Legislative Findings And Purposes

TITLE 39 HEALTH AND SAFETY CHAPTER 71 HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACT 39-7102. Legislative findings and purposes. (1) The legislature of the state of Idaho finds: (a)  That the state has a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of Idaho; (b)  That the protection and preservation of Idaho’s environment promotes the health, safety and welfare of her people; (c)  That the unexpected and uncontrolled releases or threat of releases of hazardous substances constitute a threat to the people and environment of Idaho; and (d)  That knowledgeable persons, governmental entities and organizations should be encouraged to lend expert assistance in the event of a hazardous substance incident. (2)  Therefore, it is hereby declared that the purposes of the provisions of this chapter are: (a)  To facilitate emergency response planning and coordination at a state and local level; (b)  To provide for the prompt response and containment of releases or threats of release of hazardous or potentially hazardous substances to include explosives and weapons of mass destruction; (c)  To provide liability for emergency response costs associated with responding to hazardous substances incidents; (d)  To encourage knowledgeable persons, governmental entities and organizations to lend assistance by providing them with limited immunity from civil liability; and (e)  To provide a mechanism for recovery of costs incurred by the state and local governments in responding to emergency hazardous substance incidents to be used in lieu of, and not in addition to, cost recovery mechanisms or claims for relief provided by applicable federal laws. By enacting this chapter, it is the intent of the legislature that the state and local governments elect to proceed in state courts under the provisions of this chapter and other provisions of state law rather than in federal court under federal laws, where necessary to recover emergency response costs. There is no provision for cost recovery for a hazardous substance incident response occurring on private property where the owner responds to the incident with the approval of the incident commander.