42 U.S.C. § 9624: Methane recovery

Summary

If a facility has equipment to recover or process methane (including systems that recirculate condensate), the person who owns or runs that equipment is not treated as the facility’s owner or operator under this law. That person is not considered to have arranged for disposal or treatment of hazardous substances at the facility and is not subject to the usual legal actions against facility owners or operators. Those protections stop if a hazardous release or threat was mainly caused by the equipment owner’s or operator’s actions, or if that person would otherwise be considered a responsible party for that release under the law. In the first case, the equipment owner or operator must pay only for the costs or damages that their actions mainly caused.

Title 42, §9624

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

In the case of a facility at which equipment for the recovery or processing (including recirculation of condensate) of methane has been installed, for purposes of this chapter:

(1)The owner or operator of such equipment shall not be considered an “owner or operator”, as defined in section 9601(20) of this title, with respect to such facility.

(2)The owner or operator of such equipment shall not be considered to have arranged for disposal or treatment of any hazardous substance at such facility pursuant to section 9607 of this title.

(3)The owner or operator of such equipment shall not be subject to any action under section 9606 of this title with respect to such facility.

(b)Exceptions

Subsection (a) does not apply with respect to a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance from a facility described in subsection (a) if either of the following circumstances exist:

(1)The release or threatened release was primarily caused by activities of the owner or operator of the equipment described in subsection (a).

(2)The owner or operator of such equipment would be covered by paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (a) of section 9607 of this title with respect to such release or threatened release if he were not the owner or operator of such equipment.

In the case of any release or threatened release referred to in paragraph (1), the owner or operator of the equipment described in subsection (a) shall be liable under this chapter only for costs or damages primarily caused by the activities of such owner or operator.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 96–510, Dec. 11, 1980, 94 Stat. 2767, known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 9601 of this title and Tables.

§9624 Methane Recovery