To amend sections 123.01, 317.08, 3734.22, 3734.24 to 3734.26, 3737.88, 3737.882, 3745.01, 3746.01, 3746.04, 3746.05, 3746.10, 3746.11, 3746.13, 3746.14, and 3746.171 and to enact sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code to establish environmental covenants as an interest in real property generally arising under an environmental remediation or mitigation project that imposes activity and use limitations on the property, to require the recording of such covenants, and to establish other requirements regarding environmental covenants.

Section 1. That sections 123.01, 317.08, 3734.22, 3734.24, 3734.25, 3734.26, 3737.88, 3737.882, 3745.01, 3746.01, 3746.04, 3746.05, 3746.10, 3746.11, 3746.13, 3746.14, and 3746.171 be amended and sections 5301.80, 5301.81, 5301.82, 5301.83, 5301.84, 5301.85, 5301.86, 5301.87, 5301.88, 5301.89, 5301.90, 5301.91, and 5301.92 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 123.01.  (A) The department of administrative services, in addition to those powers enumerated in Chapters 124. and 125. of the Revised Code and provided elsewhere by law, shall exercise the following powers:

(1) To prepare, or contract to be prepared, by licensed engineers or architects, surveys, general and detailed plans, specifications, bills of materials, and estimates of cost for any projects, improvements, or public buildings to be constructed by state agencies that may be authorized by legislative appropriations or any other funds made available therefor, provided that the construction of the projects, improvements, or public buildings is a statutory duty of the department. This section does not require the independent employment of an architect or engineer as provided by section 153.01 of the Revised Code in the cases to which that section applies nor affect or alter the existing powers of the director of transportation.

(2) To have general supervision over the construction of any projects, improvements, or public buildings constructed for a state agency and over the inspection of materials previous to their incorporation into those projects, improvements, or buildings;

(3) To make contracts for and supervise the construction of any projects and improvements or the construction and repair of buildings under the control of a state agency, except contracts for the repair of buildings under the management and control of the departments of public safety, job and family services, mental health, mental retardation and developmental disabilities, rehabilitation and correction, and youth services, the bureau of workers' compensation, the rehabilitation services commission, and boards of trustees of educational and benevolent institutions. These contracts shall be made and entered into by the directors of public safety, job and family services, mental health, mental retardation and developmental disabilities, rehabilitation and correction, and youth services, the administrator of workers' compensation, the rehabilitation services commission, and the boards of trustees of such institutions, respectively. All such contracts may be in whole or in part on unit price basis of maximum estimated cost, with payment computed and made upon actual quantities or units.

(4) To prepare and suggest comprehensive plans for the development of grounds and buildings under the control of a state agency;

(5) To acquire, by purchase, gift, devise, lease, or grant, all real estate required by a state agency, in the exercise of which power the department may exercise the power of eminent domain, in the manner provided by sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code;

(6) To make and provide all plans, specifications, and models for the construction and perfection of all systems of sewerage, drainage, and plumbing for the state in connection with buildings and grounds under the control of a state agency;

(7) To erect, supervise, and maintain all public monuments and memorials erected by the state, except where the supervision and maintenance is otherwise provided by law;

(8) To procure, by lease, storage accommodations for a state agency;

(9) To lease or grant easements or licenses for unproductive and unused lands or other property under the control of a state agency. Such leases, easements, or licenses shall be granted for a period not to exceed fifteen years and shall be executed for the state by the director of administrative services and the governor and shall be approved as to form by the attorney general, provided that leases, easements, or licenses may be granted to any county, township, municipal corporation, port authority, water or sewer district, school district, library district, health district, park district, soil and water conservation district, conservancy district, or other political subdivision or taxing district, or any agency of the United States government, for the exclusive use of that agency, political subdivision, or taxing district, without any right of sublease or assignment, for a period not to exceed fifteen years, and provided that the director shall grant leases, easements, or licenses of university land for periods not to exceed twenty-five years for purposes approved by the respective university's board of trustees wherein the uses are compatible with the uses and needs of the university and may grant leases of university land for periods not to exceed forty years for purposes approved by the respective university's board of trustees pursuant to section 123.77 of the Revised Code.

(10) To lease office space in buildings for the use of a state agency;

(11) To have general supervision and care of the storerooms, offices, and buildings leased for the use of a state agency;

(12) To exercise general custodial care of all real property of the state;

(13) To assign and group together state offices in any city in the state and to establish, in cooperation with the state agencies involved, rules governing space requirements for office or storage use;

(14) To lease for a period not to exceed forty years, pursuant to a contract providing for the construction thereof under a lease-purchase plan, buildings, structures, and other improvements for any public purpose, and, in conjunction therewith, to grant leases, easements, or licenses for lands under the control of a state agency for a period not to exceed forty years. The lease-purchase plan shall provide that at the end of the lease period, the buildings, structures, and related improvements, together with the land on which they are situated, shall become the property of the state without cost.

(a) Whenever any building, structure, or other improvement is to be so leased by a state agency, the department shall retain either basic plans, specifications, bills of materials, and estimates of cost with sufficient detail to afford bidders all needed information or, alternatively, all of the following plans, details, bills of materials, and specifications:

(i) Full and accurate plans suitable for the use of mechanics and other builders in the improvement;

(ii) Details to scale and full sized, so drawn and represented as to be easily understood;

(iii) Accurate bills showing the exact quantity of different kinds of material necessary to the construction;

(iv) Definite and complete specifications of the work to be performed, together with such directions as will enable a competent mechanic or other builder to carry them out and afford bidders all needed information;

(v) A full and accurate estimate of each item of expense and of the aggregate cost thereof.

(b) The department shall give public notice, in such newspaper, in such form, and with such phraseology as the director of administrative services prescribes, published once each week for four consecutive weeks, of the time when and place where bids will be received for entering into an agreement to lease to a state agency a building, structure, or other improvement. The last publication shall be at least eight days preceding the day for opening the bids. The bids shall contain the terms upon which the builder would propose to lease the building, structure, or other improvement to the state agency. The form of the bid approved by the department shall be used, and a bid is invalid and shall not be considered unless that form is used without change, alteration, or addition. Before submitting bids pursuant to this section, any builder shall comply with Chapter 153. of the Revised Code.

(c) On the day and at the place named for receiving bids for entering into lease agreements with a state agency, the director of administrative services shall open the bids and shall publicly proceed immediately to tabulate the bids upon duplicate sheets. No lease agreement shall be entered into until the bureau of workers' compensation has certified that the person to be awarded the lease agreement has complied with Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code, until, if the builder submitting the lowest and best bid is a foreign corporation, the secretary of state has certified that the corporation is authorized to do business in this state, until, if the builder submitting the lowest and best bid is a person nonresident of this state, the person has filed with the secretary of state a power of attorney designating the secretary of state as its agent for the purpose of accepting service of summons in any action brought under Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code, and until the agreement is submitted to the attorney general and the attorney general's approval is certified thereon. Within thirty days after the day on which the bids are received, the department shall investigate the bids received and shall determine that the bureau and the secretary of state have made the certifications required by this section of the builder who has submitted the lowest and best bid. Within ten days of the completion of the investigation of the bids, the department shall award the lease agreement to the builder who has submitted the lowest and best bid and who has been certified by the bureau and secretary of state as required by this section. If bidding for the lease agreement has been conducted upon the basis of basic plans, specifications, bills of materials, and estimates of costs, upon the award to the builder the department, or the builder with the approval of the department, shall appoint an architect or engineer licensed in this state to prepare such further detailed plans, specifications, and bills of materials as are required to construct the building, structure, or improvement. The department shall adopt such rules as are necessary to give effect to this section. The department may reject any bid. Where there is reason to believe there is collusion or combination among bidders, the bids of those concerned therein shall be rejected.

(15) To acquire by purchase, gift, devise, or grant and to transfer, lease, or otherwise dispose of all real property required to assist in the development of a conversion facility as defined in section 5709.30 of the Revised Code as that section existed before its repeal by H.B. Amended Substitute House Bill 95 of the 125th general assembly;

(16) To lease for a period not to exceed forty years, notwithstanding any other division of this section, the state-owned property located at 408-450 East Town Street, Columbus, Ohio, formerly the state school for the deaf, to a developer in accordance with this section. "Developer," as used in this section, has the same meaning as in section 123.77 of the Revised Code.

Such a lease shall be for the purpose of development of the land for use by senior citizens by constructing, altering, renovating, repairing, expanding, and improving the site as it existed on June 25, 1982. A developer desiring to lease the land shall prepare for submission to the department a plan for development. Plans shall include provisions for roads, sewers, water lines, waste disposal, water supply, and similar matters to meet the requirements of state and local laws. The plans shall also include provision for protection of the property by insurance or otherwise, and plans for financing the development, and shall set forth details of the developer's financial responsibility.

The department may employ, as employees or consultants, persons needed to assist in reviewing the development plans. Those persons may include attorneys, financial experts, engineers, and other necessary experts. The department shall review the development plans and may enter into a lease if it finds all of the following:

(a) The best interests of the state will be promoted by entering into a lease with the developer;

(b) The development plans are satisfactory;

(c) The developer has established the developer's financial responsibility and satisfactory plans for financing the development.

The lease shall contain a provision that construction or renovation of the buildings, roads, structures, and other necessary facilities shall begin within one year after the date of the lease and shall proceed according to a schedule agreed to between the department and the developer or the lease will be terminated. The lease shall contain such conditions and stipulations as the director considers necessary to preserve the best interest of the state. Moneys received by the state pursuant to this lease shall be paid into the general revenue fund. The lease shall provide that at the end of the lease period the buildings, structures, and related improvements shall become the property of the state without cost.

(17) To lease to any person any tract of land owned by the state and under the control of the department, or any part of such a tract, for the purpose of drilling for or the pooling of oil or gas. Such a lease shall be granted for a period not exceeding forty years, with the full power to contract for, determine the conditions governing, and specify the amount the state shall receive for the purposes specified in the lease, and shall be prepared as in other cases.

(18) To manage the use of space owned and controlled by the department, including space in property under the jurisdiction of the Ohio building authority, by doing all of the following:

(a) Biennially implementing, by state agency location, a census of agency employees assigned space;

(b) Periodically in the discretion of the director of administrative services:

(i) Requiring each state agency to categorize the use of space allotted to the agency between office space, common areas, storage space, and other uses, and to report its findings to the department;

(ii) Creating and updating a master space utilization plan for all space allotted to state agencies. The plan shall incorporate space utilization metrics.

