A. Any local government or agency of the Commonwealth may apply to the appropriate circuit court for access to an abandoned brownfield site in order to investigate contamination, to abate any hazard caused by the improper management of substances within the jurisdiction of the Board, or to remediate the site. The petition shall include (i) a demonstration that all reasonable efforts have been made to locate the owner, operator or other responsible party and (ii) a plan approved by the Director and which is consistent with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. The approval or disapproval of a plan shall not be considered a case decision as defined by § 2.2-4001.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 10.1-1236

  • Authority: means the Virginia Resources Authority. See Virginia Code 10.1-1230
  • Brownfield: means real property; the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. See Virginia Code 10.1-1230
  • Department: means the Department of Environmental Quality. See Virginia Code 10.1-1230
  • Director: means the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality. See Virginia Code 10.1-1230
  • 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.
  • Local government: means any county, city, town, municipal corporation, authority, district, commission, or political subdivision of the Commonwealth created by the General Assembly or otherwise created pursuant to the laws of the Commonwealth or any combination of the foregoing. See Virginia Code 10.1-1230
  • Person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, governmental body, municipal corporation, public service authority, or any other legal entity. See Virginia Code 10.1-1230
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245

B. Any person, local government, or agency of the Commonwealth not otherwise liable under federal or state law or regulation who performs any investigative, abatement or remediation activities pursuant to this section shall not become subject to civil enforcement or remediation action under Chapter 14 (§ 10.1-1400 et seq.) of this title or other applicable state laws or to private civil suits related to contamination not caused by its investigative, abatement or remediation activities.

C. This section shall not in any way limit the authority of the Virginia Waste Management Board, Director, or Department otherwise created by Chapter 14 (§ 10.1-1400 et seq.) of this title.

2002, c. 378.

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