Oregon Statutes 475C.459 – Cleanup of waste from certain real property; public nuisance; city or county lien
(1) As used in this section:
Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 475C.459
- City: includes any incorporated village or town. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
- 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.
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- local government: means all cities, counties and local service districts located in this state, and all administrative subdivisions of those cities, counties and local service districts. See Oregon Statutes 174.116
- Person: includes individuals, corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint stock companies. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
(a) ‘Cleanup’ means the removal, disposal and remediation, by an owner or an agent of an owner, of waste from a site in conformance with applicable law.
(b) ‘Cleanup costs’ means reasonable costs that are associated with or attributable to cleanup.
(c) ‘Law enforcement agency’ has the meaning given that term in ORS § 181A.010.
(d)(A) ‘Owner’ means a person who owns the real property where a site is located.
(B) ‘Owner’ does not include a person who, without participating in the management of the site, holds indicia of ownership primarily to protect a security interest in the real property.
(e) ‘Site’ means the location where the unlawful manufacture of a marijuana item, as described in ORS § 475C.349, or the unlawful production of marijuana, as described in ORS § 475C.379, occurred or is alleged to have occurred.
(f) ‘Waste’ means:
(A) Marijuana flowers, marijuana leaves, marijuana plants and any parts of marijuana plants;
(B) Any items or materials used for an irrigation system if used to facilitate the unlawful manufacture of marijuana items or unlawful production of marijuana, unless:
(i) The site where the items or materials are located was leased to a third party that was responsible for the unlawful manufacture of marijuana items or unlawful production of marijuana;
(ii) The items or materials are the property of the owner; and
(iii) The owner elects to retain ownership and properly store the items or materials;
(C) Greenhouses, hoop houses and other structures used to facilitate the unlawful manufacture of marijuana items or unlawful production of marijuana, unless:
(i) The site where the greenhouses, hoop houses or other structures are located was leased to a third party that was responsible for the unlawful manufacture of marijuana items or unlawful production of marijuana;
(ii) The greenhouses, hoop houses or other structures are the property of the owner and are agricultural buildings, as defined in ORS § 455.315, that are allowed on the real property; and
(iii) The owner elects to retain ownership and properly care for the greenhouses, hoop houses or other structures; and
(D) Any material or substance designated as chemical by the Environmental Quality Commission under ORS § 475.425 used to facilitate the unlawful manufacture of marijuana items or unlawful production of marijuana, unless:
(i) The site where the material or substance is located was leased to a third party that was responsible for the unlawful manufacture of marijuana items or unlawful production of marijuana;
(ii) The material or substance is the property of the owner; and
(iii) The owner elects to retain ownership and properly store the material or substance.
(2) Upon receiving written notification from a law enforcement agency that a site contains waste, the owner shall promptly undertake any cleanup of the site. The owner may contract with a third party for all or part of the cleanup.
(3) It is a public nuisance, which may be abated pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, if the owner of a site described in subsection (2) of this section fails to complete cleanup of the site within 30 days of the date on which the owner receives the notification described in subsection (2) of this section.
(4) In order to abate a public nuisance described in subsection (3) of this section, the city or county that has jurisdiction over the real property where a site described in subsection (2) of this section is located may maintain civil proceedings in courts of this state against the owner described in subsection (3) of this section to:
(a) Enforce the requirements of subsection (2) of this section;
(b) Authorize the city or county to conduct cleanup and subject the real property where the site is located to a lien for cleanup costs; and
(c) Enjoin any further violation of ORS § 475C.349 or 475C.379.
(5) A court may allow the prevailing party reasonable attorney fees and expenses in a proceeding described in subsection (4) of this section.
(6)(a) The remedies described in subsection (4) of this section are in addition to any other remedies available to the governing body of a city or county that has jurisdiction over the real property where a site is located.
(b) Nothing in this section requires the governing body of a city or county to avail itself of a remedy allowed by this section or by any other law.
(7)(a) The governing body of a city or county described in subsection (4) of this section may, at its discretion, file a claim of lien on real property where a site described in subsection (2) of this section is located. The governing body of the city or county shall file written notice of claim of lien with the recording officer of each county in which the real property where a site described in subsection (2) of this section is located. All cleanup costs incurred by the city or county under subsection (4)(b) of this section shall constitute the lien. The lien must contain the name of the owner of the real property to which the lien is attached and a description of the real property sufficient to accurately identify the real property. The lien shall attach and become enforceable on the day of the filing described in this subsection.
(b) A lien described in this subsection shall be foreclosed in the manner provided in ORS Chapter 88.
(c) A lien described in this subsection shall have priority over any claim of the state under ORS § 166.715 to 166.735 or any local government forfeiture ordinance or regulation.
(8) Nothing in this section shall affect the right of the governing body of a city or county to bring an action against any person to recover all costs and damages for which the person is liable under this section. [2023 c.209 § 2]
(Powers and Duties of State Agencies and Officers and Governor)