19-1-603. Environmental Mitigation and Response Fund.
| (1) |
There is created an expendable special revenue fund known as the Environmental Mitigation and Response Fund. |
Terms Used In Utah Code 19-1-603
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
- Environmental mitigation: means an action or activity intended to remedy, reduce, or offset known negative impacts to the environment. See Utah Code 19-1-602
- Financial assurance: means a mechanism or instrument intended to provide funds if necessary to the department to conduct closure, monitoring, or cleanup of a specific facility or site in accordance with the applicable environmental requirements provided in this title. See Utah Code 19-1-602
- Natural resource damage: means damages to land, fish, wildlife, biota, air, water, ground water, drinking water supplies, and other resources that are held in trust for the public or otherwise controlled by the United States, the state, or local government. See Utah Code 19-1-602
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
| (2) |
The fund consists of:
| (a) |
public and private funding sources made under Subsections (3) and (4); |
| (b) |
legally binding bankruptcy, financial assurance, or natural resource damage claim settlements; and |
| (c) |
interest earnings on cash balances. |
|
| (3) |
The department may accept contributions for deposit into the fund from public and private sources, including from a source as a condition of a consent decree, settlement agreement, stipulated agreement, or court order. |
| (4) |
If funds are deposited as part of a consent decree, settlement agreement, stipulated agreement, or court order, the source of the funding may specify terms and conditions in which the funds may be used, in accordance with the consent decree, settlement agreement, stipulated agreement, or court order. |
| (5) |
Unless mandated by court order, the department may refuse funds if the department determines it is incapable of meeting the terms and conditions of the agreement to obtain the funds, including covering the costs to administer the fund and oversee the implementation of the specific mitigation or response action. |
| (6) |
The fund may account for assets held by the state for:
| (b) |
a private or public entity; |
| (c) |
another governmental unit, including a local or federal agency; |
| (e) |
a Native American tribe. |
|
Enacted by Chapter 246, 2017 General Session
