Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes > Title 30 > Subtitle II > Chapter 12 - Liability for Hazardous Substance Remedial Action

• Accumulated contributions: means the sum of all amounts paid by a member, excluding interest paid on the repayment of a refund, and credited to his individual account in the employee's savings account, together with regular interest credited prior to July 1969. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:403
• Agency: means any governmental body employing persons and includes departments, agencies, boards, commissions, and courts. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:403
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Board: shall mean the Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board, provided for by this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:682
• Candidate: means a person who seeks nomination or election to public office, except the office of president or vice president of the United States, presidential elector, delegate to a political party convention, United States senator, United States congressman, or political party office. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1483
• Chairman: means the principal executive officer of a political committee regardless of his title. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1483
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of insurance. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 22:2392
• committee: means two or more persons, other than a husband and wife, and any legal entity organized for the primary purpose of supporting or opposing one or more candidates, propositions, recalls of a public officer, or political parties, which accepts contributions in the name of the committee, or makes expenditures from committee funds or in the name of the committee, or makes a transfer of funds to or receives a transfer of funds from another committee, or receives or makes loans in an aggregate amount in excess of five hundred dollars within any calendar year. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1483
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contractual relationship: includes but is not limited to land contracts, deeds, easements, leases, or other instruments transferring title or possession, unless the real property on which the facility concerned is located was acquired by the defendant after the disposal or placement of the hazardous substance on, in, or at the facility, and one or more of the circumstances described in Item (i), (ii), or (iii) is also established by the defendant by a preponderance of the evidence:

  (i)  At the time the defendant acquired the facility, the defendant did not know and had no reason to know that any hazardous substance which is the subject of the release or threatened release was disposed of on, in, or at the facility. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2272

• Contribution: except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, means a gift, conveyance, payment, or deposit of money or anything of value, or the forgiveness of a loan or of a debt, made for the purpose of supporting, opposing, or otherwise influencing the nomination or election of a person to public office, for the purpose of supporting or opposing a proposition or question submitted to the voters, or for the purpose of supporting or opposing the recall of a public officer, whether made before or after the election. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1483
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Creditable service: means prior service plus membership service for which credit is allowable as provided in this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:403
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Environmental Quality. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Discharge: means discharge as defined in La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2272
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Disposal: means disposal as defined in La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2272
• District office: means the following offices but shall not include any major office:

              (a) The office of a member of the Louisiana Legislature. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1483

