Cities and counties can seek cleanup reimbursement for contaminated homes

Cities and counties may seek reimbursement after acquiring a contaminated residential home at fair market value and removing it. The process covers homes contaminated by a substance that includes or relates to brine or oil and serious environmental emergencies, including new or ongoing emergencies. The city or county must begin the acquisition process before requesting reimbursement. The property’s fair market value must reflect its condition before the environmental emergency and use the greater of the county assessor’s latest valuation or a recent comparable-sales analysis. The city or county must file an application with the Corporation Commission, which decides eligibility after considering the evidence. The application has no filing fee, and the Commission may hold a hearing with or without notice. The process applies after the city or county begins acquiring the home and before it requests reimbursement; the emergency clause states that the act takes effect after passage and approval.

Homeowners must pursue available insurance and damage claims in good faith and may be held personally liable for failing to do so or for failing to repay the fund. These duties apply to homeowners connected to a property for which the Remediation Assistance Revolving Fund provides assistance. The homeowner must list the fund as the primary creditor or beneficiary, or both, for claim payments. The homeowner must provide claim copies to the Corporation Commission when requested. Payments received for losses other than damaged personal property must be repaid to the fund. The Attorney General must bring an Oklahoma County district court action to enforce compliance or seek repayment. The duties apply during the claims process and after payments are received; personal liability applies when repayment or good-faith claim requirements are not met.

The state maintains a Remediation Assistance Revolving Fund to pay for the cleanup assistance described in the act. The fund is administered by the Corporation Commission, with the Department of Environmental Quality also able to spend money for the stated remediation purposes. The fund may receive donations, contributions, gifts, and legislative appropriations designated for it. Money in the fund is available for remediation assistance under the home-removal process. If an emergency is found not to involve brine or oil, or is a naturally occurring breakout, the matter goes to the Department of Environmental Quality. The fund reimburses the Department’s cleanup costs only when no other eligible funding source is available. The fund operates without fiscal-year limits, and the act states that its provisions take effect after passage and approval under the emergency clause.