Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 2776 revises the Solid Waste Disposal Act regarding operation of the state's voluntary cleanup program for solid waste facilities and the hazardous and solid waste remediation fund (Superfund). The bill adds two new subchapters to establish specific thresholds of liability for fiduciaries and lenders.

            House Bill 2776 adds a new subchapter to provide immunity from liability for owners or operators in charge of property contaminated by hazardous waste migration from an outside source. The act authorizes the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission to consider a voluntary cleanup offer as an alternative to adding a site to the Superfund list and clarifies the liability of parties who do and do not enter into settlement agreements with the agency for cleanup costs.

            The act revises the authority of the commission to use Superfund money in certain situations, grants authority to the agency's executive director regarding determinations of future land use and remediation requirements for contaminated sites, and expands the range of settlement agreements that the commission may enter into for arranging cleanup costs. The act also requires the commission to file cost recovery actions for Superfund expenditures in certain situations, delegates authority for Superfund purchases to the commission, and exempts the Superfund program from state construction and public works contract requirements.