Sec. 151. (a) "Owner or operator", for purposes of IC 13-24-1, means the following:

(1) For a petroleum facility, a person who owns or operates the facility.

(2) For a petroleum facility where title or control has been conveyed because of:

(A) bankruptcy;

(B) foreclosure;

(C) tax delinquency, including a conveyance under IC 6-1.1-24 or IC 6-1.1-25;

(D) abandonment;

(E) the exercise of eminent domain, including any purchase of property once an offer to purchase has been tendered under IC 32-24-1-5;

(F) receivership;

(G) acquiring an area needing redevelopment (as defined in IC 36-7-1-3) or conducting redevelopment activities, specifically under IC 36-7-14-22.2, IC 36-7-14-22.5, IC 36-7-15.1-15.1, IC 36-7-15.1-15.2, and IC 36-7-15.1-15.5;

(H) other circumstances in which a political subdivision (as defined in IC 36-1-2-13) or unit of federal or state government involuntarily acquired title or control because of the political subdivision's or unit's function as sovereign; or

(I) any other means to conduct remedial actions on a brownfield;

to a political subdivision or unit of federal or state government, a person who owned, operated, or otherwise controlled the petroleum facility immediately before title or control was conveyed.

(b) Subject to subsection (c), the term does not include a political subdivision or unit of federal or state government that acquired ownership or control of the facility through:

(1) bankruptcy;

(2) foreclosure;

(3) tax delinquency, including an acquisition under IC 6-1.1-24 or IC 6-1.1-25;

(4) abandonment;

(5) the exercise of eminent domain, including any purchase of property once an offer to purchase has been tendered under IC 32-24-1-5;

(6) receivership;

(7) transfer from another political subdivision or unit of federal or state government;

(8) acquiring an area needing redevelopment (as defined in IC 36-7-1-3) or conducting redevelopment activities, specifically under IC 36-7-14-22.2, IC 36-7-14-22.5, IC 36-7-15.1-15.1, IC 36-7-15.1-15.2, and IC 36-7-15.1-15.5;

(9) other circumstances in which the political subdivision or unit of federal or state government involuntarily acquired ownership or control because of the political subdivision's or unit's function as sovereign; or

(10) any other means to conduct remedial actions on a brownfield.

(c) The term includes a political subdivision or unit of federal or state government that causes or contributes to the release or threatened release of a regulated substance, in which case the political subdivision or unit of federal or state government is subject to IC 13-24-1:

(1) in the same manner; and

(2) to the same extent;

as a nongovernmental entity under IC 13-24-1.

(d) The term does not include a person who:

(1) does not participate in the management of a petroleum facility;

(2) is otherwise not engaged in the:

(A) production;

(B) refining; and

(C) marketing;

of petroleum; and

(3) holds evidence of ownership in a petroleum facility, primarily to protect the owner's security interest in the petroleum facility.

(e) The term does not include a person that is a lender that did not participate in management of a petroleum facility before foreclosure, notwithstanding that the person:

(1) forecloses on the petroleum facility; and

(2) after foreclosure, sells, re-leases (in the case of a lease finance transaction), or liquidates the petroleum facility, maintains business activities, winds up operations, undertakes a response action under Section 107(d)(1) of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9607(d)(1)) or under the direction of an on-scene coordinator appointed under the National Contingency Plan with respect to the petroleum facility, or takes any other measure to preserve, protect, or prepare the petroleum facility prior to sale or disposition;

if the person seeks to sell, re-lease (in the case of a lease finance transaction), or otherwise divest the person of the petroleum facility at the earliest practicable, commercially reasonable time, on commercially reasonable terms, taking into account market conditions and legal and regulatory requirements.

(f) The term does not include a nonprofit corporation that acquired ownership or control of a facility to assist and support a political subdivision's revitalization and reuse of a brownfield for noncommercial purposes, including conservation, preservation, and recreation, unless the nonprofit corporation causes or contributes to the release or threatened release of a regulated substance, in which case the nonprofit corporation is subject to IC 13-24-1 in the same manner and to the same extent as any other nongovernmental entity under IC 13-24-1.

(g) The term does not include a person that after June 30, 2009, meets, for purposes of the determination under IC 13-24-1 of liability for a release of petroleum, the exemption criteria under Section 107(q) of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9607(q)) that apply for purposes of the determination of liability for a release of a hazardous substance.

(h) The term does not include a person that meets, for purposes of the determination under IC 13-24-1 of liability for a release of petroleum, the exemption criteria under Section 107(r) of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9607(r)) that apply for purposes of the determination of liability for a release of a hazardous substance, except that the person acquires ownership of the facility after June 30, 2009.

[Pre-1996 Recodification Citation: 13-7-20.1-3.]

As added by P.L.1-1996, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.90-1998, SEC.8; P.L.208-2005, SEC.11; P.L.221-2007, SEC.5; P.L.78-2009, SEC.7; P.L.159-2011, SEC.6.