A release from liability shall not be granted pursuant to Section 79880 unless all of the following conditions are met:
(a) A responsible party owner has entered into a stipulated settlement of an order issued by the department pursuant to Section 25187, 78870, or 79055 to perform the removal or remedial action at the site in accordance with the remedial action plan and has arranged financing, contingent only upon obtaining releases from potential liability pursuant to Section 79880, for the costs of performing the removal or remedial action.
(b) A responsible party owner agrees to pay all applicable oversight fees required by Section 79105 and to pay any additional costs that are recoverable pursuant to Section 79650.
(c) No person to be released from liability pursuant to Section 79880 is a responsible party or an affiliate of a responsible party, with respect to any hazardous substance release existing at the site at the time the release from liability is granted.
(d) The stipulated settlement requires the responsible party owner to provide irrevocable financial assurances for full performance of the remedial action plan. The financial assurances may consist of one or more of the financial assurance instruments described in Section 66264.143 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations. Upon the approval of the department, the forms of these instruments may be revised as appropriate to apply to the costs of performing the removal or remedial action specified in the remedial action plan.
(e) The director finds that the release from liability to be granted will promote the purposes and goals of this part and encourage private investment in property that is in need of remediation.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 257, Sec. 2. (AB 2293) Effective January 1, 2023. Operative January 1, 2024, pursuant to Sec. 4 of Stats. 2022, Ch. 257.)