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PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 970
SENATE BILL NO. 1884
By Johnson, Harshbarger
Substituted for: House Bill No. 1632
By Lamberth, Cochran, Lankford, Reeves
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 68, Chapter 217, Part 1, relative to the
drycleaner environmental response program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-217-102, is amended by adding the
following as new subdivisions:
( ) "Recently abandoned" means an abandoned drycleaning facility closed in
accordance with the commissioner's rules no more than one hundred eighty (180) days prior
to the date of submittal of a petition to access the drycleaner environmental response fund;
( ) "Registered facility" means any registered drycleaning operation, registered in-
state wholesale distribution facility, or a registered abandoned drycleaning facility;
( ) "Wholesale distributor" means a person or company who is engaged in wholesale
distribution;
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-217-102(5), is amended by deleting
the subdivision and substituting:
(5) "Drycleaner environmental response fund" or "fund" means the fund established
under§ 68-217-103;
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-217-102(10), is amended by deleting
the subdivision.
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-217-102(13), is amended by adding",
or soil gas vapor, including sub-slab vapor and indoor air" immediately after "subsurface soils".
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-217-102(14), is amended by deleting
the subdivision and substituting:
(14) "Wholesale distribution" means the sale or delivery of drycleaning solvents,
supplies, or services to in-state or out-of-state drycleaning facilities.
SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-217-105, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
(a) The commissioner has the following duties and responsibilities:
(1) Develop and approve investigation and remediation strategies, including,
but not limited to, presumptive remedial responses;
(2) Enter into contracts and use the fund for purposes directly associated with
accepted petitions for the investigation, containment, cleanup, monitoring, and
maintenance of releases from registered drycleaning operations, registered in-state
SB 1884
wholesale distribution facilities, and registered abandoned drycleaning facilities,
including:
(A) Hiring consultants and other contractors;
(8) Purchasing, leasing, or renting necessary equipment; and
(C) Defraying other necessary expenses;
(3) Review and accept or deny a petition for entry of a registered facility or a
registered recently abandoned drycleaning facility into the drycleaner environmental
response fund based on the standards set out in this chapter and in rules. The
commissioner shall prioritize approved petitions according to rules and established
guidelines. In establishing guidelines for site prioritization, the commissioner shall
consider the degree of risk to human health and the environment and other factors as
the commissioner may deem appropriate;
(4) Assess civil penalties in accordance with§ 68-217-108; and
(5) Promulgate rules necessary to effectuate this chapter, and conduct
contested case proceedings, in accordance with the Uniform Administrative
Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5. The rules must include, but are not
limited to:
(A) Annual registration with corresponding fees for drycleaning
facilities with categories of drycleaning facilities based on the amount and type
of solvent used;
(8) Requirements and standards for operation, maintenance, and
closure of drycleaning facilities;
(C) Standards for reviewing, accepting, and denying petitions for entry
into the drycleaner environmental response fund;
(D) A process for the commissioner to withdraw a facility from the
drycleaner environmental response fund upon a determination of ineligibility or
that the facility is or has been in noncompliance with this chapter; and
(E) A process for certification of the completion of all investigation and
remedial work and closure of a petition for access to the drycleaner
environmental response fund.
(b) The commissioner is authorized to enter, at any reasonable time, any registered
facility and any property where the commissioner believes, based on substantial evidence,
that drycleaning operations or in-state wholesale distribution activities are occurring or have
occurred, to conduct investigations, and ensure compliance with this chapter. The
commissioner may inspect and copy, at reasonable times, any records, reports, test results,
or other information relating to compliance with this chapter and its rules, and the
commissioner may request any person or company to furnish information relating to
compliance with this chapter and its rules.
SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-217-106, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
(a) Each year, the owner or operator of a drycleaning facility that intends to conduct
for all or part of the year, drycleaning operations or an in-state wholesale distribution facility
shall register with the department on forms provided by the department.
(b) The owner or operator of a recently abandoned drycleaning facility shall register
with the department on forms provided by the department before or simultaneously with
submission of a petition to access the fund in order for the petition to be accepted. After the
initial acceptance of a recently abandoned drycleaning facility into the program, the owner or
operator of a recently abandoned drycleaning facility shall comply with annual registration
and payment requirements applicable !o drycleaning facilities and in-state wholesale
distribution facilities except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
(c) Each facility accepted into the drycleaner environmental response fund shall
register annually, even if the facility ceases drycleaning operations or wholesale distribution
activities. Facilities that fail to register may be removed from the drycleaner environmental
response fund.
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SB 1884
(d) The owner or operator of a drycleaning facility or in-state wholesale distribution
facility required to register under subsection (a) shall pay to the department an annual
registration fee in accordance with the schedule established pursuant to rule.
(e) It is unlawful to sell or transfer drycleaning solvent or engage in wholesale
distribution 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.
(f) It is a violation of this chapter for any drycleaning facility or any person owning or
operating a drycleaning facility to purchase solvent without the drycleaning facility being
lawfully registered in accordance with this chapter.
(g) 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 owner
or operator of a registered facility. The registration fee payment form provided by the
department must accompany the registration fee payment.
(h) The commissioner shall establish a drycleaning solvent surcharge in accordance
with the schedule established pursuant to rule.
(i) The solvent surcharge required by this section must be collected and forwarded to
the department by the seller of the drycleaning solvent, regardless of the location of such
seller. If the seller is located outside of this state, the solvent surcharge may be collected and
forwarded to the department by either the buyer or the seller.
