HB534 Summary

• Director of Alabama Department of Environmental Management must assess toxic substance risk in each county by June 30, 2014, and designate counties as "environmental high impact areas" if risk meets substantial threshold level.

• State Health Officer must issue public report by December 31, 2014, documenting cancer, birth defects, infant mortality, and respiratory disease incidence by county and assessing health risks posed by toxic chemical releases.

• Department must require community impact statements prepared by independent contractors for any new or expanded facility handling toxic pollutants, with statements addressing chemical types, health effects, mitigation alternatives, and applicant compliance history.

• New facilities handling toxic pollutants are prohibited within 10 miles of existing facilities unless waived by local government based on pressing environmental need or offered community incentives; counties designated as high impact areas face a moratorium on new toxic facilities unless exceptions apply.

• Department must establish trust fund, special loan program, community environmental resource centers, grant programs for health facilities and impact studies, and insurance assistance for communities in high impact areas; director authorized to hold public hearings on environmental law enforcement inequities.