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INTRODUCED
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HOUSE COMMITTEE
SUBSTITUTE
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SECTION 1. Section
16.003(a), Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is amended.
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SECTION 1. Same as introduced
version.
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SECTION 2. Subchapter A,
Chapter 16, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section
16.0032 to read as follows:
Sec. 16.0032.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION OF PROPERTY.
(a) In an action for
trespass for injury to the estate or to the property of another resulting
from environmental contamination, the cause of action accrues for purposes
of Section 16.003 on the date that a final
assessment report fully delineating and documenting the extent of the
contamination in compliance with the requirements of the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality is sent by certified mail to the owner of the
affected property.
(b) A person must bring
suit for damages arising from an injury to property caused by environmental
contamination originating from a source not located on or at the property
not later than 10 years after the
date notice of the contamination is
reported in writing to both the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
and the owner of the affected property.
(c) Subsection (b) is a
statute of repose and is independent of any other limitations period.
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SECTION 2. Subchapter A,
Chapter 16, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section
16.0032 to read as follows:
Sec. 16.0032.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION OF PROPERTY IN CERTAIN COUNTIES.
(a) This section applies only to property that is:
(1) less than 10 acres in size; and
(2) located in a county on the international border with a
population of 800,000 or more.
(b) In an action for
trespass for injury to the estate or to the property of another resulting
from environmental contamination, the cause of action accrues for purposes
of Section 16.003 on the 365th day after the date that a final remedial
action report is approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
or United States Environmental Protection Agency fully delineating and
documenting the planned course of remediation as required under the
applicable rule governing cleanup for the release.
(c) A person must bring
suit for damages arising from an injury to property caused by environmental
contamination originating from a source not located on or at the property
not later than 25 years after the
date the party responsible for the
contamination is identified.
(d) Subsection (c) is a
statute of repose and is independent of any other limitations period.
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SECTION 3. Section 361.752,
Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(e) On the request of the
owner or operator,
a court shall determine
the amount of reasonable compensation under Subsection (c)(2) if the owner
or operator and the responsible party
are unable to agree on the compensation to be paid.
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SECTION 3. Section 361.752,
Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subsections (e) and (f) to
read as follows:
(e) On the request of an innocent owner or operator of property described by Subsection (f),
a court shall determine the
amount of reasonable compensation under Subsection (c)(2) if the innocent owner or operator and the designated person are unable to agree on
the compensation to be paid.
(f) Subsection (e) applies only to property that is:
(1) less than 10 acres in size; and
(2) located in a county on the international border with a
population of 800,000 or more.
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SECTION 4. Section 361.753,
Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a-1) For purposes of
Subsection (a), contamination originating from a pipeline transporting oil,
gas, or other materials across the property does not make an applicant
ineligible for a certificate unless
the applicant is also the
owner or operator of the pipeline.
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SECTION 4. Section 361.753, Health
and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subsections (h) and (i) to read as
follows:
(h) This subsection applies only to property described by
Subsection (i).
For purposes of Subsection
(a), contamination originating from a pipeline transporting oil, gas, refined products, or other materials
across the property does not make an applicant ineligible for a certificate
unless:
(1) the applicant is also
the owner or operator of the pipeline; or
(2) the commission determines that both the owner and operator of
the pipeline are financially nonviable.
(i) Subsection (h) applies only to property that is:
(1) less than 10 acres in size; and
(2) located in a county on the international border with a
population of 800,000 or more.
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SECTION 5. Section 361.754,
Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 361.754. RIGHTS OF
INNOCENT OWNER OR OPERATOR REGARDING CONTAMINATION FROM SOURCE NOT LOCATED
ON OR AT PROPERTY. (a) An innocent owner or operator may apply to the
commission for an order directing the responsible party to promptly
remediate the contamination of the property. The application must be
delivered to the commission by certified mail.
(b) The commission may
charge an application fee in an amount not to exceed the cost of reviewing
the application. The commission shall deposit a fee collected under this
subsection to the credit of the hazardous and solid waste remediation fee
account.
(c) Not later than the
45th day after the date the commission receives the application, the commission
shall notify the applicant whether the application is complete.
(d) Not later than the
90th day after the date the commission receives the application, the
commission shall:
(1) grant or deny the
application; or
(2) notify the applicant
of any additional information needed to review the application.
