§2205. Hazardous Waste Site Cleanup Fund

            A.(1) All sums recovered through judgments, settlements, assessments of civil or criminal penalties, funds recovered by suit or settlement from potentially responsible parties for active or abandoned site remediation or cleanup, or otherwise under this Subtitle, or other applicable law, each fiscal year for violation of this Subtitle, shall be paid into the state treasury and shall be credited to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund. After a sufficient amount is allocated from that fund to pay all obligations secured by the full faith and credit of the state which become due and payable within any fiscal year, the treasurer, prior to placing such remaining funds in the state general fund, shall pay into a special fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury and designated as the "Hazardous Waste Site Cleanup Fund", all of those funds generated by the hazardous waste tax under the provisions of Chapter 7-A of Subtitle II of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 and the sums recovered through all judgments, settlements, assessments of civil or criminal penalties, fees and oversight costs received from potentially responsible parties for the department's work in overseeing of assessment and remediation at inactive or abandoned sites, funds recovered by suit or settlement from potentially responsible parties for active or abandoned site remediation or cleanup, or otherwise, for violation of this Subtitle, except as provided in R.S. 30:2025 and 2198; however, the balance in the fund shall not exceed six million dollars at any time and upon the accumulation of six million dollars in the fund, the treasurer shall pay all remaining sums provided for in this Subsection into the Environmental Trust Dedicated Fund Account, R.S. 30:2015.

            (2) The Hazardous Waste Site Cleanup Fund, hereinafter referred to as the "Site Cleanup Fund", shall additionally consist of all funds designated to that fund and received by donation, grant, gift, or otherwise from any source and sums appropriated specifically to it by the legislature and any other allocations made directly to it, including reimbursements for restoration of the environment damaged by a hazardous waste site.

            B. Any grants or allocations made to the state of Louisiana from the United States government for the purposes of investigation, analysis, containment, or cleanup of hazardous waste sites shall be paid directly into the Site Cleanup Fund to be used for that purpose.

            C. The secretary shall administer the Site Cleanup Fund and shall make disbursements from the fund for all necessary and appropriate expenditures, including the operating expenses of the inactive and abandoned sites activities. Disbursements shall be made upon sufficient proof of services rendered and materials or equipment used or expended. For both the design and conduct of remedial actions, including cleanup at hazardous waste sites, the secretary shall select an appropriate action based on cost effectiveness that also meets the requirement that any exposure or potential exposure to hazardous wastes present at the site is reduced to such level as not to pose any significant threat to public health or the environment.

            D. The monies in the Site Cleanup Fund shall be used to defray the cost of investigation, testing, containment, control, and cleanup of hazardous waste sites, to provide money or services as the state share of matching funds for federal grants, to defray the cost of securing and quarantining hazardous waste sites, including the acquisition of rights-of-way, easements, or title when necessary, and to pay the operating expenses of the inactive and abandoned sites activities. In addition, the monies in the fund may be used to defray assessment, cleanup, and associated costs of nonhazardous waste sites determined to be priority sites by the secretary in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the department. Interest earned through investment of the fund capital shall be credited to the Hazardous Waste Site Cleanup Fund.

            E. In cases where monies from the Site Cleanup Fund are expended, the attorney general may institute a civil action to recover from the responsible persons all such monies expended from the Site Cleanup Fund. If the secretary requests that the attorney general institute a civil action to recover monies expended from the Site Cleanup Fund, and the attorney general declines to institute such action or does not respond within sixty days of such request agreeing to institute a civil action, an attorney from the department may, with the concurrence of the attorney general, institute a civil action to recover monies expended from the fund. Any monies recovered shall be paid into the Hazardous Waste Site Cleanup Fund.

            F. The state shall have a lien or privilege against the immovable property for monies expended from the Site Cleanup Fund on the immovable property. The lien may be perfected against such property by filing a notice of lien containing the name of the current record owner and the legal description of the immovable property in the mortgage records of the parish in which the immovable property is located. Except as provided in this Subsection, the lien of the state, through the department, shall have priority in rank over all other privileges, liens, encumbrances, or other security interests affecting the property. As to all privileges, liens, encumbrances, or other security interests affecting the property that are filed or otherwise perfected before the filing of the notice of lien of the state authorized by this Section, such prior recorded security interests shall have priority over the state lien, but only to the extent of the fair market value that the property had prior to closure, assessment, or remedial action by the state, and prior recorded security interests shall be subordinate to the state lien for any amount in excess of the fair market value of the property prior to such closure, assessment, or remediation.

            Acts 1983, No. 97, §1, eff. Feb. 1, 1984; Acts 1983, No. 467, §1, eff. July 6, 1983; Acts 1984, No. 674, §1; Acts 1985, No. 331, §1, eff. July 9, 1985; Acts 1986, No. 941, §1, eff. July 11, 1986; Acts 1986, No. 943, §2, eff. July 11, 1986; Acts 1987, No. 799, §§2, 3, eff. July 20, 1987; Acts 1989, No. 392, §1, eff. June 30, 1989; H.C.R. No. 8, 1989 2nd Ex. Sess.; Acts 1990, No. 974, §1, eff. July 1, 1990; Acts 1995, No. 689, §1; Acts 1997, No. 27, §1; Acts 1997, No. 755, §1, eff. July 1, 1998; Acts 1999, No. 505, §1, eff. June 29, 1999; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 93, §1, eff. April 18, 2002; Acts 2018, No. 612, §9, eff. July 1, 2020; Acts 2019, No. 85, §1; Acts 2019, No. 404, §1, eff. July 1, 2020.

{{NOTE: ACTS 1990, NO. 974, §4, TERMINATED ON SEPT. 7, 1990. SEE ACTS 1990, NO. 1001, §2.}}