2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 75. Environmental Protection › Chapter 10. Waste and Litter Control › Part 7. Remedial Action Upon Release of Hazardous Substance › 75-10-745. Allocation of liability -- process initiation

75-10-745. Allocation of liability -- process initiation.
(1) For a facility at which the department has initiated a remedial action under 75-10-711 through the issuance of a notice letter prior to July 1, 1997, any person determined to be potentially liable under 75-10-715 may petition the department in writing to initiate the allocation process. The right to participate in the allocation process is waived if the written petition is not provided to the department prior to the completion of remedial actions, except for operation and maintenance, at the facility.
(2) For a facility at which the department has not initiated a remedial action through the issuance of a notice letter under 75-10-711, any person potentially liable under 75-10-715 who has received approval of a voluntary cleanup plan under 75-10-730 through 75-10-738 may petition the department in writing to initiate the allocation process. The right to participate in the allocation process is waived if the written petition is not provided to the department prior to the completion of remedial actions, except for operation and maintenance, at the facility.
(3) For a facility at which the department initiates a remedial action through the issuance of a notice letter under 75-10-711 after July 1, 1997, any person potentially liable under 75-10-715 may petition the department in writing within 60 days of the date of the notice letter to initiate the allocation process. Any potentially liable person under 75-10-715 who does not provide a written petition to the department within this timeframe waives the right to participate in the allocation process and remains liable as provided in 75-10-715. The notice letter sent by the department must advise that a failure to petition the department for allocation as provided in this subsection will result in a waiver of the right to participate in the allocation process.
(4) The allocation process may be initiated and may proceed upon written petition of one or more potentially liable persons.
(5) Prior to the initiation of discovery as provided in 75-10-747, all persons who participate in the allocation process shall agree in writing that the allocator's decision is binding, subject only to the provisions of 75-10-750(9) and the appeal provisions of 75-10-751.
(6) All liable or potentially liable persons under 75-10-715 who do not participate in the allocation process under 75-10-742 through 75-10-751 remain liable as provided in 75-10-715.
(7) Upon receipt of a written petition under subsection (1) or (2) or when initiating actions at a facility without a prior notice letter under subsection (3), the department shall:
(a) make a diligent good faith effort to determine the identity of the person or persons liable for the release or threatened release; and
(b) issue notice letters to one or more of the persons it identifies as potentially liable under 75-10-715. If a person petitions the department to initiate the allocation process as provided for in subsection (8), the department shall issue notice letters or nomination letters pursuant to subsection (9) to the persons it identified as potentially liable under 75-10-715 who were not previously given notice.
(8) A person who receives a notice letter may, within 60 days from the date of the notice letter, petition the department in writing to participate in an allocation process and provide the department with the identity of other potentially liable persons under 75-10-715 who were not given notice by the department. When identifying additional potentially liable persons, the person given notice shall provide to the department a statement and credible evidence showing that there is a basis in law and fact to determine that the identified person is potentially liable under 75-10-715.
(9) Within 30 days of receipt of the information provided for in subsection (8), the department may issue a notice letter to an identified person whom the department determines is a potentially liable person under 75-10-715 or to a person whom the department identified in subsection (7) and who was not previously given notice. If the department does not issue a notice letter to an identified person, the department shall issue the person a nomination letter indicating that the person has been identified as potentially liable under 75-10-715. The nomination letter must state that the person has the right to participate in the allocation process and that if the person does not participate and is found liable, the person remains subject to liability as provided in 75-10-715. If the newly noticed or nominated person chooses to participate in the allocation process, the person shall provide a written petition of the person's intent to participate in the allocation process to the department within 30 days of the date of the notice or nomination letter. A failure to petition the department for allocation as provided in this subsection results in a waiver of the right to participate in the allocation process.
(10) If a person nominated under subsection (9) cannot be readily located, the department shall, within 30 days of receipt of the information provided for in subsection (8), publish one notice of the person's nomination, along with the information contained in a nomination letter under subsection (9), in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where all or a portion of the facility is located. The notice must state that the person has 30 days from the date of the notice to petition the department, in writing, to participate in the allocation process. A failure to petition the department for allocation as provided in this subsection results in a waiver of the right to participate in the allocation process.
(11) If one or more potentially liable persons petition in writing for an allocation process under subsection (1), (2), or (3) and the department determines that the facility has a potential orphan share, the department shall:
(a) publish a notice and brief description of the facility in a newspaper of general circulation in the area affected and provide at least 30 days for submission of public comment on the identification of potentially liable persons under 75-10-715; and
(b) notify interested persons and the county commissioners of each county in which all or a portion of the facility is located and provide at least 30 days for submission of comments on the identification of potentially liable persons under 75-10-715.
(12) If a nominated person participates in the allocation and the person is assigned a zero share of liability by the allocator, that person's reasonable costs of participating in the allocation, including attorney fees, must be borne by the person who proposed the addition of the nominated person to the allocation.
(13) If the department anticipates that a facility may have an orphan share, the department shall represent the orphan share in the allocation process. If the state is a potentially liable person under 75-10-715, an agency or entity other than the department shall represent the state in the allocation process.
(14) Except as provided in subsection (15), whenever the department is involved in allocation processes on five facilities, other allocation processes may be stayed before the discovery stage provided in 75-10-747. Upon completion of an allocation provided in 75-10-750 or 75-10-751, execution of a stipulated agreement under 75-10-750, or a default to liability as provided in 75-10-715 for one of the five facilities, the department shall notify the potentially liable persons for the facility on the waiting list that has the earliest date of written petition. Discovery under 75-10-747 must begin within 10 days of department notification.
(15) A stay on the allocation process may not occur under subsection (14) if all persons participating in the allocation process agree in writing that there is no orphan share and that the state is not a potentially liable person under 75-10-715. The agreement is binding upon all noticed or nominated persons.
(16) If, after initiating the process, a potentially liable person elects to discontinue participation in the process, the person remains subject to liability as provided in 75-10-715.
History: En. Sec. 15, Ch. 415, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 383, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 266, L. 2009.