(e) Not later than the
45th day after the date the commission receives the additional information
requested under Subsection (d)(2), the commission shall grant or deny the
application.
(f) On granting an
application under this section, the commission shall identify the party
responsible for the contamination and require the party responsible for the
contamination to:
(1) develop a remediation
plan and obtain the approval of the plan by the commission in writing not
later than the third anniversary of the later of:
(A) the date the
responsible party is first identified by the commission; or
(B) the date the
application is granted by the commission;
(2) promptly begin
remediating the contamination of the property following the approval of the
remediation plan described by Subdivision (1); and
(3) not later than the
15th anniversary of the date the responsible party is first identified by
the commission, complete remediation of the contamination of the property
at a level that achieves the most protective health standard established
under the commission's risk-based remediation rules.
(g) The remediation
standards and deadlines described by Subsection (f) may be revised by
written agreement between the innocent owner or operator, the responsible
party, and the commission.
(h) If a remediation
deadline described by Subsection (f) is not achieved, each responsible
party identified by the commission shall file in the deed records of the
county in which the affected property is located a notice of the long-term
remediation activities at the site.
(i) The commission shall
require each responsible party to immediately file a notice in the deed
records of the county in which the affected property is located under
Subsection (h) if:
(1) an innocent owner or
operator of property that has been contaminated for more than 15 years, as
of September 1, 2015, applies to the commission for remediation under
Subsection (a); and
(2) remediation of the
contamination of the property to achieve the most protective health
standard established under the commission's risk-based remediation rules is
not anticipated to be completed by the fifth anniversary of the date the
application is submitted.
(j) This subchapter
does not limit the right of an innocent owner or operator to pursue any other
remedy available at law or in equity for conditions attributable to the
release or migration of contaminants from a source or sources that are not
located on or at the property.
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No
equivalent provision. (But see SECTION 5 below.)
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No
equivalent provision. (But see SECTION 5 above.)
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SECTION 5. Subchapter V,
Chapter 361, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Section 361.755
to read as follows:
Sec. 361.755. RIGHTS OF
PROPERTY OWNER REGARDING CONTAMINATION FROM OFF-SITE SOURCE IN CERTAIN
COUNTIES. (a) This section applies only to property that is:
(1) less than 10 acres in
size; and
(2) located in a county
on the international border with a population of 800,000 or more.
(b) If property described
by Subsection (a) has been contaminated from an off-site source for more
than 15 years and cleanup has not been achieved under the governing cleanup
requirements for the release, the party or parties responsible for the
cleanup shall compensate the property owner for the reduced property value,
cleanup costs, and any other damages resulting from the contamination.
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SECTION 6. (a) Section
16.003, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as amended by this Act, and
Section 16.0032, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added by this Act,
apply only to a cause of action that accrues on or after the effective date
of this Act. A cause of action that accrues before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before that date, and
that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) Section 361.752, Health
and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an agreement for
reasonable access entered into on or after the effective date of this Act.
An agreement for reasonable access entered into before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the agreement was entered
into, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(c) Section 361.753, Health
and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an application to
obtain a certificate confirming that the person is an innocent owner or
operator submitted on or after the effective date of this Act. An
application submitted before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law in effect when the application was submitted, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
(d) Section 361.754, Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, applies to an innocent owner or operator of property that
has been contaminated from a source not located on or at the property
regardless of whether the
contamination occurred on, before, or after the effective date of this Act.
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SECTION 6. (a) Section
16.003, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as amended by this Act, and
Section 16.0032, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added by this Act,
apply only to a cause of action that accrues on or after the effective date
of this Act. A cause of action that accrues before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before that date, and
that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) Section 361.752, Health
and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an agreement for
reasonable access entered into on or after the effective date of this Act.
An agreement for reasonable access entered into before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the agreement was entered
into, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(c) Section 361.753, Health
and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an application to
obtain a certificate confirming that the person is an innocent owner or
operator submitted on or after the effective date of this Act. An
application submitted before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law in effect when the application was submitted, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
(d) Section 361.755, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, applies to property that has been contaminated from an
off-site source
regardless of whether the
contamination occurred on, before, or after the effective date of this Act.
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SECTION 7. This Act takes
effect September 1, 2015.
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SECTION 7. Same as introduced
version.
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