DE HB367

Expands the definition of "facility" to include locations that previously contained underground storage tanks, and adds new definitions for "corrective action," "fiduciary," "foreclosure," and "lender" to clarify liability protections.

Establishes strict joint and several liability for responsible parties who own, operate, or have owned/operated facilities with underground storage tanks, regardless of whether they caused the release, effective January 1, 2016.

Provides liability defenses for responsible parties based on acts of God, acts of war, or third-party acts, and exempts parties who conducted proper environmental site assessments before acquiring contaminated facilities.

Increases financial responsibility requirements to $1,000,000 per occurrence for petroleum marketing facilities and $500,000 for other systems, plus annual aggregates of $1,000,000-$2,000,000 depending on the number of tanks operated.

Grants the Department authority to enter facilities and adjacent property to investigate, remove regulated substances, and perform corrective actions, with authorization to petition Superior Court for access to third-party properties and pursue cost recovery against responsible parties.