(iii) Conducting a cost-benefit analysis to determine the effectiveness of state-owned buildings;

(iv) Assessing the alternatives associated with consolidating the commercial leases for buildings located in Columbus.

(c) Commissioning a comprehensive space utilization and capacity study in order to determine the feasibility of consolidating existing commercially leased space used by state agencies into a new state-owned facility.

(B) This section and section 125.02 of the Revised Code shall not interfere with any of the following:

(1) The power of the adjutant general to purchase military supplies, or with the custody of the adjutant general of property leased, purchased, or constructed by the state and used for military purposes, or with the functions of the adjutant general as director of state armories;

(2) The power of the director of transportation in acquiring rights-of-way for the state highway system, or the leasing of lands for division or resident district offices, or the leasing of lands or buildings required in the maintenance operations of the department of transportation, or the purchase of real property for garage sites or division or resident district offices, or in preparing plans and specifications for and constructing such buildings as the director may require in the administration of the department;

(3) The power of the director of public safety and the registrar of motor vehicles to purchase or lease real property and buildings to be used solely as locations to which a deputy registrar is assigned pursuant to division (B) of section 4507.011 of the Revised Code and from which the deputy registrar is to conduct the deputy registrar's business, the power of the director of public safety to purchase or lease real property and buildings to be used as locations for division or district offices as required in the maintenance of operations of the department of public safety, and the power of the superintendent of the state highway patrol in the purchase or leasing of real property and buildings needed by the patrol, to negotiate the sale of real property owned by the patrol, to rent or lease real property owned or leased by the patrol, and to make or cause to be made repairs to all property owned or under the control of the patrol;

(4) The power of the division of liquor control in the leasing or purchasing of retail outlets and warehouse facilities for the use of the division;

(5) The power of the director of development to enter into leases of real property, buildings, and office space to be used solely as locations for the state's foreign offices to carry out the purposes of section 122.05 of the Revised Code;

(6) The power of the director of environmental protection to enter into environmental covenants, to grant and accept easements, or to sell property pursuant to division (G) of section 3745.01 of the Revised Code.

(C) Purchases for, and the custody and repair of, buildings under the management and control of the capitol square review and advisory board, the rehabilitation services commission, the bureau of workers' compensation, or the departments of public safety, job and family services, mental health, mental retardation and developmental disabilities, and rehabilitation and correction, and buildings of educational and benevolent institutions under the management and control of boards of trustees, are not subject to the control and jurisdiction of the department of administrative services.

(D) Any instrument by which real property is acquired pursuant to this section shall identify the agency of the state that has the use and benefit of the real property as specified in section 5301.012 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 317.08. (A) Except as provided in divisions (C) and (D) of this section, the county recorder shall keep six separate sets of records as follows:

(1) A record of deeds, in which shall be recorded all deeds and other instruments of writing for the absolute and unconditional sale or conveyance of lands, tenements, and hereditaments; all notices as provided in sections 5301.47 to 5301.56 of the Revised Code; all judgments or decrees in actions brought under section 5303.01 of the Revised Code; all declarations and bylaws, and all amendments to declarations and bylaws, as provided in Chapter 5311. of the Revised Code; affidavits as provided in section 5301.252 of the Revised Code; all certificates as provided in section 5311.17 of the Revised Code; all articles dedicating archaeological preserves accepted by the director of the Ohio historical society under section 149.52 of the Revised Code; all articles dedicating nature preserves accepted by the director of natural resources under section 1517.05 of the Revised Code; all agreements for the registration of lands as archaeological or historic landmarks under section 149.51 or 149.55 of the Revised Code; all conveyances of conservation easements and agricultural easements under section 5301.68 of the Revised Code; all instruments extinguishing agricultural easements under section 901.21 or 5301.691 of the Revised Code or pursuant to terms of such an easement granted to a charitable organization under section 5301.68 of the Revised Code; all instruments or orders described in division (B)(1)(c)(ii) of section 5301.56 of the Revised Code; all no further action letters issued under section 122.654 or 3746.11 of the Revised Code; all covenants not to sue issued under section 3746.12 of the Revised Code, including all covenants not to sue issued pursuant to section 122.654 of the Revised Code; any restrictions on the use of property contained in a no further action letter issued under section 122.654 of the Revised Code, any restrictions on the use of property identified pursuant to division (C)(3)(a) of section 3746.10 of the Revised Code, and any restrictions on the use of property contained in a deed or other instrument as provided in division (E) or (F) of section 3737.882 of the Revised Code; any easement executed or granted under section 3734.22, 3734.24, 3734.25, or 3734.26 of the Revised Code; any environmental covenant entered into in accordance with sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code; all memoranda of trust, as described in division (A) of section 5301.255 of the Revised Code, that describe specific real property; and all agreements entered into under division (A) of section 1521.26 of the Revised Code;

(2) A record of mortgages, in which shall be recorded all of the following:

(a) All mortgages, including amendments, supplements, modifications, and extensions of mortgages, or other instruments of writing by which lands, tenements, or hereditaments are or may be mortgaged or otherwise conditionally sold, conveyed, affected, or encumbered;

(b) All executory installment contracts for the sale of land executed after September 29, 1961, that by their terms are not required to be fully performed by one or more of the parties to them within one year of the date of the contracts;

(c) All options to purchase real estate, including supplements, modifications, and amendments of the options, but no option of that nature shall be recorded if it does not state a specific day and year of expiration of its validity;

(d) Any tax certificate sold under section 5721.33 of the Revised Code, or memorandum of it, that is presented for filing of record.

(3) A record of powers of attorney, including all memoranda of trust, as described in division (A) of section 5301.255 of the Revised Code, that do not describe specific real property;

(4) A record of plats, in which shall be recorded all plats and maps of town lots, of the subdivision of town lots, and of other divisions or surveys of lands, any center line survey of a highway located within the county, the plat of which shall be furnished by the director of transportation or county engineer, and all drawings and amendments to drawings, as provided in Chapter 5311. of the Revised Code;

(5) A record of leases, in which shall be recorded all leases, memoranda of leases, and supplements, modifications, and amendments of leases and memoranda of leases;

(6) A record of declarations executed pursuant to section 2133.02 of the Revised Code and durable powers of attorney for health care executed pursuant to section 1337.12 of the Revised Code.

(B) All instruments or memoranda of instruments entitled to record shall be recorded in the proper record in the order in which they are presented for record. The recorder may index, keep, and record in one volume unemployment compensation liens, internal revenue tax liens and other liens in favor of the United States as described in division (A) of section 317.09 of the Revised Code, personal tax liens, mechanic's liens, agricultural product liens, notices of liens, certificates of satisfaction or partial release of estate tax liens, discharges of recognizances, excise and franchise tax liens on corporations, broker's liens, and liens provided for in sections 1513.33, 1513.37, 3752.13, 5111.021, and 5311.18 of the Revised Code.

The recording of an option to purchase real estate, including any supplement, modification, and amendment of the option, under this section shall serve as notice to any purchaser of an interest in the real estate covered by the option only during the period of the validity of the option as stated in the option.

(C) In lieu of keeping the six separate sets of records required in divisions (A)(1) to (6) of this section and the records required in division (D) of this section, a county recorder may record all the instruments required to be recorded by this section in two separate sets of record books. One set shall be called the "official records" and shall contain the instruments listed in divisions (A)(1), (2), (3), (5), and (6) and (D) of this section. The second set of records shall contain the instruments listed in division (A)(4) of this section.

(D) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, the county recorder shall keep a separate set of records containing all corrupt activity lien notices filed with the recorder pursuant to section 2923.36 of the Revised Code and a separate set of records containing all medicaid fraud lien notices filed with the recorder pursuant to section 2933.75 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3734.22.  Before beginning to clean up any facility under section 3734.21 of the Revised Code, the director of environmental protection shall endeavor to enter into an agreement with the owner of the land on which the facility is located, or with the owner of the facility, specifying the measures to be performed and authorizing the director, employees of the agency, or contractors retained by the director to enter upon the land and perform the specified measures.

Each agreement shall contain provisions for the reimbursement of the state for the costs of the cleanup.

All reimbursements and payments shall be credited to the hazardous waste clean-up fund created in section 3734.28 of the Revised Code.

The agreement may require the owner to execute an easement whereby the director, an authorized employee of the agency, or a contractor employed by the agency in accordance with the bidding procedure established in division (C) of section 3734.23 of the Revised Code may enter upon the facility to sample, repair, or reconstruct air and water quality monitoring equipment constructed under the agreement. Such easements shall be for a specified period of years and may be extinguished by agreement between the owner and the director. When necessary to protect the public health or safety, the agreement may require the owner to execute a restrictive covenant to run with the land that specifies the uses that may be made of the facility after work performed is completed, specifies the period for which the restrictive covenant applies, and provides terms whereby modifications to the restrictive covenant, or other land uses, may be initiated or proposed to the director by the owner or by subsequent owners of the facility. All easements or covenants required under this section shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the facility is located, and the recording fees shall be paid by the director enter into an environmental covenant with the director in accordance with sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code.

Upon a breach of the reimbursement provisions of the agreement by the owner of the land or facility, or upon notification to the director by the owner that the owner is unable to perform the duties under the reimbursement provisions of the agreement, the director shall record the unreimbursed portion of the costs of cleanup at the office of the county recorder of the county in which the facility is located. The costs so recorded constitute a lien against the property on which the facility is located until discharged. Upon written request of the director, the attorney general shall institute a civil action to recover the unreimbursed portion of the costs of cleanup. Any moneys so recovered shall be credited to the hazardous waste clean-up fund.

Sec. 3734.24.  After the cleanup of a solid waste facility or a hazardous waste facility acquired and cleaned up under section 3734.23 of the Revised Code, the director of environmental protection may, if the facility is suitable for use by any other state department, agency, office, or institution and if the proposed use of the facility is compatible with the condition of the facility as cleaned up, transfer the facility to that state department, agency, office, or institution. The director shall continue to provide for the post-closure care, maintenance, and monitoring of any such cleaned-up facility as required by section 3734.23 of the Revised Code.

