Senate Bill No. 459, introduced by Senator Seabaugh, amends Louisiana's laws concerning the remediation of oilfield and exploration sites. The bill changes the terminology from "admission of liability" to "admission of responsibility," requiring responsible parties to create a remediation plan that adheres to regulatory standards. It allows the department to consider the Risk Evaluation and Corrective Action Plan (RECAP) and other exceptions to Statewide Order 29-B without needing landowner consent. The court is required to adopt the department's approved plan as the "most feasible plan" unless there is clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. Additionally, the bill outlines that responsible parties can directly pay for the remediation plan's implementation and recover reasonable attorney fees and costs if they provide evidence in civil actions related to environmental damage.

The legislation also introduces changes to the financial responsibilities of parties involved in environmental damage cases. Once a trial court adopts the most feasible plan, parties that admit responsibility or are found legally responsible will not incur further attorney fees or costs related to the remediation process. Conversely, defendants found not responsible can recover reasonable attorney fees and costs from the plaintiff. The bill extends the timeline for providing environmental testing results from ten to thirty days and clarifies that damages for nonremediation will be limited to the market value of the impacted property. It also mandates that awards related to the most feasible plan must be paid into the court registry, while awards for additional remediation or nonremediation damages do not require such deposits. Overall, these amendments aim to streamline the remediation process and clarify the financial obligations of the involved parties.

Statutes affected:
SB459 Original: 30:29(C)(1), 30:29(M)(1)
SB459 Engrossed: 30:29(C)(1), 30:29(M)(1)