Michigan Laws 324.21304c – Duty of owner or operator of property; basis; liability for corrective action activity costs and natural resource damages; applicability of subsection (1)(a) to (f)
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 324.21304c
- Commission: means the commission of natural resources. See Michigan Laws 324.301
- contaminated: means the presence of a regulated substance in soil, surface water, or groundwater or air that has been released from an underground storage tank system at a concentration exceeding the level set forth in the RCBA tier I screening levels established under section 20120a(1)(a) and (b). See Michigan Laws 324.21302
- Corrective action: means the investigation, assessment, cleanup, removal, containment, isolation, treatment, or monitoring of regulated substances released into the environment from an underground storage tank system that is necessary under this part to prevent, minimize, or mitigate injury to the public health, safety, or welfare, the environment, or natural resources. See Michigan Laws 324.21302
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- local unit: means a municipality or county. See Michigan Laws 324.301
- Local unit of government: means a city, village, township, county, fire department, or local health department as defined in section 1105 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333. See Michigan Laws 324.21302
- 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.
- Operator: means a person who is presently, or was at the time of a release, in control of, or responsible for, the operation of an underground storage tank system. See Michigan Laws 324.21303
- Owner: means a person who holds, or at the time of a release who held, a legal, equitable, or possessory interest of any kind in an underground storage tank system or in the property on which an underground storage tank system is or was located including, but not limited to, a trust, vendor, vendee, lessor, or lessee. See Michigan Laws 324.21303
- Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 324.301
- Property: means real estate that is contaminated by a release from an underground storage tank system. See Michigan Laws 324.21303
- Public highway: means a road or highway under the jurisdiction of the state transportation department, a county road commission, or a local unit of government. See Michigan Laws 324.21303
- RBSL: means the unrestricted residential and nonresidential generic cleanup criteria developed by the department pursuant to part 201. See Michigan Laws 324.21303
- Release: means any spilling, leaking, emitting, discharging, escaping, or leaching from an underground storage tank system into groundwater, surface water, or subsurface soils. See Michigan Laws 324.21303
- SSTL: means an RBCA risk-based remedial action target level for contamination developed for a site under RBCA tier II and tier III evaluations. See Michigan Laws 324.21303
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
(1) A person that owns or operates property that the person has knowledge is contaminated shall do all of the following with respect to regulated substances at the property:
(a) Undertake measures as are necessary to prevent exacerbation.
(b) Exercise due care by undertaking corrective action necessary to mitigate unacceptable exposure to regulated substances, mitigate fire and explosion hazards due to regulated substances, and allow for the intended use of the property in a manner that protects the public health and safety.
(c) Take reasonable precautions against the reasonably foreseeable acts or omissions of a third party and the consequences that foreseeably could result from those acts or omissions.
(d) Provide reasonable cooperation, assistance, and access to the persons that are authorized to conduct corrective action activities at the property, including the cooperation and access necessary for the installation, integrity, operation, and maintenance of any complete or partial corrective action activity at the property. Nothing in this subdivision shall be interpreted to provide any right of access not expressly authorized by law, including access authorized pursuant to a warrant or a court order, or to preclude access allowed pursuant to a voluntary agreement.
(e) Comply with any land use or resources use restrictions established or relied on in connection with the corrective action activities at the property.
(f) Not impede the effectiveness or integrity of any corrective action or land use or resource use restriction employed at the property in connection with corrective action activities.
(2) A person’s obligations under this section shall be based upon the applicable RBSL or SSTL.
(3) A person that violates subsection (1) that is not otherwise liable under this part for the release at the property is liable for corrective action activity costs and natural resource damages attributable to any exacerbation and any fines or penalties imposed under this part resulting from the violation of subsection (1) but is not liable for performance of additional corrective action activities unless the person is otherwise liable under this part for performance of additional corrective action activities. The burden of proof in a dispute as to what constitutes exacerbation shall be borne by the party seeking relief.
(4) Compliance with this section does not satisfy a person’s obligation to perform corrective action activities as otherwise required under this part.
(5) Subsection (1)(a) to (c) and (f) does not apply to this state, a county road commission, or a local unit of government if it is not liable under section 21323a(3)(a), (b), (c), or (e) or to this state, a county road commission, or a local unit of government if it acquired property by purchase, gift, transfer, or condemnation or to a person that is exempt from liability under section 21323a(4)(b). However, if this state or a local unit of government, unless exempt from liability under section 21323a(4)(b), acting as the owner or operator of property offers access to the property on a regular or continuous basis for a public purpose and invites the public to use the property for the public purpose, this state or the local unit of government is subject to this section but only with respect to that portion of the property that is opened to and used by the public for the public purpose, and not the entire property. Public purpose includes, but is not limited to, activities such as a park, office building, or public works operation. Public purpose does not include a public highway or activities surrounding the acquisition or compilation of parcels for the purpose of future development.
(6) Subsection (1)(a) to (c) does not apply to a person that is exempt from liability under section 21323a(3)(c) or (d) except with regard to that person’s activities at the property.
(7) Subsection (1)(a) to (f) applies to an owner or operator who is liable under section 21323a with respect to regulated substances present within a public highway above applicable RBSLs or SSTLs.