If the director determines that any facility so cleaned up is suitable, because of its condition as cleaned up, for restricted or unrestricted use, he the director may, with the approval of the attorney general, sell the facility if the sale is advantageous to the state. Prior to selling the cleaned-up facility, the director shall, when necessary to protect public health or safety, execute a restrictive covenant to run with the land that specifies the uses that may be made of the facility, specifies the period for which the restrictive covenant applies, and provides terms whereby modifications to the restrictive covenant, or other land uses, may be initiated or proposed to the director by subsequent owners of the facility enter into an environmental covenant in accordance with sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code. When selling any such cleaned-up facility, the director shall retain the right to enter upon the facility, in person or by his an authorized agent, to provide for the post-closure care, maintenance, and monitoring of the facility. The director shall provide for the post-closure care, maintenance, and monitoring of any such facility sold as required by section 3734.23 of the Revised Code.

With the approval of the attorney general, the director may grant easements or leases on any such cleaned-up facility if he the director determines that the use of the facility under the easement or lease is compatible with its condition as cleaned up.

Any moneys derived from the sale of such cleaned-up facilities or from payments from easements or leases shall be credited to the hazardous waste clean-up fund created in section 3734.28 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3734.25.  (A) The director of environmental protection may make grants of moneys from the hazardous waste clean-up fund created in section 3734.28 of the Revised Code for payment by the state of up to two-thirds of the reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by a municipal corporation, county, or township for the proper closure of or abatement of air or water pollution or soil contamination from a solid waste facility in which significant quantities of hazardous waste were disposed of and that the political subdivision owns and once operated.

(B) A municipal corporation, county, or township shall submit an application for a grant on forms provided by the director, together with detail plans and specifications indicating the measures to be performed, an itemized estimate of the project's cost, a description of the project's benefits, and such other information as the director prescribes. The plan for closure or abatement of air or water pollution or soil contamination may be prepared in consultation with the director or the board of health of the city or general health district in which the facility is located. The director may award the applicant a grant only if he the director finds that the proposed measures will provide for the proper closure of the facility and will abate or prevent air or water pollution or soil contamination, including, but not limited to, those measures necessary or desirable to:

(1) In the case of a facility at which land burial of hazardous waste occurred, establish and maintain a suitable cover of soil and vegetation over the cells in which waste is buried in order to minimize erosion, the infiltration of surface water into the cells, the production of leachate, and the accumulation or runoff of contaminated surface waters and to prevent air emissions of hazardous waste from the facility;

(2) Collect and treat contaminated surface water runoff from the facility;

(3) Collect and treat leachate produced at the facility;

(4) Install test wells and other equipment or facilities to monitor the quality of surface waters receiving runoff from the facility or to monitor air emissions of hazardous waste from the facility;

(5) Regularly monitor and analyze surface water runoff from the facility, the quality of waters receiving the runoff, and groundwater ground water quality in the vicinity of the facility, and regularly monitor leachate collection and treatment systems installed under the grant and analyze samples from them;

(6) Remove and dispose of hazardous waste from the facility at a suitable hazardous waste disposal facility where necessary to protect public health or safety or to prevent or abate air or water pollution or soil contamination.

(C) The director shall determine the amount of the grant based upon his the director's determination of what constitutes reasonable and necessary expenses for the proper closure of the facility or for the prevention or elimination of air or water pollution or soil contamination from the facility. In making a grant, the director shall enter into a contract with the municipal corporation, county, or township that owns the facility to ensure that the moneys granted are used for the purposes of this section and that measures performed are properly done. The final payment under a grant may not be made until the director inspects and approves the completed cleanup.

The contract shall require the municipal corporation, county, or township to execute an easement whereby the director, an authorized employee of the agency, or a contractor employed by the director may enter upon the facility to sample, repair, or reconstruct air and water quality monitoring equipment constructed under the contract. Such easements shall be for a specified period of years and may be extinguished by agreement between the political subdivision and the director.

When necessary to protect public health or safety, the contract may require the municipal corporation, county, or township to execute a restrictive covenant to run with the land that specifies the uses that may be made of the facility after work performed under the contract is completed, specifies the period for which the restrictive covenant applies, and provides terms whereby modifications to the restrictive covenant, or other land uses, may be initiated or proposed to the director by the political subdivision or by subsequent owners of the facility. Any easements or covenants required under this section shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the facility is located, and the recording fees shall be paid by the recipient of the grant enter into an environmental covenant with the director in accordance with sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3734.26.  (A) The director of environmental protection may make grants of moneys from the hazardous waste clean-up fund created in section 3734.28 of the Revised Code to the owner, other than a political subdivision, of a solid waste facility in which significant quantities of hazardous waste were disposed of or a hazardous waste facility for up to fifty per cent of the cost of the reasonable and necessary expenses incurred for the proper closure of or abatement or prevention of air or water pollution or soil contamination from the facility and for developing the land on which it was located for use in industry, commerce, distribution, or research.

The director shall not make grants to the owner of any land on which such facilities are located if the owner at any time owned or operated the facility located thereon for profit or in conjunction with any profit-making enterprise located in this state or to any person who at any time owned or operated a facility concerning which the director has taken action under section 3734.20, 3734.22, or 3734.23 of the Revised Code. However, the director may make grants under this section to any subsequent owner of the land, provided that the person has no affiliation with any person who owned or operated the facility located on the land for profit or in conjunction with any profit-making enterprise located in this state or who owned or operated a facility concerning which the director has taken action under section 3734.20, 3734.22, or 3734.23 of the Revised Code.

(B) The owner shall submit an application for a grant on forms furnished by the director, together with detail plans and specifications for the measures to be performed to close the facility properly or to abate or prevent air or water pollution or soil contamination from the facility, an itemized estimate of the project's cost, a description of the project's estimated benefits, and such other information as the director prescribes. The plan may be prepared in consultation with the director or with the board of health of the city or general health district in which the facility is located. The director may award the applicant a grant only if he finds after finding that the proposed measures will provide for the proper closure of the facility or will abate or prevent air or water pollution or soil contamination from the facility, including, but not limited to, those measures necessary or desirable to:

(1) In the case of a facility for the land burial of hazardous waste, establish and maintain a suitable cover of soil and vegetation over the cells in which waste is buried in order to minimize erosion, the infiltration of surface water into the cells, the production of leachate, and the accumulation or runoff of contaminated surface water and to prevent air emissions of hazardous waste from the facility;

(2) Collect and treat contaminated surface water runoff from the facility;

(3) Collect and treat leachate produced at the facility;

(4) Install test wells and other equipment or facilities to monitor the quality of surface waters receiving runoff from the facility or to monitor air emissions of hazardous waste from the facility;

(5) Regularly monitor and analyze surface water runoff from the facility, the quality of waters receiving the runoff, and groundwater ground water quality in the vicinity of the facility, and regularly monitor leachate collection and treatment systems installed under the grant and analyze samples from them;

(6) Remove and dispose of hazardous waste from the facility at a suitable hazardous waste disposal facility where necessary to protect public health or safety or to abate or prevent air or water pollution or soil contamination.

(C) The director shall determine the amount of the grant based upon his the director's determination of what constitutes reasonable and necessary expenses for the proper closure of the facility or for the abatement or prevention of air or water pollution or soil contamination from the facility. The amount of the grant shall not exceed one-half of the total, as determined by the director, of what constitutes reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred for the proper closure of or abatement or prevention of air or water pollution or soil contamination from the facility.

In making a grant, the director shall enter into a contract for funding with each applicant awarded a grant to ensure that the moneys granted are used for the purpose of this section and that the measures performed are properly performed. The final payment under a grant may not be made until the director inspects and approves the completed cleanup and the plans for developing the land for use in industry, commerce, distribution, or research.

Each contract for funding shall contain provisions for the reimbursement of the state of a portion of the costs of the cleanup that is commensurate with the increase in the market value of the property attributable to the cleanup thereon, as determined by appraisals made before and after cleanup in the manner stated in the contract. For reimbursement of that portion, the contract may include provisions for:

(1) Payment to the state of the share of the income derived from the productive use of the land;

(2) Imposition of a lien in the amount of the increase in fair market value payable upon the transfer or conveyance to a new owner;

(3) Waiver of all reimbursement if the determination discloses an increase in value that is insubstantial in comparison to the benefits to the public from the abatement of threats to public health or safety or from the abatement or prevention of pollution or contamination, considering the applicant's share of the cleanup cost.

All reimbursements and payments shall be credited to the hazardous waste clean-up fund created in section 3734.28 of the Revised Code.

(D) The contract shall require the owner to execute an easement whereby the director, an authorized employee of the agency, or a contractor employed by the agency may enter upon the facility to sample, repair, or reconstruct air and water quality monitoring equipment constructed under the contract. Such easements shall be for a specified period of years and may be extinguished by agreement between the owner and the director. When necessary to protect the public health or safety, the contract may require the owner to execute a restrictive covenant to run with the land that specifies the uses that may be made of the facility after work performed under the grant is completed, specifies the period for which the restrictive covenant applies, and provides terms whereby modifications to the restrictive covenant, or other land uses, may be initiated or proposed to the director by the owner or by subsequent owners of the facility. All easements or covenants required under this section shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the facility is located, and the recording fees shall be paid by the owner enter into an environmental covenant with the director in accordance with sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code.

(E) As used in this section, "commerce" includes, but is not limited to, agriculture, forestry, and housing.

Sec. 3737.88.  (A)(1) The fire marshal shall have responsibility for implementation of the underground storage tank program and corrective action program for releases from underground petroleum storage tanks established by the "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976," 90 Stat. 2795, 42 U.S.C.A. 6901, as amended. To implement the program, the fire marshal may adopt, amend, and rescind such rules, conduct such inspections, require annual registration of underground storage tanks, issue such citations and orders to enforce those rules, enter into environmental covenants in accordance with sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code, and perform such other duties, as are consistent with those programs. The fire marshal, by rule, may delegate the authority to conduct inspections of underground storage tanks to certified fire safety inspectors.

(2) In the place of any rules regarding release containment and release detection for underground storage tanks adopted under division (A)(1) of this section, the fire marshal, by rule, shall designate areas as being sensitive for the protection of human health and the environment and adopt alternative rules regarding release containment and release detection methods for new and upgraded undergound underground storage tank systems located in those areas. In designating such areas, the fire marshal shall take into consideration such factors as soil conditions, hydrogeology, water use, and the location of public and private water supplies. Not later than July 11, 1990, the fire marshal shall file the rules required under this division with the secretary of state, director of the legislative service commission, and joint committee on agency rule review in accordance with divisions (B) and (H) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code.

