Title 23, Title 23 and Safety

(a) The head of any department or state agency with authority to undertake a response action under this chapter may consider, compromise, and settle a claim for costs incurred by their department or agency. (b) Cost recovery actions may include, upon recommendation by the economi…

(a) At any site where there are unrecovered response cost and/or additional remedial actions required, the state may place a lien upon the site for the unrecovered costs or outstanding actions. The maximum amount of the windfall lien may not exceed the total of the unrecovered re…

(a) Any lien imposed under the authority of this chapter shall be subject to the rights of any purchaser, holder of a security interest, or judgment lien creditor whose interest is perfected under applicable state law before notice of the lien has been filed in the appropriate of…

(a) Any responsible party who fails, without sufficient cause, to properly provide for removal or remedial action pursuant to a final order of the director of the department of environmental management may be liable to the state for punitive damages in an amount at least equal to…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the state from subrogating its authority to pursue cost recovery or assess punitive damages as part of a settlement action.

(a) The director of the department of environmental management is authorized to exercise all powers, direct and incidental, necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. The director of the department of environmental management may adopt any plans, rules, regulations, fee…

The provisions of this chapter shall be construed liberally to effectuate its purposes. If any provision of this chapter or of any rule, regulation, or determination made under this chapter, or the application thereof to any person, agency, or circumstances, is held invalid by a …

It shall be the policy of this state to assure that: (1) Activities are taken to control and eliminate contamination at industrial properties that are fair, consistent, and compatible with the current and reasonably foreseeable future use of the property; (2) Environmental barrie…

(1) “40 C.F.R.” means that section or subsection of the code of federal regulations, title 40, protection of environment, chapter 1, environmental protection agency. References to the administrator, appearing therein, shall be interpreted as referring to the director of the depar…

(a) The department of environmental management will develop, maintain and publish numerical objectives for the most commonly found hazardous substances. These objectives will be applicable for the clean-up of contaminated properties to levels which are protective of human health …

(a) The department of environmental management shall consider the effects that clean-ups would have on the populations surrounding each site and shall consider the issues of environmental equity for low income and racial minority populations. The department of environmental manag…

The department of environmental management shall provide for the coordination of the brownfield program, including consolidation of applications and hearing procedures for brownfield properties internally and across state agencies, the creation and maintenance of a consolidated a…

Any registered professional engineer who is employed, retained and/or otherwise acting on behalf of a municipality of this state may enter, examine or survey, at any reasonable time, such places and real property which is either owned by a municipality or real property in which t…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision or rule of law, and subject only to the defenses presented in § 23-19.14-7, the state reaffirms the applicable provisions of 19.1 of this title, § 42-17.1-2, chapter 12 and chapter 13.1 of title 46 and defines the following parties as respo…

Responsible parties for releases of petroleum are defined as all parties who are otherwise liable for an actual or threatened release of petroleum under any other applicable statute, rule, or common law. This section shall neither be construed as establishing new liabilities or o…

The following parties are not responsible parties and shall not be held liable for costs or damages associated with a release of hazardous material and/or petroleum: (1) Persons otherwise liable who can establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the release, or threat of r…

In addition to exemption from liability provided for in § 23-19.14-7, for sites on which a remedial decision letter has been issued, the state may enter into a remedial agreement that includes a covenant not to sue and contribution protection and that describes the agreed remedia…

(a) A person who is not otherwise defined as a responsible party under § 23-19.14-6 and/or § 23-19.14-6.1 will not become a responsible party if that person voluntarily undertakes and completes response actions under a remedial action plan approved by the department of environmen…

Upon application, the executive director of the Rhode Island economic development corporation may certify Brownfield sites as properties of critical economic concern, as defined by § 42-117-3(3). These properties of critical economic concern shall be entitled to the benefits of c…