Montana Code 75-11-407. Viability
75-11-407. Viability. (1) For the purpose of determining the viability of a responsible party, the department shall presume that:
Terms Used In Montana Code 75-11-407
- Department: means the department of environmental quality provided for in 2-15-3501. See Montana Code 75-11-403
- Grant recipient: means a city, town, county, consolidated city-county, tribal government, economic development organization, nonprofit organization, or state agency that has received federal brownfields money from the environmental protection agency. See Montana Code 75-11-403
- Petroleum tank release site: means a site where there has been a release from a petroleum storage tank and assessment, remediation, or both are being pursued in accordance with Title 75, chapter 11, part 3. See Montana Code 75-11-403
- Responsible party: means :
(i)a person who is responsible for conducting the assessment, investigation, and cleanup at a petroleum tank release site as determined through:
(A)a judgment rendered in a court of law or an administrative order;
(B)an enforcement action by federal authorities or the department; or
(C)a citizen suit, contribution action, or other third-party claim brought against the current owner of the petroleum tank release site; or
(ii)a current owner of a petroleum tank release site who:
(A)dispensed or disposed of petroleum or petroleum product contamination at the site;
(B)exacerbated existing petroleum contamination at the site;
(C)owned the site when any dispensing or disposal of petroleum by others took place; or
(D)failed to take reasonable steps with regard to petroleum contamination at the site. See Montana Code 75-11-403
- Viable responsible party: means a responsible party who is determined by the department in accordance with 75-11-407 to have the financial capability to conduct the assessment, investigation, or cleanup activities at a petroleum tank release site. See Montana Code 75-11-403
(a)ongoing businesses or companies and government entities are viable unless there is information suggesting that the presumption is not appropriate and the department determines the information is sufficient to rebut the presumption in a particular case; and
(b)individuals and defunct or insolvent companies are not viable unless there is information suggesting that the presumption is not appropriate and the department determines the information is sufficient to rebut the presumption in a particular case.
(2)The department may not determine that a responsible party is viable based solely on the fact that the owner or operator of the petroleum tank release site is eligible to be reimbursed by the petroleum tank release compensation board established in 2-15-2108 from the petroleum tank release cleanup fund established in 75-11-313.
(3)It is a grant recipient‘s responsibility to provide the department with sufficient financial information about a responsible party identified in a petroleum brownfields site eligibility application to determine whether the responsible party is a viable responsible party.