Section 6022.209 - Certified hazardous material response teams(a) General rule.--The council shall establish a program for certifying hazardous material response teams, setting standards for training, equipment, safety, operations and administration of the teams. The certification program shall include, but not be limited to: (1) Standards for certifying response teams with several preparedness levels patterned after levels established by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration at 29 CFR Part 1910.120.(2) Reviewing existing hazardous material training and certification programs to establish specific procedures for crediting that training and certification under the program established by this section.(b) Hazardous material response zones.--The council may establish hazardous material response zones, consisting of portions of counties or multiple counties, that may be served by certified hazardous material response teams that are certified by the council where counties have not identified zones in their Hazardous Material Emergency Response Preparedness Assessment.(c) Grants.--Each certified hazardous material response team may be eligible to receive, through an application submitted by a county, an emergency management grant from the Hazardous Material Response Fund. Counties are required to submit copies of all applications and requests they receive from certified hazardous material response teams as part of their application.(d) Compliance with guidelines and regulations.--Hazardous material response teams shall comply with any guidelines, regulations, directives or other documents developed by PEMA and the council for incorporation into the Commonwealth's hazardous material safety program.(e) Compliance with act.--Each county shall comply with the hazardous material safety program and 35 Pa.C.S. Pt. V (relating to emergency management services) by doing any of the following:(1) Individually organizing and operating a certified hazardous material response team.(2) Contracting or having formal agreements with a certified hazardous material response team, including those formed by a regional hazardous material organization or private companies.(3) Participating as a member of a regional hazardous material organization for the purpose of creating and organizing a certified hazardous material response team.(f) Grants to counties.--A county may be eligible for a grant from the Hazardous Material Response Fund for a cost that would otherwise be eligible under section 208(c) but was actually incurred prior to the effective date of this act and after the effective date of SARA, Title III, provided that no such grant shall take priority over grants for eligible costs incurred after the effective date of this act.(g) Regional hazardous material organizations.--Regional hazardous material organizations formed solely by a county or counties may be funded fully or in part by proportional contributions from the political subdivisions included within the hazardous material response zone serviced by the regional hazardous material organization or as otherwise agreed to by contract between the regional hazardous material organization and those political subdivisions and approved in the county preparedness assessment.(h) Insurance.--Each Commonwealth agency, local agency, regional hazardous material organization, volunteer service organization, hazardous material transporter, manufacturer, supplier or user, or other entity that organizes a certified hazardous material response team as identified on the team certification, shall be responsible for providing, directly or by agreement with a third party, workers' compensation and ordinary public liability insurance for its certified hazardous material response team. The Commonwealth, a county or municipality may self-insure to meet this obligation to the extent it is now authorized by State law. A certified hazardous material response team that meets the training standards or certification requirements established under the Commonwealth's hazardous material safety program shall receive a discount from the applicable insurance company as that insurance company's loss experience justifies based on guidelines developed by the Insurance Commissioner.(i) Incident response.--A certified hazardous material response team may, when authorized by the county emergency management coordinator, enter onto any private or public property on which a release of a hazardous material has occurred or the occurrence or the threat of a hazardous material release is imminent. A certified hazardous material response team may enter any adjacent or surrounding property to which the hazardous material release has entered or threatens to enter. A certified hazardous material response team may enter any private or public property in order to respond to the release or threatened release of a hazardous material, to monitor and contain the hazardous material release, to perform cleanup and stabilization actions and to perform any other response activities deemed necessary by the certified hazardous material response team or by the representatives of PEMA, the county emergency management office as established under 35 Pa.C.S. Pt. V or the local committee.(j) State agency.--Notwithstanding any Federal law to the contrary, the Department of Environmental Protection, consistent with the State emergency operations plan, is designated as the State agency assigned the responsibility to direct cleanup efforts at a release site upon the occurrence of a release.1990, Dec. 7, P.L. 639, No. 165, § 209, effective in 60 days. Amended 2000, Dec. 20, P.L. 885, No. 121, § 1, effective in 60 days.