(B) Before adopting any rule under this section or section 3737.881 or 3737.882 of the Revised Code, the fire marshal shall file written notice of his the proposed rule with the chairman chairperson of the state fire commission, and, within sixty days after notice is filed, the commission may file responses to or comments on and may recommend alternative or supplementary rules to the fire marshal. At the end of the sixty-day period or upon the filing of responses, comments, or recommendations by the commission, the fire marshal may adopt the rule filed with the commission or any alternative or supplementary rule recommended by the commission.

(C) The fire commission may recommend courses of action to be taken by the fire marshal in carrying out his the fire marshal's duties under this section. The commission shall file its recommendations in the office of the fire marshal, and, within sixty days after the recommendations are filed, the fire marshal shall file with the chairman chairperson of the commission his comments on, and proposed action in response to, the recommendations.

(D) For the purpose of sections 3737.87 to 3737.89 of the Revised Code, the fire marshal shall adopt, and may amend and rescind, rules identifying or listing hazardous substances. The rules shall be consistent with and equivalent in scope, coverage, and content to regulations identifying or listing hazardous substances adopted under the "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980," 94 Stat. 2779, 42 U.S.C.A. 9602, as amended, except that the fire marshal shall not identify or list as a hazardous substance any hazardous waste identified or listed in rules adopted under division (A) of section 3734.12 of the Revised Code.

(E) Notwithstanding any provision of the laws of this state to the contrary, the fire marshal has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate the storage, treatment, and disposal of petroleum contaminated soil generated from corrective actions undertaken in response to releases of petroleum. The fire marshal may adopt, amend, or rescind such rules as he the fire marshal considers to be necessary or appropriate to regulate the storage, treatment, or disposal of petroleum contaminated soil so generated.

(F) The fire marshal shall adopt, amend, and rescind rules under sections 3737.88 to 3737.882 of the Revised Code in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3737.882.  (A) If, after an examination or inspection, the fire marshal or an assistant fire marshal finds that a release of petroleum is suspected, the fire marshal shall take such action as the fire marshal considers necessary to ensure that a suspected release is confirmed or disproved and, if the occurrence of a release is confirmed, to correct the release. These actions may include one or more of the following:

(1) Issuance of a citation and order requiring the responsible person to undertake, in a manner consistent with the requirements of section 9003 of the "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976," 98 Stat. 3279, 42 U.S.C.A. 6991b, as amended, applicable regulations adopted thereunder, and rules adopted under division (B) of this section, such actions as are necessary to protect human health and the environment, including, without limitation, the investigation of a suspected release.;

(2) Requesting the attorney general to bring a civil action for appropriate relief, including a temporary restraining order or preliminary or permanent injunction, in the court of common pleas of the county in which a suspected release is located or in which the release occurred, to obtain the corrective action necessary to protect human health and the environment. In granting any such relief, the court shall ensure that the terms of the temporary restraining order or injunction are sufficient to provide comprehensive corrective action to protect human health and the environment.

(3) Entry onto premises and undertaking corrective action with respect to a release of petroleum if, in the fire marshal's judgment, such action is necessary to protect human health and the environment. Any corrective action undertaken by the fire marshal or assistant fire marshal under division (A)(3) of this section shall be consistent with the requirements of sections 9003 and 9005 of the "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976," 98 Stat. 3279, 42 U.S.C.A. 6991b, and 98 Stat. 3284, 42 U.S.C.A. 6991e, respectively, as amended, applicable regulations adopted thereunder, and rules adopted under division (B) of this section.

(B) The fire marshal shall adopt, and may amend and rescind, such rules as the fire marshal considers necessary to establish standards for corrective actions for suspected and confirmed releases of petroleum and standards for the recovery of costs incurred for undertaking corrective or enforcement actions with respect to such releases. The rules also shall include requirements for financial responsibility for the cost of corrective actions for and compensation of bodily injury and property damage incurred by third parties that are caused by releases of petroleum. Rules regarding financial responsibility shall, without limitation, require responsible persons to provide evidence that the parties guaranteeing payment of the deductible amount established under division (E) or (F) of section 3737.91 of the Revised Code are, at a minimum, secondarily liable for all corrective action and third-party liability costs incurred within the scope of the deductible amount. The rules shall be consistent with sections 9003 and 9005 of the "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976," 98 Stat. 3279, 42 U.S.C.A. 6991b, and 98 Stat. 3284, 42 U.S.C.A. 6991e, respectively, as amended, and applicable regulations adopted thereunder.

(C)(1) No person shall violate or fail to comply with a rule adopted under division (A) of section 3737.88 of the Revised Code or division (B) of this section, and no person shall violate or fail to comply with the terms of any order issued under division (A) of section 3737.88 of the Revised Code or division (A)(1) of this section.

(2) Whoever violates division (C)(1) of this section or division (F) of section 3737.881 of the Revised Code shall pay a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each day that the violation continues. The fire marshal may, by order, assess a civil penalty under this division, or the fire marshal may request the attorney general to bring a civil action for imposition of the civil penalty in the court of common pleas of the county in which the violation occurred. If the fire marshal determines that a responsible person is in violation of division (C)(1) of this section or division (F) of section 3737.881 of the Revised Code, the fire marshal may request the attorney general to bring a civil action for appropriate relief, including a temporary restraining order or preliminary or permanent injunction, in the court of common pleas of the county in which the underground storage tank or, in the case of a violation of division (F)(3) of section 3737.881 of the Revised Code, the training program that is the subject of the violation is located. The court shall issue a temporary restraining order or an injunction upon a demonstration that a violation of division (C)(1) of this section or division (F) of section 3737.881 of the Revised Code has occurred or is occurring.

Any action brought by the attorney general under this division is a civil action, governed by the Rules of Civil Procedure and other rules of practice and procedure applicable to civil actions.

(D) Orders issued under division (A) of section 3737.88 of the Revised Code and divisions (A)(1) and (C) of this section, and appeals thereof, are subject to and governed by Chapter 3745. of the Revised Code. Such orders shall be issued without the necessity for issuance of a proposed action under that chapter. For purposes of appeals of any such orders, the term "director" as used in Chapter 3745. of the Revised Code includes the fire marshal and an assistant fire marshal.

(E) Any restrictions on the use of real property for the purpose of achieving the achievement by an owner or operator of applicable standards pursuant to rules adopted under division (B) of this section shall be contained in a deed or in another instrument that is signed and acknowledged by the property owner in the same manner as a deed or an environmental covenant that is entered into in accordance with sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code. The deed or, other instrument containing the restrictions, or environmental covenant shall be filed and recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the property is located. Pursuant to Chapter 5309. of the Revised Code, such if the use restrictions in connection or environmental covenant are connected with registered land, as defined in section 5309.01 of the Revised Code, the restrictions or environmental covenant shall be entered as a memorial on the page of the register where the title of the owner is registered.

(F) Any restrictions on the use of real property for the purpose of the achievement by a person that is not a responsible person, or by a person undertaking a voluntary action of applicable standards pursuant to rules adopted under division (B) of this section shall be contained in an environmental covenant that is entered into in accordance with sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code. The environmental covenant shall be filed and recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the property is located. Pursuant to Chapter 5309. of the Revised Code, if the environmental covenant is connected with registered land, as defined in section 5309.01 of the Revised Code, the environmental covenant shall be entered as a memorial on the page of the register where the title of the owner is registered.

Sec. 3745.01.  There is hereby created the environmental protection agency, headed by the director of environmental protection. The agency, under the supervision of the director, shall administer the laws pertaining to chemical emergency planning, community right-to-know, and toxic chemical release reporting; the cessation of chemical handling operations; the prevention, control, and abatement of air and water pollution; public water supply; comprehensive water resource management planning; and the disposal and treatment of solid wastes, infectious wastes, construction and demolition debris, hazardous waste, sewage, industrial waste, and other wastes. The director may do all of the following:

(A) Provide such methods of administration, appoint such personnel, make such reports, and take such other action as may be necessary to comply with the requirements of the federal laws and regulations pertaining to chemical emergency planning, community right-to-know, and toxic chemical release reporting; air and water pollution control; public water supply; water resource planning; and waste disposal and treatment;

(B) Procure by contract the temporary or intermittent services of experts or consultants, or organizations thereof, when those services are to be performed on a part-time or fee-for-service basis and do not involve the performance of administrative duties;

(C) Advise, consult, cooperate, and enter into contracts or agreements with any other agencies of the state, the federal government, other states, and interstate agencies and with affected groups, political subdivisions, and industries in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter and Chapters 3704., 3714., 3734., 3751., 3752., 6109., and 6111. of the Revised Code;

(D) Establish advisory boards in accordance with section 121.13 of the Revised Code;

(E) Accept on behalf of the state any grant, gift, or contribution made for toxic chemical release reporting, air or water pollution control, public water supply, water resource planning, waste disposal or treatment, or related purposes, and expend it for those purposes;

(F) Make an annual report to the governor and the general assembly on activities and expenditures as well as recommendations for such additional legislation as the director considers appropriate to carry out the director's duties or accomplish the purposes of this section;

(G) Enter into environmental covenants in accordance with sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code, and grant or accept easements or sell real property pursuant to section 3734.22, 3734.24, 3734.25, or 3734.26 of the Revised Code, as applicable.

The agency shall utilize the laboratory facilities of the department of health and other state institutions and agencies to the maximum extent that the utilization is practicable, economical, and technically satisfactory.

The director shall maintain and keep available for public inspection, at the director's principal office, a current register of all applications filed for permits, leases, licenses, variances, certificates, and approval of plans and specifications and of publicly owned treatment works pretreatment programs under the director's jurisdiction, hearings pending, the director's final action thereon, and the dates on which the filings, hearings, and final actions occur. The director shall maintain and keep available for public inspection at the director's principal office all plans, reports, and other documents required to be filed with the emergency response commission under Chapter 3750. of the Revised Code and rules adopted under it, and all reports and other documents required to be filed with the director under Chapter 3751. of the Revised Code and rules adopted under it, subject to the requirements of those chapters and rules adopted under them for the protection of trade secrets and confidential business information from disclosure to persons not authorized under those laws to receive trade secret or confidential business information.

Sec. 3746.01.  As used in this chapter:

(A) "Activity and use limitations" has the same meaning as in section 5301.80 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Affiliated" means under common ownership or control.

(B)(C) "Applicable standards," unless the context indicates otherwise, means standards established in or pursuant to sections 3746.05, 3746.06, and 3746.07 of the Revised Code, in or pursuant to rules adopted under division (B)(1) or (2) of section 3746.04 of the Revised Code, pursuant to rules adopted under division (B)(12)(b) of section 3746.04 of the Revised Code, or alternative standards and terms and conditions set forth in a variance issued under section 3746.09 of the Revised Code, as applicable.

