(a) (1) The board may pay the cost of corrective actions and third-party compensation claims that are submitted as part of a joint claim filed on or before December 31, 2014, and that exceed the amount specified in subdivision (b), but do not exceed an amount equal to one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) per occurrence, for which an owner or operator named in the joint claim is eligible for reimbursement under this chapter.
(2) If a claim from a contributing site exceeds one million dollars ($1,000,000) for an occurrence, the board may only reimburse costs submitted pursuant to Section 25299.57 for those costs in excess of one million dollars ($1,000,000).
(3) If a joint claim is filed on or after January 1, 2015, the board may pay the cost of corrective actions and third-party compensation claims that are submitted as part of a joint claim and that exceed the amount specified in subdivision (b), but do not exceed an amount equal to one million dollars ($1,000,000) per occurrence, for which an owner or operator named in the joint claim is eligible for reimbursement under this chapter.
(b) For each joint claim, the board may only pay for the costs of corrective action and third-party compensation claims that exceed the aggregate of the levels of financial responsibility required pursuant to Section 25299.32 for each owner or operator named in the joint claim.
(c) The costs of corrective action determined eligible for reimbursement shall be paid before third-party compensation claims.
(d) Except as provided in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e), reimbursement for costs of corrective action is limited to costs incurred by the joint claimants after executing an agreement under paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 25299.93.
(e) Both of the following costs of corrective action incurred at a contributing site may be reimbursed in accordance with subdivision (f):
(1) Costs incurred by an owner or operator before executing an agreement described in paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 25299.93.
(2) Costs relating to unauthorized releases that do not contribute to the commingled plume, but which are included in the occurrence which is the subject of the joint claim.
(f) An owner or operator may seek reimbursement of costs described in subdivision (e) by doing either of the following:
(1) Including a payment request for those corrective action costs with the claim filed under this article.
(2) Filing a claim or maintaining an existing claim under Article 6 (commencing with Section 25299.50).
(g) Any reimbursement received pursuant to subdivision (f) and any amount excluded from the payment based on the amount of financial responsibility required to be maintained shall be applied toward the limitations prescribed in subdivision (a).
(h) The board shall not reimburse a claimant or joint claimant for any eligible costs for which the claimant or joint claimant has been, or will be, compensated by another party.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 547, Sec. 27. (SB 445) Effective September 25, 2014. Repealed as of January 1, 2026, pursuant to Section 25299.81.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018