84R23715 JRR-F
By: Pickett H.B. No. 1642
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1642:
By: Rodriguez of Travis C.S.H.B. No. 1642
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the rights, remedies, and liability of certain owners
and operators of environmentally contaminated property in certain
counties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 16.003(a), Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Sections 16.010, 16.0031,
16.0032, and 16.0045, a person must bring suit for trespass for
injury to the estate or to the property of another, conversion of
personal property, taking or detaining the personal property of
another, personal injury, forcible entry and detainer, and forcible
detainer not later than two years after the day the cause of action
accrues.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.