House Bill 4557 Summary

• Requires owners of industrial property to maintain environmental contamination insurance covering claims arising from occurrences during their ownership and after the policy effective date, provided by an insurer authorized by the commissioner.

• Mandates owners submit a certificate of insurance and certified copy of the policy to the department of environmental quality within 120 days of rule promulgation or ownership acquisition, whichever is later.

• Requires insurers to withhold settlement or judgment amounts from environmental contamination claims and notify the municipality, which may request the withheld funds be placed in a trust or escrow account if the claim equals or exceeds 50% of the insurance coverage amount or if the department certifies response activities will exceed that threshold.

• Establishes a process allowing municipalities to receive and manage withheld insurance proceeds for environmental response activities, with provisions for returning unused funds to the insured and for insured objections to municipal retention.

• Applies only to municipalities that adopt the program by resolution and notify the commissioner in writing, with the insurance commissioner maintaining and distributing a list of participating municipalities to all insurers.