(a) A person who is a response action contractor with respect to a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance other than oil whose acts or omissions are not contrary to a response plan or order by a state or federal agency having jurisdiction over the release or threatened release is not civilly liable for injuries, costs, damages, expenses, or other liability that results from the release or threatened release unless the release or threatened release is caused by an act or omission of the response action contractor that is negligent or grossly negligent or constitutes intentional misconduct. To show negligence by a response action contractor, a claimant must show that the acts or omissions of the contractor under the response action contract were not in accordance with generally accepted professional standards and practices at the time the response action services were performed.
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Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 46.03.823

  • action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust, or society, as well as a natural person. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • state: means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
(b) The liability limitation under (a) of this section

(1) does not apply to a response action contractor who would otherwise be liable for the release or threatened release under state or federal law even if that person had not carried out a response action with respect to the release or threatened release; and
(2) does apply only to releases for which notification to the department was provided and received in the manner prescribed under state law.
(c) The defense provided in Alaska Stat. § 46.03.822(b)(1)(B) is not available to a potentially liable person with respect to costs or damages caused by an act or omission of a response action contractor.
(d) Except as provided in (c) of this section, this section does not affect the liability under this chapter or under any other state law of a person other than a response action contractor.
(e) This section does not affect the liability of a response action contractor that may arise from the response action contractor’s failure to comply with the terms or conditions of a

(1) response action contract or a remedial action plan if one has been approved by the department; or
(2) contingency plan approved by the department where the response action contractor is the plan holder.
(f) This section does not affect the liability of an employer who is a response action contractor with respect to an employee of the employer under any provision of law, including a law related to workers’ compensation.
(g) In this section, “response action” means an action taken in connection with the mitigation or cleanup of a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance other than oil, including investigation, evaluation, plan development, mapping and surveying, engineering, design and construction, removal, and equipment provision.
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