(C)(D) "Background level" means the conditions at a property and areas surrounding a property that are unaffected by any current or past activities involving treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous substances or petroleum. "Background level" includes naturally occurring substances.

(D)(E) "Certified laboratory" means a laboratory certified by the director of environmental protection pursuant to rules adopted under division (B)(6) of section 3746.04 of the Revised Code, or deemed to be certified under division (E) of section 3746.07 of the Revised Code, to perform analyses in connection with voluntary actions.

(E)(F) "Certified professional" means a person certified by the director pursuant to rules adopted under division (B)(5) of section 3746.04 of the Revised Code, or deemed to be certified under division (D) of section 3746.07 of the Revised Code, to issue no further action letters under section 3746.11 of the Revised Code.

(F)(G) "Covenant not to sue" means a release from liability that is issued by the director under section 3746.12 of the Revised Code.

(H) "Environmental covenant" has the same meaning as in section 5301.80 of the Revised Code.

(I) "Hazardous substance" includes all of the following:

(1) Any substance identified or listed in rules adopted under division (B)(1)(c) of section 3750.02 of the Revised Code;

(2) Any product registered as a pesticide under section 921.02 of the Revised Code when the product is used in a manner inconsistent with its required labeling;

(3) Any product formerly registered as a pesticide under that section for which the registration was suspended or canceled under section 921.05 of the Revised Code;

(4) Any mixture of a substance described in divisions (F)(I)(1) to (3) of this section with a radioactive material.

(G)(J) "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.

(H)(K) "Person" means any person as defined in section 1.59 of the Revised Code and also includes this state, any political subdivision of this state, any other body of this state or of a political subdivision of this state, the board of directors of a nonprofit corporation governing a special improvement district created under Chapter 1710. of the Revised Code, and the United States and any agency or instrumentality thereof.

(I)(L) "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.

(J)(M) "Property," except for the purposes of sections 3746.02, 3746.26, and 3746.27 of the Revised Code, means any parcel of real property, or portion thereof, and any improvements thereto, the limits of which have been described in writing by the owner of record or a legally appointed representative of the owner and that is or has been the subject of a voluntary action under this chapter and rules adopted under it.

(K)(N) "Radioactive material" means a substance that spontaneously emits ionizing radiation.

(L)(O) "Related" means the persons are related by consanguinity or marriage.

(M)(P) "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. "Release" does not include any of the following:

(1) Any release that results solely in the exposure of individuals to hazardous substances or petroleum in the workplace with respect to which those individuals may assert a claim against their employer and that is regulated under the "Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970," 84 Stat. 1590, 29 U.S.C.A. 651, as amended, and regulations adopted under that act, or under Chapter 4167. of the Revised Code and rules adopted under it;

(2) Emissions from the engine exhaust of a motor vehicle, rolling stock, aircraft, vessel, or pipeline pumping station engine;

(3) Any release of a source, byproduct, or special nuclear material from a nuclear incident, as "source material," "byproduct material," "special nuclear material," and "nuclear incident" are defined in the "Atomic Energy Act of 1954," 68 Stat. 919, 42 U.S.C.A. 2011, as amended, if the release is subject to financial protection requirements under section 170 of that act unless any such material is mixed with a hazardous substance or petroleum;

(4) Any federally permitted release as defined in section 101(10) of the "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980," 94 Stat. 3300, 42 U.S.C.A. 9601, as amended;

(5) The normal application of a fertilizer material that is intended to improve the quality or quantity of plant growth.

(N)(Q) "Remedy" or "remedial activities" means actions that are taken at a property to treat, remove, transport for treatment or disposal, dispose of, contain, or control hazardous substances or petroleum, are protective of public health and safety and the environment, and are consistent with a permanent remedy, including, without limitation, excavation, treatment, off-site disposal, the use of engineering or institutional controls or measures activity and use limitations, the issuance and implementation of a consolidated standards permit under section 3746.15 of the Revised Code, and the entering into and implementation of an operation and maintenance agreement pursuant to section 3746.12 of the Revised Code.

(O)(R) "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. "Voluntary action" may include, without limitation, a phase I property assessment conducted in accordance with rules adopted under division (B)(3) of section 3746.04 of the Revised Code or division (B) of section 3746.07 of the Revised Code, as appropriate, a phase II property assessment conducted in accordance with rules adopted under division (B)(4) of section 3746.04 of the Revised Code or division (C) of section 3746.07 of the Revised Code, as appropriate, a sampling plan, a remedial plan, or remedial activities followed by the issuance of a no further action letter under section 3746.11 of the Revised Code indicating that the property meets applicable standards upon demonstration by the person undertaking the measures either that there is no information indicating that there has been a release of hazardous substances or petroleum at or upon the property or that there has been a release of hazardous substances or petroleum at or upon the property and that applicable standards were not exceeded or have been or will be achieved in accordance with this chapter and rules adopted under it.

Sec. 3746.04.  Within one year after September 28, 1994, the director of environmental protection, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code and with the advice of the multidisciplinary council appointed under section 3746.03 of the Revised Code, shall adopt, and subsequently may amend, suspend, or rescind, rules that do both of the following:

(A) Revise the rules adopted under Chapters 3704., 3714., 3734., 6109., and 6111. of the Revised Code to incorporate the provisions necessary to conform those rules to the requirements of this chapter. The amended rules adopted under this division also shall establish response times for all submittals to the environmental protection agency required under this chapter or rules adopted under it.

(B) Establish requirements and procedures that are reasonably necessary for the implementation and administration of this chapter, including, without limitation, all of the following:

(1) Appropriate generic numerical clean-up standards for the treatment or removal of soils, sediments, and water media for hazardous substances and petroleum. The rules shall establish separate generic numerical clean-up standards based upon the intended use of properties after the completion of voluntary actions, including industrial, commercial, and residential uses and such other categories of land use as the director considers to be appropriate. The generic numerical clean-up standards established for each category of land use shall be the concentration of each contaminant that may be present on a property that shall ensure protection of public health and safety and the environment for the reasonable exposure for that category of land use. When developing the standards, the director shall consider such factors as all of the following:

(a) Scientific information, including, without limitation, toxicological information and realistic assumptions regarding human and environmental exposure to hazardous substances or petroleum;

(b) Climatic factors;

(c) Human activity patterns;

(d) Current statistical techniques;

(e) For petroleum at industrial property, alternatives to the use of total petroleum hydrocarbons.

The generic numerical clean-up standards established under division (B)(1) of this section shall be consistent with and equivalent in scope, content, and coverage to any applicable standard established by federal environmental laws and regulations adopted under them, including, without limitation, the "Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972," 86 Stat. 886, 33 U.S.C.A. 1251, as amended; the "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976," 90 Stat. 2806, 42 U.S.C.A. 6921, as amended; the "Toxic Substances Control Act," 90 Stat. 2003 (1976), 15 U.S.C.A. 2601, as amended; the "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980," 94 Stat. 2779, 42 U.S.C.A. 9601, as amended; and the "Safe Drinking Water Act," 88 Stat. 1660 (1974), 42 U.S.C.A. 300f, as amended.

In order for the rules adopted under division (B)(1) of this section to require that any such federal environmental standard apply to a property, the property shall meet the requirements of the particular federal statute or regulation involved in the manner specified by the statute or regulation.

The generic numerical clean-up standards for petroleum at commercial or residential property shall be the standards established in rules adopted under division (B) of section 3737.882 of the Revised Code.

(2)(a) Procedures for performing property-specific risk assessments that would be performed at a property to demonstrate that the remedy evaluated in a risk assessment results in protection of public health and safety and the environment instead of complying with the generic numerical clean-up standards established in the rules adopted under division (B)(1) of this section. The risk assessment procedures shall describe a methodology to establish, on a property-specific basis, allowable levels of contamination to remain at a property to ensure protection of public health and safety and the environment on the property and off the property when the contamination is emanating off the property, taking into account all of the following:

(i) The implementation of treatment, storage, or disposal, or a combination thereof, of hazardous substances or petroleum;

(ii) The existence of institutional controls or activity and use limitations that eliminate or mitigate exposure to hazardous substances or petroleum through the restriction of access to hazardous substances or petroleum, including, without limitation, deed and water use restrictions;

(iii) The existence of engineering controls that eliminate or mitigate exposure to hazardous substances or petroleum through containment of, control of, or restrictions of access to hazardous substances or petroleum, including, without limitation, fences, cap systems, cover systems, and landscaping.

(b) The risk assessment procedures and levels of acceptable risk set forth in the rules adopted under division (B)(2) of this section shall be based upon all of the following:

(i) Scientific information, including, without limitation, toxicological information and actual or proposed human and environmental exposure;

(ii) Locational and climatic factors;

(iii) Surrounding land use and human activities;

(iv) Differing levels of remediation that may be required when an existing land use is continued compared to when a different land use follows the remediation.

(c) Any standards established pursuant to rules adopted under division (B)(2) of this section shall be no more stringent than standards established under the environmental statutes of this state and rules adopted under them for the same contaminant in the same environmental medium that are in effect at the time the risk assessment is conducted.

(3) Minimum standards for phase I property assessments. The standards shall specify the information needed to demonstrate that there is no reason to believe that contamination exists on a property. The rules adopted under division (B)(3) of this section, at a minimum, shall require that a phase I property assessment include all of the following:

(a) A review and analysis of deeds, mortgages, easements of record, and similar documents relating to the chain of title to the property that are publicly available or that are known to and reasonably available to the owner or operator;

(b) A review and analysis of any previous environmental assessments, property assessments, environmental studies, or geologic studies of the property and any land within two thousand feet of the boundaries of the property that are publicly available or that are known to and reasonably available to the owner or operator;

(c) A review of current and past environmental compliance histories of persons who owned or operated the property;

(d) A review of aerial photographs of the property that indicate prior uses of the property;

(e) Interviews with managers of activities conducted at the property who have knowledge of environmental conditions at the property;

(f) Conducting an inspection of the property consisting of a walkover;

(g) Identifying the current and past uses of the property, adjoining tracts of land, and the area surrounding the property, including, without limitation, interviews with persons who reside or have resided, or who are or were employed, within the area surrounding the property regarding the current and past uses of the property and adjacent tracts of land.

