Terms Used In Michigan Laws 324.21323b

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Department: means the director of the department of natural resources or his or her designee to whom the director delegates a power or duty by written instrument. See Michigan Laws 324.301
  • in writing: shall be construed to include printing, engraving, and lithographing; except that if the written signature of a person is required by law, the signature shall be the proper handwriting of the person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's proper mark, which may be, unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a clear and classifiable fingerprint of the person made with ink or another substance. See Michigan Laws 8.3q
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • local unit: means a municipality or county. See Michigan Laws 324.301
  • Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 324.301
  • Regulated substance: means any of the following:
  (i) A substance defined in section 101(14) of title I of the comprehensive environmental response, compensation, and liability act of 1980, Public Law 96-510, 42 USC 9601, but not including a substance regulated as a hazardous waste under subtitle C of the solid waste disposal act, title II of Public Law 89-272, 42 USC 6921 to 6939e. 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
  • 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
  • threatened release: means any circumstance that may reasonably be anticipated to cause a release. See Michigan Laws 324.21303
  • Underground storage tank system: means a tank or combination of tanks, including underground pipes connected to the tank or tanks, which is, was, or may have been used to contain an accumulation of regulated substances, and the volume of which, including the volume of the underground pipes connected to the tank or tanks, is 10% or more beneath the surface of the ground. See Michigan Laws 324.21303
    •   (1) Except as provided in section 21323a(2), a person that is liable under section 21323a is jointly and severally liable for all of the following:
      (a) All costs of corrective action lawfully incurred by the state relating to the selection and implementation of corrective action under this part.
      (b) All costs of corrective action reasonably incurred under the circumstances by any other person.
      (c) Damages for the full value of injury to, destruction of, or loss of natural resources, including the reasonable costs of assessing the injury, destruction, or loss resulting from the release.
      (2) The costs of corrective action recoverable under subsection (1) shall also include all costs of corrective action reasonably incurred by the state prior to the promulgation of rules relating to the selection and implementation of corrective action under this part. A person challenging the recovery of costs under this subsection has the burden of establishing that the costs were not reasonably incurred under the circumstances that existed at the time the costs were incurred.
      (3) The amounts recoverable in an action under this section may include interest, attorney fees, witness fees, and the costs of litigation to the prevailing or substantially prevailing party. The interest shall accrue from the date payment is demanded in writing, or the date of the expenditure or damage, whichever is later. The rate of interest on the outstanding unpaid balance of the amounts recoverable under this section shall be the same rate as is specified in section 6013(8) of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.6013.
      (4) In the case of injury to, destruction of, or loss of natural resources under subsection (1)(c), liability shall be to the state for natural resources belonging to, managed by, controlled by, appertaining to, or held in trust by the state or a local unit of government. Sums recovered by the state under this part for natural resource damages shall be retained by the department for use only to restore, repair, replace, or acquire the equivalent of the natural resources injured or acquire substitute or alternative resources. There shall be no double recovery under this part for natural resource damages, including the costs of damage assessment or restoration, rehabilitation, replacement, or acquisition, for the same release and natural resource.
      (5) A person shall not be required under this part to undertake corrective action for a permitted release. Recovery by any person for corrective action costs or damages resulting from a permitted release shall be pursuant to other applicable law, in lieu of this part. With respect to a permitted release, this subsection does not affect or modify the obligations or liability of any person under any other state law, including common law, for damages, injury, or loss resulting from a release of a regulated substance or for corrective action or the costs of corrective action.
      (6) If the department determines that there may be an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health, safety, or welfare or to the environment because of an actual or threatened release from an underground storage tank system, the attorney general may bring an action against any person that is liable under section 21323a or any other appropriate person to secure the relief that may be necessary to abate the danger or threat. The court has jurisdiction to grant such relief as the public interest and the equities of the case may require.
      (7) The costs recoverable under this section may be recovered in an action brought by the state or any other person.

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