§ 245.303. General requirements.
(a) For a corrective action required by this subchapter, the Department may do one or more of the following:
(1) Direct or order the responsible party to perform the corrective action.
(2) Perform the corrective action.
(3) Direct that the corrective action be performed by a third party.
(4) Seek other appropriate administrative or court ordered relief.
(b) For a corrective action required by this subchapter, the Department may collect or recover, from the responsible party, the Department’s costs and expenses involved in taking corrective action in accordance with this subchapter, authorizing a third party to take corrective action under this subchapter and initiating cost recovery actions under this subchapter. The Department may collect the amount in the same manner as civil penalties are collected under section 1307(b) of the act (35 P. S. § 6021.1307(b)).
(c) For corrective actions required by this subchapter, it will be presumed as a rebuttable presumption of law in civil and administrative proceedings that a person who owns or operates an aboveground or underground storage tank system is liable, without proof of fault, negligence or causation, for damage, contamination or pollution within 2,500 feet of the perimeter of the site of a storage tank system containing or which contained a regulated substance of the type which caused the damage, contamination or pollution. The presumption may be overcome by clear and convincing evidence that the person so charged did not contribute to the damage, contamination or pollution.
(d) To overcome the presumption of liability established in subsection (c), the owner or operator shall affirmatively prove, by clear and convincing evidence, one of the following:
(1) The damage, contamination or pollution existed prior to the use of a storage tank system at the facility to contain an accumulation of regulated substances, as determined by surveys of the site and within 2,500 feet of the perimeter of the storage tank system or facility.
(2) An adjacent landowner refused to allow the owner or operator of a storage tank system at a new facility access to property within 2,500 feet of the perimeter of a storage tank facility to conduct a survey.
(3) The damage, contamination or pollution was not within 2,500 feet of the perimeter of a storage tank system.
(4) The owner or operator did not contribute to the damage, contamination or pollution.
(e) The Department may waive or combine one or more of the requirements in this subchapter based on:
(1) The nature, extent, type, volume or complexity of the release, including a release to a containment structure or facility that is shown to be liquid-tight.
(2) The general characteristics of the site and the regulated substances which were released.
(3) The corrective action which occurred subsequent to the release.
(f) The Department’s acceptance or approval of an interim remedial action, site characterization, site characterization report, remedial action plan, remedial action or remedial action completion report, does not constitute and may not be construed as a release from civil or criminal liability in an administrative, civil or criminal proceeding.
Source The provisions of this § 245.303 amended December 21, 2018, effective December 22, 2018, 48 Pa.B. 7875. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (331041) to (331042).
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 245.1 (relating to definitions); 25 Pa. Code § 245.310 (relating to site characterization report); 25 Pa. Code § 245.311 (relating to remedial action plan); and 25 Pa. Code § 245.313 (relating to remedial action completion report).
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