Ohio Code 3746.02 – Exemptions
(A) Nothing in this chapter applies to any of the following:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 3746.02
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Hazardous substance: includes all of the following:
(1) Any substance identified or listed in rules adopted under division (B)(1)(c) of section 3750. See Ohio Code 3746.01
- Owner or operator: includes both of the following:
(1) Any person owning or holding a legal, equitable, or possessory interest in or having responsibility for the daily activities on a property;
(2) In the case of property title or control of which was conveyed due to bankruptcy, foreclosure, tax delinquency, abandonment, or similar means to this state or a political subdivision of this state, any person who owned, operated, or otherwise controlled activities occurring on the property before the conveyance. See Ohio Code 3746.01
- Person: means any person as defined in section 1. See Ohio Code 3746.01
- Petroleum: means oil or petroleum of any kind and in any form, including, without limitation, crude oil or any fraction thereof, petroleum, gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, oil sludge, oil refuse, used oil, substances or additives utilized in the refining or blending of crude petroleum or petroleum stock, natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, synthetic gas usable for fuel, and mixtures of natural gas and synthetic gas. See Ohio Code 3746.01
- Property: means real and personal property. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Release: means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, migrating, dumping, or disposing of any hazardous substance or petroleum into the environment, including, without limitation, the abandonment or discarding of barrels, containers, or any other closed receptacle containing any hazardous substance, petroleum, or pollutant or contaminant. See Ohio Code 3746.01
- Voluntary action: means a series of measures that may be undertaken to identify and address potential sources of contamination of property by hazardous substances or petroleum and to establish that the property complies with applicable standards. See Ohio Code 3746.01
(1) Property for which a voluntary action under this chapter is precluded by federal law or regulations adopted under federal law, including, without limitation, any of the following federal laws or regulations adopted thereunder:
(a) The “Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972,” 86 Stat. 886, 33 U.S.C.A. 1251, as amended;
(b) The “Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976,” 90 Stat. 2806, 42 U.S.C.A. 6921, as amended;
(c) The “Toxic Substances Control Act,” 90 Stat. 2003 (1976), 15 U.S.C.A. 2601, as amended;
(d) The “Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980,” 94 Stat. 2779, 42 U.S.C.A. 9601, as amended;
(e) The “Safe Drinking Water Act,” 88 Stat. 1661 (1974), 42 U.S.C.A. 300(f), as amended.
(2) Those portions of property where closure of a hazardous waste facility or solid waste facility is required under Chapter 3734 of the Revised Code or rules adopted under it;
(3) Except as provided in division (A)(3) of section 3737.88 of the Revised Code, properties that are subject to rules adopted by the fire marshal under Chapter 3737 of the Revised Code pertaining to corrective actions as defined in section 3737.87 of the Revised Code;
(4) Property that is subject to Chapter 1509 of the Revised Code;
(5) Any other property if the director of environmental protection has issued a letter notifying the owner or operator of the property that the director will issue an enforcement order under Chapter 3704., 3734., or 6111. of the Revised Code, a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance or petroleum from or at the property poses a substantial threat to public health or safety or the environment, and either of the following applies:
(a) The person subject to the letter does not present sufficient evidence to the director that the person has entered into the voluntary action program under this chapter and is proceeding expeditiously to address that threat.
(b) The person cannot demonstrate the person is a bona fide prospective purchaser under section 3746.122 of the Revised Code.
For the purposes of this division, the evidence constituting sufficient evidence of entry into the voluntary action program under this chapter shall be defined by the director by rules adopted under section 3746.04 of the Revised Code.
(B) The application of any provision of division (A) of this section to a portion of property does not preclude participation in the voluntary action program under this chapter in connection with other portions of the property where those provisions do not apply.
(C) As used in this section, “property” means any parcel of real property, or portion thereof, and any improvements thereto.