The rules adopted under division (B)(3) of this section shall establish criteria to determine when a phase II property assessment shall be conducted when a phase I property assessment reveals facts that establish a reason to believe that hazardous substances or petroleum have been treated, stored, managed, or disposed of on the property if the person undertaking the phase I property assessment wishes to obtain a covenant not to sue under section 3746.12 of the Revised Code.

(4) Minimum standards for phase II property assessments. The standards shall specify the information needed to demonstrate that any contamination present at the property does not exceed applicable standards or that the remedial activities conducted at the property have achieved compliance with applicable standards. The rules adopted under division (B)(4) of this section, at a minimum, shall require that a phase II property assessment include all of the following:

(a) A review and analysis of all documentation prepared in connection with a phase I property assessment conducted within the one hundred eighty days before the phase II property assessment begins. The rules adopted under division (B)(4)(a) of this section shall require that if a period of more than one hundred eighty days has passed between the time that the phase I assessment of the property was completed and the phase II assessment begins, the phase II assessment shall include a reasonable inquiry into the change in the environmental condition of the property during the intervening period.

(b) Quality assurance objectives for measurements taken in connection with a phase II assessment;

(c) Sampling procedures to ensure the representative sampling of potentially contaminated environmental media;

(d) Quality assurance and quality control requirements for samples collected in connection with phase II assessments;

(e) Analytical and data assessment procedures;

(f) Data objectives to ensure that samples collected in connection with phase II assessments are biased toward areas where information indicates that contamination by hazardous substances or petroleum is likely to exist.

(5) Standards governing the conduct of certified professionals, criteria and procedures for the certification of professionals to issue no further action letters under section 3746.11 of the Revised Code, and criteria for the suspension and revocation of those certifications. The issuance, denial, suspension, and revocation of those certifications are subject to Chapter 3745. of the Revised Code, and the director shall take any such action regarding a certification as a final action.

The rules adopted under division (B)(5) of this section shall do all of the following:

(a) Provide for the certification of environmental professionals to issue no further action letters pertaining to investigations and remedies in accordance with the criteria and procedures set forth in the rules. The rules adopted under division (B)(5)(a) of this section shall do at least all of the following:

(i) Authorize the director to consider such factors as an environmental professional's previous performance record regarding such investigations and remedies and the environmental professional's environmental compliance history when determining whether to certify the environmental professional;

(ii) Ensure that an application for certification is reviewed in a timely manner;

(iii) Require the director to certify any environmental professional who the director determines complies with those criteria;

(iv) Require the director to deny certification for any environmental professional who does not comply with those criteria.

(b) Establish an annual fee to be paid by environmental professionals certified pursuant to the rules adopted under division (B)(5)(a) of this section. The fee shall be established at an amount calculated to defray the costs to the environmental protection agency for the required reviews of the qualifications of environmental professionals for certification and for the issuance of the certifications.

(c) Develop a schedule for and establish requirements governing the review by the director of the credentials of environmental professionals who were deemed to be certified professionals under division (D) of section 3746.07 of the Revised Code in order to determine if they comply with the criteria established in rules adopted under division (B)(5) of this section. The rules adopted under division (B)(5)(c) of this section shall do at least all of the following:

(i) Ensure that the review is conducted in a timely fashion;

(ii) Require the director to certify any such environmental professional who the director determines complies with those criteria;

(iii) Require any such environmental professional initially to pay the fee established in the rules adopted under division (B)(5)(b) of this section at the time that the environmental professional is so certified by the director;

(iv) Establish a time period within which any such environmental professional who does not comply with those criteria may obtain the credentials that are necessary for certification;

(v) Require the director to deny certification for any such environmental professional who does not comply with those criteria and who fails to obtain the necessary credentials within the established time period.

(d) Require that any information submitted to the director for the purposes of division (B)(5)(a) or (c) of this section comply with division (A) of section 3746.20 of the Revised Code;

(e) Authorize the director to suspend or revoke the certification of an environmental professional if the director finds that the environmental professional's performance has resulted in the issuance of no further action letters under section 3746.11 of the Revised Code that are not consistent with applicable standards or finds that the certified environmental professional has not substantially complied with section 3746.31 of the Revised Code;

(f) Authorize the director to suspend for a period of not more than five years or to permanently revoke a certified environmental professional's certification for any violation of or failure to comply with an ethical standard established in rules adopted under division (B)(5) of this section.

(g) Require the director to revoke the certification of an environmental professional if the director finds that the environmental professional falsified any information on the environmental professional's application for certification regarding the environmental professional's credentials or qualifications or any other information generated for the purposes of or use under this chapter or rules adopted under it;

(h) Require the director permanently to revoke the certification of an environmental professional who has violated or is violating division (A) of section 3746.18 of the Revised Code;

(i) Preclude the director from revoking the certification of an environmental professional who only conducts investigations and remedies at property contaminated solely with petroleum unless the director first consults with the director of commerce.

(6) Criteria and procedures for the certification of laboratories to perform analyses under this chapter and rules adopted under it. The issuance, denial, suspension, and revocation of those certifications are subject to Chapter 3745. of the Revised Code, and the director of environmental protection shall take any such action regarding a certification as a final action.

The rules adopted under division (B)(6) of this section shall do all of the following:

(a) Provide for the certification to perform analyses of laboratories in accordance with the criteria and procedures established in the rules adopted under division (B)(6)(a) of this section and establish an annual fee to be paid by those laboratories. The fee shall be established at an amount calculated to defray the costs to the agency for the review of the qualifications of those laboratories for certification and for the issuance of the certifications. The rules adopted under division (B)(6)(a) of this section may provide for the certification of those laboratories to perform only particular types or categories of analyses, specific test parameters or group of test parameters, or a specific matrix or matrices under this chapter.

(b) Develop a schedule for and establish requirements governing the review by the director of the operations of laboratories that were deemed to be certified laboratories under division (E) of section 3746.07 of the Revised Code in order to determine if they comply with the criteria established in rules adopted under division (B)(6) of this section. The rules adopted under division (B)(6)(b) of this section shall do at least all of the following:

(i) Ensure that the review is conducted in a timely fashion;

(ii) Require the director to certify any such laboratory that the director determines complies with those criteria;

(iii) Require any such laboratory initially to pay the fee established in the rules adopted under division (B)(6)(a) of this section at the time that the laboratory is so certified by the director;

(iv) Establish a time period within which any such laboratory that does not comply with those criteria may make changes in its operations necessary for the performance of analyses under this chapter and rules adopted under it in order to be certified by the director;

(v) Require the director to deny certification for any such laboratory that does not comply with those criteria and that fails to make the necessary changes in its operations within the established time period.

(c) Require that any information submitted to the director for the purposes of division (B)(6)(a) or (b) of this section comply with division (A) of section 3746.20 of the Revised Code;

(d) Authorize the director to suspend or revoke the certification of a laboratory if the director finds that the laboratory's performance has resulted in the issuance of no further action letters under section 3746.11 of the Revised Code that are not consistent with applicable standards;

(e) Authorize the director to suspend or revoke the certification of a laboratory if the director finds that the laboratory falsified any information on its application for certification regarding its credentials or qualifications;

(f) Require the director permanently to revoke the certification of a laboratory that has violated or is violating division (A) of section 3746.18 of the Revised Code.

(7) Information to be included in a no further action letter prepared under section 3746.11 of the Revised Code, including, without limitation, all of the following:

(a) A summary of the information required to be submitted to the certified environmental professional preparing the no further action letter under division (C) of section 3746.10 of the Revised Code;

(b) Notification that a risk assessment was performed in accordance with rules adopted under division (B)(2) of this section if such an assessment was used in lieu of generic numerical clean-up standards established in rules adopted under division (B)(1) of this section;

(c) The contaminants addressed at the property, if any, their source, if known, and their levels prior to remediation;

(d) The identity of any other person who performed work to support the request for the no further action letter as provided in division (B)(2) of section 3746.10 of the Revised Code and the nature and scope of the work performed by that person;

(e) A list of the data, information, records, and documents relied upon by the certified environmental professional in preparing the no further action letter.

(8) Methods for determining fees to be paid for the following services provided by the agency under this chapter and rules adopted under it:

(a) Site- or property-specific technical assistance in developing or implementing plans in connection with a voluntary action;

(b) Reviewing applications for and issuing consolidated standards permits under section 3746.15 of the Revised Code and monitoring compliance with those permits;

(c) Negotiating, preparing, and entering into agreements necessary for the implementation and administration of this chapter and rules adopted under it;

(d) Reviewing no further action letters, issuing covenants not to sue, and monitoring compliance with any terms and conditions of those covenants and with operation and maintenance agreements entered into pursuant to those covenants, including, without limitation, conducting audits of properties where voluntary actions are being or were conducted under this chapter and rules adopted under it.

The fees established pursuant to the rules adopted under division (B)(8) of this section shall be at a level sufficient to defray the direct and indirect costs incurred by the agency for the administration and enforcement of this chapter and rules adopted under it other than the provisions regarding the certification of professionals and laboratories.

(9) Criteria for selecting the no further action letters issued under section 3746.11 of the Revised Code that will be audited under section 3746.17 of the Revised Code, and the scope and procedures for conducting those audits. The rules adopted under division (B)(9) of this section, at a minimum, shall require the director to establish priorities for auditing no further action letters to which any of the following applies:

(a) The letter was prepared by an environmental professional who was deemed to be a certified professional under division (D) of section 3746.07 of the Revised Code, but who does not comply with the criteria established in rules adopted under division (B)(5) of this section as determined pursuant to rules adopted under division (B)(5)(d) of this section;.

(b) The letter was submitted fraudulently;.

(c) The letter was prepared by a certified environmental professional whose certification subsequently was revoked in accordance with rules adopted under division (B)(5) of this section, or analyses were performed for the purposes of the no further action letter by a certified laboratory whose certification subsequently was revoked in accordance with rules adopted under division (B)(6) of this section;.

(d) A covenant not to sue that was issued pursuant to the letter was revoked under this chapter;.

(e) The letter was for a voluntary action that was conducted pursuant to a risk assessment in accordance with rules adopted under division (B)(2) of this section;.

(f) The letter was for a voluntary action that included as remedial activities engineering controls or institutional controls or activity and use limitations authorized under section 3746.05 of the Revised Code or restrictions on the use of the relevant property identified pursuant to division (C)(3) of section 3746.10 of the Revised Code.