0) 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) Registration fees and surcharges paid under this section must be collected by the
department and deposited in the drycleaner environmental response fund created under this
chapter.
(I) The registration fees, surcharges, and deductibles prescribed by this chapter 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 recently
abandoned drycleaning facilities must never be in excess of the fees and deductibles
applicable to the largest drycleaning facility, and there shall be no surcharges on recently
abandoned drycleaning facilities.
SECTION 8. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-217-107, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
(a) An owner or operator of a registered facility, or the current owner or operator of a
recently abandoned drycleaning facility, may petition the commissioner to perform
investigation and remediation in connection with a release from a drycleaning facility, in-state
wholesale distribution facility, or abandoned drycleaning facility in accordance with rules
promulgated by the commissioner.
(b) Once a registered facility or recently abandoned drycleaning facility has petitioned
the commissioner and has complied with all the requirements for entry into the program as
established by this chapter, including compliance with applicable rules and the payment of
necessary registration fees and, if applicable, surcharges on drycleaning solvents, then the
commissioner shall accept the petition in accordance with the rules promulgated under this
chapter. Upon acceptance, the commissioner shall inform the party of the decision to allow
the facility into the program established by this chapter and inform the party of the priority
ranking of the site, if sufficient investigative work has been completed at that time to
determine priority ranking. The commissioner may reject any petition and deny coverage
under this chapter if the commissioner determines that the registered facility or recently
abandoned drycleaning facility has been in noncompliance with this chapter or the rules
promulgated pursuant to this chapter. •
(c) The commissioner shall not authorize the expenditure of funds from the fund in
excess of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per year for releases from any registered
facility or recently abandoned drycleaning facility, nor authorize a distribution of monies from
the fund that would result in a diminution of the fund below a balance of one hundred
thousand dollars ($100,000) unless an emergency exists at a registered facility or recently
abandoned drycleaning facility that constitutes an imminent and substantial threat to human
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SB 1884
health or the environment. In the event of an emergency as described in this subsection (c),
the commissioner shall approve the reimbursement of reasonable response costs to remove
the imminent and substantial threat to human health or the environment.
(d) The commissioner shall not expend more than two million dollars ($2,000,000) per
registered facility that has been accepted to the program.
(e) The commissioner shall not authorize distribution of funds from the fund to:
(1) Sites that are contaminated by solvents normally used in drycleaning
operations where the contamination at such sites did not result from the operation of
a registered facility or recently abandoned drycleaning facility;
(2) Sites that are not registered facilities, or recently abandoned drycleaning
facilities, that are contaminated by a release that results from drycleaning solvents
being transported to or from a drycleaning facility or in-state distribution facility;
(3) Any property contaminated by a release from a drycleaning facility,
abandoned drycleaning facility, or in-state wholesale distribution facility, that has
been identified by the United States environmental protection agency (EPA) as a
federal superfund site pursuant to 40 CFR Part 300 et seq.; or
(4) Any drycleaning facility which has obtained a permit pursuant to the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)(42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.).
(f) Any person granted fund coverage under this section shall pay a deductible of ten
percent (10%) of each contractor billing, not to exceed a total of fifty thousand dollars
($50,000) per site. If an applicant reenters facilities or sites into the program for any reason,
including failure to submit annual registration forms or registration fees on time, the applicant
is required to pay a new deductible.
SECTION 9. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-217-108, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
(a) Any person who violates or fails to comply with this chapter or a rule adopted
pursuant to this chapter is subject to a civil penalty of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000)
per violation. The commissioner may assess penalties through an order to be served upon
the alleged violator. Any such order becomes final and not subject to review unless the
person or persons named in the order file a request for a hearing with the commissioner
within thirty (30) days after the date such order is served. Any such hearing must be
conducted as a contested case and be heard by an administrative judge sitting alone
pursuant to§§ 4-5-301 (a)(2) and 4-5-314(b), unless settled by the parties.
(b) In addition to any penalties authorized by subsection (a), any person who fails or
refuses to pay a lawfully levied registration fee or solvent surcharge or any part of a
registration fee or solvent surcharge by its due date shall be assessed a penalty of up to fifty
dollars ($50.00) for each day that passes after the fee or surcharge is due and before such
fee or surcharge is paid. This section does not require the issuance of a commissioner's
order for the payment of a registration fee or a late payment penalty.
(c) An owner or operator shall not receive a registration certificate as required under§
68-217-106(a) until all fees, surcharges, and penalties required by this chapter are paid in
full.
SECTION 10. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-217-111, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
(a) Notwithstanding another provision of law, an owner or operator of a registered
facility or current or prior owner or operator of a recently abandoned drycleaning facility is not
liable for any release under any other law, including any common law claim or third-party
claims, except to the extent of the deductible set forth in § 68-217-107{f), if such facility or
distributor has paid all the registration fees and solvent surcharges required under this
chapter, has had its petition accepted by the commissioner for participation in the fund, and
has materially complied with the requirements of all rules promulgated under this chapter and
with any requirements for investigatory or remedial measures established by the
commissioner. This section does not preclude claims based solely upon personal injuries
associated with a claimant's exposure to drycleaning solvent.
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SB 1884
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to or limit any claim of a lender which arises under
a financing arrangement entered into by the owner or operator prior to, on, or after June 13,
1995.
SECTION 11. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.
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SENATE BILL NO. 1884
PASSED: Apri I 20, 2026
RANDY MctJALLY
SPEAKER OF THE S'!NATE
CAMERON 91!XTON, SPEAKER
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
M°'4f ~ APPROVED this
day of 2026
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