Minnesota Statutes 114E.50 – Enforcement of Environmental Covenant
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 114E.50
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- state: extends to and includes the District of Columbia and the several territories. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
(a) A civil action for injunctive or other equitable relief for violation of an environmental covenant may be maintained by:
(1) a party to the covenant, including all holders;
(2) the environmental agency that signed the covenant;
(3) any person to whom the covenant expressly grants power to enforce;
(4) a person whose interest in the real property or whose collateral or liability may be affected by the alleged violation of the covenant; or
(5) a political subdivision in which the real property subject to the covenant is located.
(b) The state environmental agency that signed the covenant may use any remedy or enforcement measure provided in section 115.071, subdivisions 3 to 5, or 116.072 to remedy violations of a covenant. This paragraph does not limit the state environmental agency from taking action to enforce the terms of a covenant against a person required to comply with the covenant in connection with that person’s obligation to perform response actions or as a condition of receiving a liability assurance with respect to a release or threatened release of contaminants.
(c) This chapter does not limit the regulatory authority of the environmental agency under law other than this chapter with respect to an environmental response project.
(d) A person is not responsible for or subject to liability arising from a release or threatened release of contamination into the environment, or for remediation costs attendant thereto, solely because it has signed, holds rights to, or otherwise has the right to enforce an environmental covenant.