The rules adopted under division (B)(9) of this section shall provide for random audits of no further action letters to which the rules adopted under divisions (B)(9)(a) to (f) of this section do not apply.

(10) A classification system to characterize ground water according to its capability to be used for human use and its impact on the environment and a methodology that shall be used to determine when ground water that has become contaminated from sources on a property for which a covenant not to sue is requested under section 3746.11 of the Revised Code shall be remediated to the standards established under division (B)(1) or (2) of this section.

(a) In adopting rules under division (B)(10) of this section to characterize ground water according to its capability for human use, the director shall consider all of the following:

(i) The presence of legally enforceable, reliable restrictions on the use of ground water, including, without limitation, local rules or ordinances;

(ii) The presence of regional commingled contamination from multiple sources that diminishes the quality of ground water;

(iii) The natural quality of ground water;

(iv) Regional availability of ground water and reasonable alternative sources of drinking water;

(v) The productivity of the aquifer;

(vi) The presence of restrictions on the use of ground water implemented under this chapter and rules adopted under it;

(vii) The existing use of ground water.

(b) In adopting rules under division (B)(10) of this section to characterize ground water according to its impacts on the environment, the director shall consider both of the following:

(i) The risks posed to humans, fauna, surface water, sediments, soil, air, and other resources by the continuing presence of contaminated ground water;

(ii) The availability and feasibility of technology to remedy ground water contamination.

(11) Governing the application for and issuance of variances under section 3746.09 of the Revised Code;

(12)(a) In the case of voluntary actions involving contaminated ground water, specifying the circumstances under which the generic numerical clean-up standards established in rules adopted under division (B)(1) of this section and standards established through a risk assessment conducted pursuant to rules adopted under division (B)(2) of this section shall be inapplicable to the remediation of contaminated ground water and under which the standards for remediating contaminated ground water shall be established on a case-by-case basis prior to the commencement of the voluntary action pursuant to rules adopted under division (B)(12)(b) of this section;

(b) Criteria and procedures for the case-by-case establishment of standards for the remediation of contaminated ground water under circumstances in which the use of the generic numerical clean-up standards and standards established through a risk assessment are precluded by the rules adopted under division (B)(12)(a) of this section. The rules governing the procedures for the case-by-case development of standards for the remediation of contaminated ground water shall establish application, public participation, adjudication, and appeals requirements and procedures that are equivalent to the requirements and procedures established in section 3746.09 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under division (B)(11) of this section, except that the procedural rules shall not require an applicant to make the demonstrations set forth in divisions (A)(1) to (3) of section 3746.09 of the Revised Code and shall not require the director to obtain the advice of the property revitalization board created in section 3746.08 of the Revised Code regarding any application submitted pursuant to the rules adopted under division (B)(12)(b) of this section.

(13) A definition of the evidence that constitutes sufficient evidence for the purpose of division (A)(5) of section 3746.02 of the Revised Code.

At least thirty days before filing the proposed rules required to be adopted under this section with the secretary of state, director of the legislative service commission, and joint committee on agency rule review in accordance with divisions (B) and (H) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code, the director of environmental protection shall hold at least one public meeting on the proposed rules in each of the five districts into which the agency has divided the state for administrative purposes.

Sec. 3746.05.  A remedy or remedial activity conducted under this chapter may attain applicable standards otherwise established in this chapter and rules adopted under it through the use of institutional controls or activity and use limitations that restrict the access to or use of a property or through the removal of, treatment of, transportation for treatment or disposal of, disposal of, or use of engineering controls that contain or control the release of hazardous substances or petroleum at or from a property. Any such institutional controls or activity and use limitations that restrict the use of a property shall ensure that the property is used only for purposes that comply with the applicable standards established in this chapter and rules adopted under it pertaining to the intended use of the property after the completion of the voluntary action, as the intended use is specified in the documents establishing the institutional controls or activity and use limitations. If a property is subject to institutional controls that restrict its use or activity and use limitations and is put to a use that does not comply with the institutional controls or activity and use restrictions limitations specified in the documents establishing the institutional controls or activity and use limitations, the covenant not to sue issued under section 3746.12 of the Revised Code for the property in connection with the voluntary action for which the institutional controls or activity and use limitations were established is hereby declared to be void on and after the date of the commencement of the noncomplying use.

Sec. 3746.10.  (A) Except as otherwise provided in section 3746.02 of the Revised Code, any person may undertake a voluntary action under this chapter and rules adopted under it to identify and address potential sources of contamination by hazardous substances or petroleum of soil, sediments, surface water, or ground water on or underlying property and to establish that the property meets applicable standards. The voluntary action may include any one or more of the following elements:

(1) A phase I property assessment conducted in accordance with rules adopted under division (B)(3) of section 3746.04 of the Revised Code or division (B) of section 3746.07 of the Revised Code, as appropriate;

(2) A phase II property assessment conducted in accordance with rules adopted under division (B)(4) of section 3746.04 of the Revised Code or division (C) of section 3746.07 of the Revised Code, as appropriate;

(3) A sampling plan;

(4) A remediation plan;

(5) Remedial activities;

(6) Such other activities as the person undertaking the voluntary action considers to be necessary or appropriate to address the contamination.

When the person undertaking a voluntary action determines that the property meets applicable standards, he the person may seek a no further action letter from a certified professional. A no further action letter may be issued for the property at any stage of the identification of potential hazardous substance or petroleum contamination or remedial activities after a phase I or II property assessment has demonstrated that there is no reason to believe that there has been a release of hazardous substances or petroleum at or upon the property, that information indicates that there has been a release of hazardous substances or petroleum at or upon the property, but that the release is not in excess of applicable standards, or that if there has been such a release in excess of applicable standards, those standards have been achieved through remedial activities or will be achieved in accordance with the timeframes established in an operation and maintenance agreement entered into under division (A)(3) of section 3746.12 of the Revised Code or in such an agreement and a consolidated standards permit issued under section 3746.15 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) A person who is participating in the voluntary action program under this chapter and rules adopted under it shall do both of the following:

(a) Utilize the services of a certified laboratory to perform any analyses that form the basis for the issuance of a no further action letter for a property and ensure that a laboratory performs in connection with a voluntary action only those analyses for which it is certified under rules adopted under division (B)(6) of section 3746.04 of the Revised Code or for which it is qualified prior to the adoption of those rules;

(b) Utilize the services of a certified professional to verify that the property and any remedial activities undertaken at the property in connection with a voluntary action comply with applicable standards and, if those standards are met, to issue to the person a no further action letter for the property. For the purposes of such a verification, the certified professional shall perform and review all work that was conducted to support the request for the no further action letter or shall ensure that the work has been performed and reviewed by other persons with expertise and competence in areas other than those of the certified professional's expertise and competence as necessary for the issuance of the no further action letter.

(2) No person who is participating in the voluntary action program shall do any of the following:

(a) If the person also is a certified professional, prepare a no further action letter in connection with a voluntary action conducted at a property that he the certified professional owns or operates;

(b) Utilize the services of a certified professional who is employed by, affiliated with, or related to him the participant or who was employed by or affiliated with him the participant during the year preceding the date that he the participant entered into the contract to utilize the services of the certified professional in connection with the voluntary action;

(c) Utilize the services of a certified laboratory that is owned by or affiliated with him the participant, that is owned by a person related to him the participant, or that was owned by or affiliated with him the participant during the year preceding the date that he the participant entered into the contract to utilize the services of the certified laboratory in connection with the voluntary action, to perform any analyses that form the basis for the issuance of a no further action letter in connection with a voluntary action.

A covenant not to sue issued under section 3746.12 of the Revised Code to a person who violated division (B)(2)(a), (b), or (c) of this section with respect to the no further action letter upon which issuance of the covenant was based is void.

Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(2) of this section, a person who is participating in the voluntary action program may utilize an independent contractor to serve as a certified professional or certified laboratory.

(C) In order to obtain a no further action letter, a person undertaking a voluntary action shall submit to a certified professional all of the following, as applicable:

(1) Information demonstrating that there is no contamination by hazardous substances or petroleum of soil, sediments, surface water, or ground water on or underlying the property in concentrations exceeding applicable standards. The demonstrations shall be based upon the findings of a phase I or phase II property assessment.

(2) If remedial activities were conducted in connection with the voluntary action, data demonstrating that the remedy meets applicable standards or will achieve applicable standards in accordance with the timeframes established in an operation and maintenance agreement entered into under division (A)(3) of section 3746.12 of the Revised Code or in such an agreement and a consolidated standards permit issued under section 3746.15 of the Revised Code;

(3)(a) If the remedy relies on institutional controls or restrictions on the use of the property to achieve applicable standards, a demonstration that the institutional controls or the use restrictions have been recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the property is located, or have been entered in the appropriate register for registered land as defined in section 5309.01 of the Revised Code, in compliance with section 3746.14 of the Revised Code;

(b) If the person undertaking a voluntary action seeks to obtain a covenant not to sue and if the remedy relies on activity and use limitations to achieve applicable standards, a demonstration that the activity and use limitations have been developed in accordance with this chapter and rules adopted under it and are contained in a proposed environmental covenant that meets the requirements established in section 5301.82 of the Revised Code.

(4) If the remedy relies on engineering controls that contain or control the release of hazardous substances or petroleum at or from the property, a plan for the proper operation and maintenance of the engineering controls.

(D) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter and rules adopted under it, voluntary actions under this chapter and rules adopted under it shall be undertaken in compliance with all applicable laws of this state and rules adopted under them and with applicable ordinances, resolutions, and rules of political subdivisions of this state.

Sec. 3746.11.  (A) After receiving the demonstrations and operation and maintenance plan, if any, required to be submitted to him a certified professional under division (C) of section 3746.10 of the Revised Code, a the certified professional shall review them to verify whether the property where the voluntary action was undertaken complies with applicable standards or shall ensure that they have been reviewed by another person or persons who performed work to support the request for the no further action letter as provided in division (B)(2) of section 3746.10 of the Revised Code. If, on the basis of the best knowledge, information, and belief of the certified professional, the certified professional concludes that the property meets applicable standards, he the certified professional shall prepare a no further action letter for the property. The no further action letter shall contain all the information specified in rules adopted under division (B)(7) of section 3746.04 of the Revised Code or in division (E) of section 3746.07 of the Revised Code, as applicable.

