of a drycleaning facility that is currently conducting, or intends to conduct for all or part of the year, drycleaning operations and each in-state wholesale distribution facility shall register with the department on forms provided by the department.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 68-217-106
Abandoned drycleaning facility: means any real property premises or individual leasehold space on which a drycleaning facility formerly operated. See Tennessee Code 68-217-102
Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
Commissioner: means the commissioner of environment and conservation, or the commissioner's designee. See Tennessee Code 68-217-102
Dense non-aqueous solvent or product: means any chemical or mixture of chemicals other than water-based solvents that is used in the drycleaning of clothes and that does not float on water. See Tennessee Code 68-217-102
Drycleaning facility: means any commercial facility located in this state which is engaged in on-site drycleaning operations, other than:(A) A coin-operated drycleaning operation. See Tennessee Code 68-217-102
Drycleaning operations: means cleaning of apparel and household fabrics, using one (1) or more drycleaning solvents, including, but not limited to, those businesses described in Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code No. See Tennessee Code 68-217-102
Impacted third party: means a lessor of real property on which a drycleaning facility or an in-state wholesale distribution facility is located, a property owner whose real property is adversely environmentally impacted by a release from a drycleaning facility or in-state wholesale distribution facility, or their predecessors, successors or assigns, mortgagees, predecessors-in-title and successors-in-title. See Tennessee Code 68-217-102
In-state wholesale distribution facility: means a place of business located in this state of a wholesale distributor or any real property premises or individual leasehold space located in this state, occupied by an in-state wholesale distribution facility after June 13, 1995. See Tennessee Code 68-217-102
Light non-aqueous solvent or product: means any chemical or mixture of chemicals other than water-based solvents that is used in the drycleaning of clothes and that floats on water. See Tennessee Code 68-217-102
Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
Release: means any spilling, pouring, overfilling, leaking, leaching, emitting, discharging, or escaping of drycleaning solvents from a drycleaning facility or an in-state wholesale distribution facility or its associated piping which impacts groundwater, surface water, surface or subsurface soils. See Tennessee Code 68-217-102
Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
solvent: means any and all non-aqueous solvents or products used, or intended for use, in the cleaning of garments and other fabrics at a drycleaning facility and includes, but is not limited to, dense non-aqueous solvents such as chlorinated solvents like perchloroethylene (perc), also known as tetrachloroethylene, and light non-aqueous solvents such as petroleum-based solvents like Stoddard Solvent, and the products into which all such solvents or products degrade. See Tennessee Code 68-217-102
Wholesale distributor: means a person or company whose primary business is selling drycleaning solvents and supplies to in-state or out-of-state drycleaning facilities. See Tennessee Code 68-217-102
(b) Current or prior owners or operators of abandoned drycleaning facilities may register the site as set out in subsection (a). A current or prior owner or operator of an abandoned drycleaning facility who fails to register a site with the department as described in subsection (a) shall be permitted to register the site; provided, however, that the current or prior owner or operator pays the annual registration fees that would have been imposed under this chapter on the site if the abandoned drycleaning facility had been registered at the first possible date established by this chapter. In addition, such registrant shall pay interest on the back registration fees, plus a fifty dollar ($50.00) per month late fee for each month since the first month that the site could have registered under this chapter.(c) The owner or operator of a drycleaning facility or current or prior owner or operator of an abandoned drycleaning facility registered under this section shall pay to the department an annual registration fee in accordance with the schedule established in the rules of the commissioner.(d) It is unlawful to sell or transfer drycleaning solvent to any person owning or operating a drycleaning facility unless the owner or operator of the drycleaning facility has conspicuously posted a copy of a valid certificate evidencing registration of the drycleaning facility pursuant to this chapter at the facility. Any person who violates or fails to comply with any provision of this subsection (d) shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per violation. The commissioner has the authority to assess civil penalties under this subsection (d). The recipient of any civil penalty under this subsection (d) has the right to appeal such assessment to the commissioner. The appeal of any assessment under this subsection (d) shall be filed with the commissioner within thirty (30) days of the party’s receipt of the assessment.(e) A wholesale distributor shall pay to the department an annual registration fee of five thousand five hundred dollars ($5,500) per in-state wholesale distribution facility.(f) At least thirty (30) days before payment of a registration fee is due, the department shall attempt to notify and submit a registration fee payment form to each drycleaning facility, each in-state wholesale distribution facility and each current or prior owner or operator of an abandoned drycleaning facility registered under this section. The registration fee payment form provided by the department must accompany the registration fee payment.(g) In addition to the registration fee required by subsection (c), there is established a drycleaning solvent surcharge of:
(1) Ten dollars ($10.00) for each gallon of dense non-aqueous solvent or product purchased by a drycleaning facility; and(2) One dollar ($1.00) for each gallon of light non-aqueous solvent or product purchased by a drycleaning facility.(h) The solvent surcharge required by subsection (g) shall be collected and forwarded to the department by the seller of the drycleaning solvent, regardless of the location of such seller.(i) The solvent surcharges in subsection (g) shall be paid on a quarterly basis and shall be paid to the department for the previous quarter.(j) The department shall provide each person who pays a registration fee or solvent surcharge under this chapter with a receipt. The receipt or the copy of the receipt shall be produced for inspection at the request of any authorized representative of the department.(k)(1) Prior to the approval of an expenditure of any funds under this chapter with respect to reimbursement for investigation or remediation at a particular site that has been accepted into the program established by this chapter, each drycleaning facility, abandoned drycleaning facility, in-state wholesale distribution facility, or impacted third party, that files a petition accepted by the commissioner requesting such expenditure, is required to accept responsibility for incurring response costs associated with each request for reimbursement (deductibles). The deductible for each drycleaning facility shall be based on the quantity of solvent purchased. The commissioner shall promulgate rules that establish appropriate categories of facilities to pay the following deductible amounts:
(A) Category 1 drycleaning facilities shall be responsible for five percent (5%) of each request for reimbursement up to a total amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000) per site per clean-up;(B) Category 2 drycleaning facilities shall be responsible for ten percent (10%) of each request for reimbursement up to a total amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per site per clean-up;(C) Category 3 drycleaning facilities shall be responsible for fifteen percent (15%) of each request for reimbursement up to a total amount of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) per site per clean-up;(2) In-state wholesale distribution facilities shall be responsible for twenty-five percent (25%) of each request for reimbursement up to a total amount of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per site per clean-up. Abandoned drycleaning facilities shall be responsible for twenty-five percent (25%) of each request for reimbursement up to a total amount of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per site per clean-up. An impacted third party’s deductible shall be equal to the deductible that would be applicable if the impacted third party owned the drycleaning facility, abandoned drycleaning facility, or in-state wholesale distribution facility that is the source of the release.(l) Registration fees and surcharges paid under this section shall be collected by the department and deposited in the drycleaner environmental response fund created under this chapter.(m) If the money in the fund exceeds ten million dollars ($10,000,000) during any one (1) year, the department shall waive the payment of the solvent surcharges and collect only the registration fees for a period of one (1) year.(n) The registration fees and surcharges and deductibles prescribed by this section may be adjusted by the commissioner, after notice and opportunity for public comment, in a manner necessary and appropriate to ensure viability of the fund and in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter; provided, that any fees or deductibles applicable to abandoned drycleaning facilities shall never be in excess of the fees and deductibles applicable to the largest drycleaning facility, and there shall be no surcharges on abandoned drycleaning facilities.
