§22-22-18. Environmental liability protection.

(a) Any person demonstrating compliance with the applicable standards established in section three of this article, whether by remediation or where the site assessment shows that the contamination at the site meets applicable standards, shall be relieved of further liability for the remediation of the site under this chapter. Contamination identified in the remediation agreement submitted to and approved by the Department is not subject to citizen suits or contribution actions. The protection from further remediation liability provided by this article applies to the following persons:

(1) The current or future owner or operator of the site, including development authorities and fiduciaries who participated in the remediation of the site;

(2) A person who develops or otherwise occupies the site;

(3) A successor or assign of any person to whom the liability protection applies;

(4) A public utility, as defined in §24-1-2 of this code, and for the purpose of this article, a utility engaged in the storage and transportation of natural gas, to the extent the public utility performs activities on the site;

(5) A remediation contractor;

(6) A licensed remediation specialist; and

(7) A lender or developer who engages in the routine practices of commercial lending, including, but not limited to, providing financial services, holding of security interests, workout practices, foreclosure, or the recovery of funds from the sale of a site.

(b) A person shall not be considered a person responsible for a release or a threatened release of contaminants simply by virtue of conducting or having a site assessment conducted. Nothing in this section relieves a person of any liability for failure to exercise due diligence in performing a site assessment.

(c) The Secretary may, consistent with programs developed under federal law, make a determination to limit the liability of lenders, innocent purchasers or landowners, de minimis contributors, or others who have grounds to claim limited responsibility for a containment or cleanup that may be required pursuant to the Hazardous Waste Management Act §22-18-1, et seq. of this code, the Water Pollution Control Act §22-11-1, et seq. of this code, the Groundwater Protection Act §22-12-1, et seq. of this code, or any other applicable law.

(d) A person who is a bona fide prospective purchaser shall not be held liable for a containment or cleanup that may be required at a brownfield site pursuant to the Hazardous Waste Management Act §22-18-1, et seq. of this code, the Water Pollution Control Act §22-11-1, et seq. of this code, the Groundwater Protection Act §22-12-1, et seq. of this code, or any other applicable law, if:

(1) The person did not cause, contribute, or consent to the release or threatened release;

(2) The person is not liable or potentially liable through any direct or indirect familial relationship or any contractual, corporate, or financial relationship or is not the result of a reorganization of a business entity that was potentially liable;

(3) The person exercises appropriate care with respect to hazardous substances found at the facility by taking reasonable steps to stop any continuing release, prevent any threatened future release, and prevent or limit human, environmental, or natural resource exposure to any previously released hazardous substances; and

(4) The person does not impede the performance of any response action.

(e) A person who is an innocent land owner who holds title, security interest, or any other interest in a brownfield site shall not be held liable for a containment or cleanup that may be required at a brownfield site pursuant to the Hazardous Waste Management Act §22-18-1, et seq. of this code, the Water Pollution Control Act §22-11-1, et seq. of this code, the Groundwater Protection Act §22-12-1, et seq. of this code, or any other applicable law if:

(1) The person did not cause, contribute, or consent to the release or threatened release;

(2) The person is not liable or potentially liable through any direct or indirect familial relationship or any contractual, corporate, or financial relationship or is not the result of a reorganization of a business entity that was potentially liable;

(3) The person made all appropriate inquiries into the previous uses of the facility in accordance with generally accepted good commercial and customary standards and practices, including those established by federal law;

(4) The person exercises appropriate care with respect to hazardous substances found at the facility by taking reasonable steps to stop any continuing release, prevent any threatened future release, and prevent or limit human, environmental, or natural resource exposure to any previously released hazardous substances;

(5) The person does not impede the performance of any response action; and either

(6) At the time the person acquired the interest, he or she did not know and had no reason to know, that any hazardous substances had been or were likely to have been disposed of on, in, or at the site, or

(7) The person is a government entity that acquired the site by escheat or through other involuntary transfer or acquisition.

(f) A person that owns real property that is contiguous to or otherwise similarly situated with respect to, and that is or may be contaminated by a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance from real property that is not owned by that person shall not be considered liable for a containment or cleanup that may be required pursuant to the Hazardous Waste Management Act §22-18-1, et seq. of this code, the Water Pollution Control Act §22-11-1, et seq. of this code, the Groundwater Protection Act §22-12-1, et seq. of this code, or any other applicable law if the person did not cause, contribute, or consent to the release or threatened release, if the person is not liable or potentially liable through any direct or indirect familial relationship or any contractual, corporate, or financial relationship or is not the result of a reorganization of a business entity that was potentially liable, and if such person provides full cooperation, assistance, and access to persons that are authorized to conduct response actions at the facility from which there has been a release.

(g) The provisions of this section shall not otherwise limit the authority of the Secretary to require any person responsible for the contamination or pollution to contain or remediate sites where solid or hazardous waste or other substances have been improperly managed.