RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
ACT 481 (HB 72) 2021 Regular Session Coussan
New law requires the secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Quality to establish a program
for voluntary environmental self-audits. Requires that the regulations provide for the
procedures for conducting the self-audit, submission of the results to the department, the
period of time that information contained in the self-audit may be held confidential which
cannot exceed two years, incentives to encourage the use of self-audits, corrective actions
for violations discovered by the self-audit, submission of a corrective plan, and fees for
reviewing the audit and corrective plan.
Existing law provides that department records and information obtained from rules,
regulations, orders, licenses, or permits are available to the public unless the secretary
determines that release of the information may impair an investigation or the protection of
trade secrets and proprietary information.
New law requires information obtained through a voluntary environmental self-audit be held
confidential for a limited time, not to exceed two years, as specified in the rules applicable
to voluntary environmental self-audits. Specifies that new law does not prohibit a request
for confidentiality pursuant to existing law concerning trade secrets, proprietary secrets, and
commercial and financial information.
New law requires the department's final decisions be public and published on the
department's website.
Prior law required the department to conduct a public hearing on all environmental
assessment statements.
New law changes this requirement by requiring the department to conduct a hearing if
requested.
New law requires the secretary to promulgate rules and regulations identifying violations that
are not eligible for relief under the voluntary self-audit program and list the types of
violations as follows:
(1) Violations that result in serious actual harm to the environment.
(2) Violations that may present an imminent or substantial endangerment to public health
or the environment.
(3) Violations discovered by the department prior to the written disclosure of the
violation to the department.
(4) Violations detected through monitoring, sampling, or auditing procedures that are
required by statute, regulation, permit, judicial or administrative order, or consent
agreement.
New law suspends prescriptions for claims for violations upon participation in the voluntary
self-audit program until the department makes a final decision or two years, whichever
occurs first.
New law provides that the fee for reviewing environmental self-audits and corrective actions
cannot exceed the maximum per-hour salary, including associated benefits, to conduct the
review, plus reasonable indirect costs calculated as a percentage of the hourly fee. Specifies
that percentage is determined annually by the department and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency for use on grants and contracts. Authorizes the department to assess a
minimum fee of $1,500.
(Amends R.S. 30:2018(C) and 2030(A)(2); Adds R.S. 30:2030(A)(3) and 2044)


Statutes affected:
HB72 Original: 30:2030(A)(2)
HB72 Engrossed: 30:2018(C), 30:2030(A)(2)
HB72 Reengrossed: 30:2018(C), 30:2030(A)(2)
HB72 Re-Reengrossed: 30:2018(C), 30:2030(A)(2)
HB72 Enrolled: 30:2018(C), 30:2030(A)(2)
HB72 Act 481: 30:2018(C), 30:2030(A)(2)