(1) The military division shall be responsible for recovering those costs incurred by the state arising out of a hazardous substance incident identified in section 39-7109, Idaho Code, and other costs including processing the documented costs submitted by response agencies, attorney’s fees, investigation costs, prelitigation and litigation costs.
(2)  In deciding whether to commence a cost recovery action, and against whom a cost recovery action will be filed, the military division in exercising its prosecutorial discretion will take into consideration the cause of the incident, the total amount of cost incurred in responding to the incident, the avoidability of the incident and such other factors as the military division deems appropriate.

Terms Used In Idaho Code 39-7112

  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Emergency: means a release or threat of release that, in the reasonable judgment of the local emergency response authority in consultation with the office, threatens immediate harm to the environment or the health and safety of any individual and that requires immediate action for the containment or control of a hazardous or potentially hazardous substance to prevent, minimize or mitigate harm to the public health, safety or the environment which may result if action is not taken. See Idaho Code 39-7103
  • Hazardous substance: means :
Idaho Code 39-7103
  • Hazardous substance incident: means an emergency circumstance requiring a response by the state emergency response team or the local emergency response authority to monitor, assess and evaluate a release or threat of a release of a hazardous or potentially hazardous substance. See Idaho Code 39-7103
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Military division: means the military division of the office of the governor. See Idaho Code 39-7103
  • Person: means any individual, public or private corporation, partnership, joint venture, association, firm, trust, estate, the United States or any department, institution, or agency thereof, the state or any department, institution, or agency thereof, any municipal corporation, county, city, or other political subdivision of the state, or any other legal entity whatsoever which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties. See Idaho Code 39-7103
  • Potentially hazardous substance: means any substance which in the reasonable judgment of the local emergency response authority in consultation with the office is likely a hazardous substance. See Idaho Code 39-7103
  • Release: means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, escaping, dumping or disposing of a hazardous or potentially hazardous substance, or the threat of the same, into the environment. See Idaho Code 39-7103
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories; and the words "United States" may include the District of Columbia and territories. See Idaho Code 73-114
    • (3)  The remedy for the recovery of those emergency response costs identified in section 39-7109, Idaho Code, provided by this chapter shall be exclusive and shall not be used in conjunction with or in addition to any other remedy for recovery of such costs provided by applicable federal laws. Any person who receives compensation for the emergency response costs pursuant to any other federal or state law shall be precluded from recovering compensation for such costs pursuant to this chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall otherwise affect or modify in any way the obligations or liability of any person under any other provision of state or federal law, including common law, for damages, injury or loss resulting from the release of any hazardous substance or potentially hazardous substance or for remedial action or the cost of remedial action for such release.
    (4)  It shall be the duty of the attorney general to commence any civil action brought by the military division pursuant to this chapter. At the request of a political subdivision of the state or a local governmental entity who has responded to or contained a hazardous substance incident, the attorney general may commence a civil action on their behalf pursuant to this chapter.
    (5)  Any person who renders assistance at the request of the incident commander or his authorized designee in response to a hazardous substance incident may file a civil action under the provisions of this chapter for recoverable costs which have not been reimbursed by the state.
    (6)  There is hereby created in the state treasury the hazardous substance emergency response fund. Recoveries by the state for reimbursed costs shall be deposited in said fund to offset amounts paid as reimbursement.