§3198.1. Duties of governmental entities; contaminated property

A. Whenever a state or local law enforcement agency becomes aware that residential real property has been contaminated by its use as a clandestine methamphetamine drug lab, the agency shall report the contamination to the Department of Environmental Quality, hereinafter referred to as the "department", and to the local sheriff's office.

B. The department shall maintain a listing of residential real property that has been reported as contaminated, and the list shall be made available to the public through a website.

C. If property that is listed as contaminated on the department's website is subsequently seized and sold at a sheriff's sale, the sheriff shall provide notice to all bidders present at the time the sheriff's sale is conducted.

D. The department may promulgate rules and regulations in order to adopt standards for remediating properties contaminated by clandestine methamphetamine drug labs.

E. Upon confirmation by the department that property has been properly remediated to its established standards, the department shall remove the property from the list required in Subsection B of this Section. The department shall provide written notification to the local sheriff and the property owner of record when the documentation shows that the property has been properly remediated.

F. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, once the property has been removed from the list required in Subsection B of this Section, the property owner is not required to report or otherwise disclose the past contamination as required in R.S. 9:3198(A)(2)(b).

G. Failure to comply with the provisions of this Section shall not create a cause of action against a governmental entity or the property owner, the owner's agent, the mortgagee, or other person with an interest in the property.

Acts 2008, No. 681, §1.