§ 6022.210. Recovery of response costs
Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated StatutesTitle 35 P.S. Health and SafetyEffective: February 20, 2001
Effective: February 20, 2001
35 P.S. § 6022.210
§ 6022.210. Recovery of response costs
(a) General rule.--A person who causes a release of a hazardous material shall be liable for the response costs incurred by a certified hazardous material response team or a supporting paid or volunteer emergency service organization, or both. The Commonwealth agency, local agency, regional hazardous material organization, volunteer emergency service organization, or hazardous material transporter, manufacturer, supplier or user that organized the certified hazardous material response team, as identified on the team certification, or supporting paid or volunteer emergency service organizations, that undertakes a response action may recover those response costs in law or an action in equity brought before a court of competent jurisdiction or may proceed under the provisions of subsection (d). Should more than one certified hazardous material response team incur response costs for the same hazardous material release or incident, the organizing entities of those certified hazardous material response teams may file a joint action in law or equity and may designate one entity to represent the others in the law suit.
(b) Amount.--In an action to recover response costs, a Commonwealth agency, local agency, regional hazardous material organization, supporting paid or volunteer emergency service organization, or a hazardous material transporter, manufacturer, supplier or user may include operational, administrative personnel and legal costs incurred from its initial response action up to the time that it recovers its costs. Only those certified hazardous material response teams and supporting paid or volunteer emergency service organizations that are properly trained in accordance with the standards developed under this act and that are properly requested and dispatched by a legally constituted authority shall be eligible to recover their response costs under this act.
(1) In lieu of bringing an action at law or in equity in a court of competent jurisdiction in the matter of a response cost dispute under subsection (a), the party who is the person who caused a release of a hazardous material and the party who is the certified hazardous material response team, including any volunteer emergency service organizations requested and dispatched by a legally constituted authority, may agree to submit the response cost dispute to binding arbitration as provided in this subsection. By submitting the response cost dispute to arbitration, the parties shall have waived all rights to remedies available under subsection (a) or to any other remedies available at law.
(2) Once the parties agree to submit the response cost dispute to binding arbitration, the local committee shall notify the council and the parties of the request for a board of arbitration and shall request the recommendation of the parties for persons to be appointed to the board. The board of arbitration shall consist of three persons, one to be selected by each of the parties and a third person to be agreed upon by the arbitrators as specified in paragraph (3). Within five days of the request for arbitration, the parties shall submit the names of the arbitrators that they have chosen and the local committee shall appoint those persons to the board of arbitration.
(4) If the two arbitrators fail to select a third arbitrator as provided in paragraph (3), the council shall, within five days, select a third arbitrator who shall be appointed to the board. The person so selected shall not be a member of the council, a member of any local committee or a person or a relative of a person employed by the party or a subsidiary of the party who caused the hazardous material release or who has an ownership or equity interest in the party or subsidiary of the party who caused the hazardous material release.
Credits
1990, Dec. 7, P.L. 639, No. 165, § 210, effective in 60 days. Amended 2000, Dec. 20, P.L. 885, No. 121, § 1, effective in 60 days.
35 P.S. § 6022.210, PA ST 35 P.S. § 6022.210
Current through the end of the 2023 Regular Session. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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