• Earned compensation: means the base pay earned by an employee for a given pay period as reported to the system on a monthly basis by the agency which shall include the cash value of any emolument of office in the form of paid compensation in lieu of salary which is subject to federal and state payroll taxes and includes the full amount earned by an employee, overtime, and per diem earned by an employee of the House of Representatives, the Senate, or an agency of the legislature, and expense allowances and per diem paid to members of the legislature, the clerk, or sergeant at arms of the House of Representatives and president and secretary or sergeant at arms of the Senate. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:403
• Election: means any primary, general, or special election held, pursuant to the laws of this state or a parish or municipal charter or ordinance or a court order, to choose a public officer or nominee. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1483
• Employer: means the state of Louisiana or any of its boards, commissions, departments, agencies, and courts which are contributing members of the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:403
• Engineer intern: shall mean an individual who has complied with the requirements for education, experience, and character and has passed an examination in the fundamental engineering subjects, as provided in this Chapter, and has been issued a certificate by the board. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:682
• Enrolled bill: The final copy of a bill or joint resolution which has passed both chambers in identical form. It is printed on parchment paper, signed by appropriate officials, and submitted to the President/Governor for signature.
• Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. ^{Source: OCC}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Expenditure: means a purchase, payment, advance, deposit, or gift, of money or anything of value made for the purpose of supporting, opposing, or otherwise influencing the nomination or election of a person to public office, for the purpose of supporting or opposing a proposition or question submitted to the voters, or for the purpose of supporting or opposing the recall of a public officer, whether made before or after the election. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1483
• Facility: means facility as defined in La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2272
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Firm: shall mean any domestic or foreign firm, partnership, association, cooperative, venture, corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or any other entity. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:682
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Governmental entity: means the state or any political subdivision and the federal government as a cost share partner. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 34:3471
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Hazardous substance: means any gaseous, liquid, or solid material which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or biological composition when released into the environment poses a substantial present or potential hazard to human health, the environment, or property, and which material is identified or designated as being hazardous by rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the secretaries of the Department of Environmental Quality or of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, regardless of whether it is intended for use, reuse, or is to be discarded. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2272
• Hazardous waste: means hazardous waste as defined in La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2272
• Health insurance issuer: means an entity subject to the insurance laws and regulations of this state, or subject to the jurisdiction of the commissioner, that contracts or offers to contract to provide, deliver, arrange for, pay for, or reimburse any of the costs of health care services, including through a health benefit plan as defined in this Section, and shall include a sickness and accident insurance company, a health maintenance organization, a preferred provider organization or any similar entity, or any other entity providing a plan of health insurance or health benefits. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 22:2392
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Independent review organization: means an entity that conducts independent external reviews of adverse determinations and final adverse determinations. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 22:2392
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Intentional criminal violation: means conduct which establishes that a violator was in the state of mind which exists when the circumstances indicated that the offender actively desired the prescribed criminal consequences to follow his act or failure to act. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1483
• Joint committee: means the House Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works and the Senate Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works, functioning as a joint legislative committee. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 34:3471
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Judgement: The official decision of a court finally determining the respective rights and claims of the parties to a suit.
• Jurisprudence: The study of law and the structure of the legal system.
• Land surveyor intern: shall mean an individual who has complied with the requirements for education, experience, and character and has passed an examination in the fundamental surveying subjects, as provided in this Chapter, and has been issued a certificate by the board. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:682
• Law clerk: Assist judges with research and drafting of opinions.
• licensure: shall mean the recognition granted by the board and its issuance of a license to any person to practice engineering or land surveying in the state of Louisiana. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:682
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Major office: means the following offices: governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of insurance, the superintendent of education, public service commissioner, justice of the supreme court, court of appeal judge, district court judge in a judicial district comprised of a single parish with a population in excess of four hundred fifty thousand persons as determined by the most recently published decennial federal census where the election district is parishwide, as long as these offices are elective offices, and any candidate for office with an election district containing a population in excess of two hundred fifty thousand persons as determined by the most recently published decennial federal census. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1483
• Member: means any person included in the membership of the system. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:403
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Nonparticipating party: means a person who refuses to comply with the demand of the secretary, or fails to respond to the demand, or against whom a suit has been filed by the secretary. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2272
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owner or operator: means any person owning or operating a facility. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2272
• Participating party: means a person who undertakes remedial action after receiving a demand from the secretary in compliance with the demand and as approved by the secretary. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2272
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means any individual, municipality, public or private corporation, partnership, firm, the United States Government, and any agent or subdivision thereof or any other juridical person, which shall include, but not be limited to, trusts, joint stock companies, associations, the state of Louisiana, political subdivisions of the state of Louisiana, commissions, and interstate bodies. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
• Person: shall mean any individual or firm. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:682
• Person: means any individual, partnership, limited liability company or corporation, association, labor union, political committee, corporation, or other legal entity, including their subsidiaries. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1483
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Pollution source: means pollution source as defined in La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2272
• Position: means any office or any employment in the state service. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:403
• Practice of engineering: shall mean responsible professional service which may include consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, designing, or inspection of construction in connection with any public or private utilities, structures, machines, equipment, processes, works, or projects wherein the public welfare or the safeguarding of life, health, and property is concerned or involved, when such professional service requires the application of engineering principles and the interpretation of engineering data. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:682
• Principal campaign committee: means a political committee designated by a candidate pursuant to La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1483
• professional engineer: shall mean an individual who, by reason of his special knowledge and ability to apply the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences and the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design, acquired by an engineering education and engineering experience, is qualified to practice engineering, as evidenced by his licensure as such by the board. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:682
• professional land surveyor: shall mean an individual who is qualified to practice land surveying, as evidenced by his licensure as such by the board. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:682
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Public office: means any state, parish, municipal, ward, district, or other office or position that is filled by election of the voters, except those specifically excepted in Paragraph (3) of this Section. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1483
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Refund: means the withdrawal of all accumulated contributions at least thirty days after termination from the state service, or with respect to members having the option of belonging to the system, withdrawal of all accumulated contributions at least thirty days after receipt by the system of written notice of withdrawal. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:403
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Remedial cost: means after the discharge or disposal of a hazardous substance the cost of:

  (i)  Removing, confining, or storing any hazardous substance; constructing barriers, securing the site, encapsulating in clay or other impermeable material;

  (ii)  Cleaning up a contamination, recycling, or reuse of a hazardous substance;

  (iii)  Diversion, destruction, or segregation of reactive or other wastes;

  (iv)  Dredging or excavating a site;

  (v)  Repairing or replacing leaking containers;

  (vi)  Collection of leachate and runoff;

  (vii)  Onsite treatment or incineration of a substance;

  (viii)  Provision of alternative water supplies;

  (ix)  Monitoring, testing, or analyzing;

  (x)  Employing legal, engineering, chemical, biological, architectural, or other professional consultants or personnel;

  (xi)  Investigation, initiation, or prosecution of lawsuits to final judgment;

  (xii)  Transporting and disposing of waste from the site; or

  (xiii)  Any other action the secretary deems necessary to restore the site or remove the hazardous substance. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2272

• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Responsible charge: shall mean the direct control and personal supervision of engineering or land surveying service or work, as the case may be. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:682
• Retirement: means termination of active service, with a retirement allowance granted under the provisions of this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:403
• Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
• State: means the state of Louisiana. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:403
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subsidiary committee: means a political committee other than a principal campaign committee, designated by a candidate or by a principal campaign committee pursuant to La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1483
• Supervisory committee: means the Board of Ethics established in La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1483
• System: means the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:403
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• Utilization review: means a set of formal techniques designed to monitor the use of or evaluate the clinical or medical necessity, appropriateness, efficacy, or efficiency of health care services, procedures, or settings. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 22:2392
• Utilization review organization: means a licensed entity that conducts utilization review in the internal claims and appeals process provided pursuant to La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 22:2392
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.