Upon completion of a no further action letter, the certified professional shall send a copy of the letter to the person who undertook the voluntary action. The letter shall be accompanied by a written request that the person notify the certified professional as to whether the person wishes to submit the no further action letter to the director of environmental protection and by a written notice informing the person that the original letter may be submitted to the director only by a certified professional and that the person may receive a covenant not to sue from the director in connection with the voluntary action only if the no further action letter for the voluntary action is submitted to the director on his the person's behalf by the certified professional.

Promptly after receipt of the letter and request, the person who undertook the voluntary action shall send written notice to the certified professional informing him the certified professional as to whether the person wishes to submit the letter to the director and shall send a copy of the notice to the director. If the person's notice indicates that he the person wishes to have the no further action letter submitted to the director, promptly after receipt of the notice, the certified professional shall submit the original no further action letter, together with a proposed environmental convenant, if applicable, and a proposed operation and maintenance agreement, if applicable, to the director by certified mail on behalf of the person who undertook the voluntary action. If the person who undertook the voluntary action notifies the certified professional that he the person does not wish to submit the no further action letter to the director, the certified professional shall send the original letter to the person promptly after receiving the notice.

(B) If after reviewing the demonstrations required to be submitted to him the certified professional under division (C) of section 3746.10 of the Revised Code, the certified professional finds that the property where the voluntary action was undertaken does not comply with applicable standards, the certified professional shall send to the person who undertook the voluntary action written notice of that fact and of the certified professional's inability to issue a no further action letter for the property.

(C) A certified professional shall prepare a summary report detailing his the certified professional's findings and conclusions about the environmental conditions at the property concerning which the professional was requested to prepare a no further action letter and the remedial activities undertaken to mitigate or abate any threat to public health and safety and the environment, including, without limitation, all of the following:

(1) A description of the nature and extent of contamination emanating from sources on the property;

(2) A risk assessment performed in accordance with rules adopted under division (B)(2) of section 3746.04 of the Revised Code if such an assessment was used in lieu of generic numerical clean-up standards established in rules adopted under division (B)(1) of that section;

(3) A description of any remedy conducted at the property and how the remedy complies with applicable standards;

(4) A description of any plan for the proper operation and maintenance of engineering controls identified under division (C)(4) of section 3746.10 of the Revised Code;

(5) Any documents prepared by any other person who performed work to support the request for the no further action letter as provided in division (B)(2) of section 3746.10 of the Revised Code.

(D) A certified professional shall maintain all documents and data prepared or acquired by him the certified professional in connection with a no further action letter for not less than ten years after the date of issuance of the letter or after the notice required under division (B) of this section has been sent, as applicable, or for a longer period as determined in rules adopted under section 3746.04 of the Revised Code. The director shall have access to those documents and data in accordance with section 3746.18 or 3746.31 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3746.13.  (A) For property that does not involve the issuance of a consolidated standards permit under section 3746.15 of the Revised Code and where no engineering or institutional controls remedial activities for which there is a required operation and maintenance agreement or an environmental covenant under this chapter or sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code, as applicable, are used to comply with applicable standards, the director of environmental protection shall issue a covenant not to sue pursuant to section 3746.12 of the Revised Code by issuance of an order and as a final action under Chapter 3745. of the Revised Code within thirty days after the director receives the no further action letter for the property and accompanying verification from the certified professional who prepared the letter under section 3746.11 of the Revised Code.

(B) For property that involves the issuance of a consolidated standards permit under section 3746.15 of the Revised Code or where engineering or institutional controls remedial activities for which there is a required operation and maintenance agreement or an environmental covenant under this chapter or sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code, as applicable, are used to comply with applicable standards, the director shall issue a covenant not to sue pursuant to section 3746.12 of the Revised Code by issuance of an order and as a final action under Chapter 3745. of the Revised Code within ninety days after the director receives the no further action letter for the property and accompanying verification from the certified professional who prepared the letter and enters into an environmental convenant regarding the property, if applicable.

(C) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, each person who is issued a covenant not to sue under this section shall pay the fee established pursuant to rules adopted under division (B)(8) of section 3746.04 of the Revised Code. Until those rules become effective, each person who is issued a covenant not to sue shall pay a fee of two thousand dollars. The fee shall be paid to the director at the time that the no further action letter and accompanying verification are submitted to the director.

(D) An applicant, as defined in section 122.65 of the Revised Code, who has entered into an agreement under section 122.653 of the Revised Code and who is issued a covenant not to sue under this section shall not be required to pay the fee for the issuance of a covenant not to sue established in rules adopted under division (B)(8) of section 3746.04 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3746.14.  (A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, a no further action letter issued for a property under section 3746.11 of the Revised Code, a covenant not to sue issued for the property under section 3746.12 of the Revised Code, and any restrictions on the use of such property identified pursuant to division (C)(3) of section 3746.10 of the Revised Code shall be filed in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the property is located by the person to whom the covenant not to sue was issued and shall be recorded in the same manner as a deed to the property. The no further action letter, covenant not to sue, and use restrictions, if any, shall run with the property the person to whom a covenant not to sue for a property has been issued under section 3746.12 of the Revised Code shall file for recording in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the property is located a true and accurate copy of all of the following:

(1) The no further action letter issued under section 3746.11 of the Revised Code or an executive summary of it;

(2) The covenant not to sue issued for the property under section 3746.12 of the Revised Code;

(3) The environmental covenant for the property, if any, proposed pursuant to division (C)(3)(b) of section 3746.10 of the Revised Code and executed under section 5301.82 of the Revised Code.

The documents specified in divisions (A)(1) to (3) of this section shall be recorded in the same manner as a deed to the property. The no further action letter, covenant not to sue, and environmental covenant, if any, shall run with the property.

No person shall fail to comply with this division.

(B) Pursuant to Chapter 5309. of the Revised Code, a no further action letter, a covenant not to sue, and, if applicable, any operation and maintenance agreement and use restrictions environmental covenant prepared, issued, entered into, or identified under this chapter and rules adopted under it or under sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code, as applicable, in connection with registered land, as defined in section 5309.01 of the Revised Code, shall be entered as a memorial on the page of the register where the title of the owner is registered.

(C) A no further action letter, a covenant not to sue, and any agreement authorized to be entered into and entered into under this chapter and rules adopted under it may be transferred by the recipient to any other person by assignment or in conjunction with the acquisition of title to the property to which the document applies.

Sec. 3746.171.  The director of environmental protection shall maintain a record of the properties for which covenants not to sue were issued under section 3746.12 of the Revised Code that involve institutional controls or activity and use limitations that restrict the use of the properties in order to comply with applicable standards. The records pertaining to those properties shall indicate the use restrictions or activity and use limitations applicable to each of them. At least once every five years, the director or his an authorized representative of the director shall visually inspect each such property to determine whether the property is being used in compliance with the applicable institutional controls or activity and use limitations.

Sec. 5301.80.  As used in sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Activity and use limitations" means restrictions or obligations created under sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code with respect to real property.

(B) "Agency" means the environmental protection agency or any other state or federal agency that determines or approves the environmental response project pursuant to which an environmental covenant is created.

(C) "Common interest community" means a condominium, a cooperative, or other real property with respect to which a person, by virtue of the person's ownership of a parcel of real property, is obligated to pay property taxes or insurance premiums or to pay for maintenance or improvement of other real property described in a recorded covenant that creates the common interest community.

(D) "Environmental covenant" means a servitude arising under an environmental response project that imposes activity and use limitations and that meets the requirements established in section 5301.82 of the Revised Code.

(E) "Environmental response project" means a plan or work performed for environmental remediation of real property or for protection of ecological features associated with real property and conducted as follows:

(1) Under a federal or state program governing environmental remediation of real property that is subject to agency review or approval, including, but not limited to, property that is the subject of any of the following:

(a) A corrective action, closure, or post-closure pursuant to the "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976," 90 Stat. 2806, 42 U.S.C.A. 6921, et seq., as amended, or any regulation adopted under that act, or Chapter 3734. of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under it;

(b) A removal or remedial action pursuant to the "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980," 94 Stat. 2767, 42 U.S.C.A. 9601, et seq., as amended, or any regulation adopted under that act, or Chapter 3734. or 6111. of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under those chapters;

(c) A no further action letter submitted with a request for a covenant not to sue pursuant to section 3746.11 of the Revised Code;

(d) A no further action letter prepared pursuant to section 122.654 of the Revised Code;

(e) A corrective action pursuant to section 3737.88, 3737.882, or 3737.89 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under those sections.

(2) Pursuant to a mitigation requirement associated with the section 401 water quality certification program or the isolated wetland program as required by Chapter 6111. of the Revised Code;

(3) Pursuant to a grant commitment or loan agreement entered into pursuant to section 6111.036 or 6111.037 of the Revised Code;

(4) Pursuant to a supplemental environmental project embodied in orders issued by the director of environmental protection pursuant to Chapter 6111. of the Revised Code.

(F) "Holder" means a grantee of an environmental covenant as specified in division (A) of section 5301.81 of the Revised Code.

(G) "Person" includes the state, a political subdivision, another state or local entity, the United States and any agency or instrumentality of it, and any legal entity defined as a person under section 1.59 of the Revised Code.

(H) "Record," when used as a noun, means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

Sec. 5301.81. (A) Any person, including a person that owns an interest in the real property that is the subject of an environmental covenant, may be a holder. An environmental covenant may identify more than one holder.

(B) The interest of a holder is an interest in real property. However, a right of an agency under sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code or under an environmental covenant, other than a right as a holder, is not an interest in real property.

Sec. 5301.82.  (A) An environmental covenant shall contain all of the following:

(1) A statement that the instrument is an environmental covenant executed pursuant to sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code;

(2) A legally sufficient description of the real property that is subject to the environmental covenant;

(3) A description of the activity and use limitations on the real property;

(4) Requirements for notice following transfer of a specified interest in, or concerning proposed changes in the use of, applications for building permits for, or proposals for any site work affecting contamination on, the property that is subject to the environmental covenant;

(5) The name or identity of every holder;

(6) Rights of access to the property granted in connection with implementation or enforcement of the environmental covenant;

(7) The signatures of the applicable agency, every holder, and, unless waived by the agency, every owner of the fee simple of the real property that is subject to the environmental covenant;

(8) An identification of the name and location of any administrative record for the environmental response project pursuant to which the environmental covenant is created.

(B) In addition to the information required by division (A) of this section, an environmental covenant may contain other information, restrictions, and requirements agreed to by the persons who signed the environmental covenant, including any of the following:

(1) Requirements for periodic reporting describing compliance with the environmental covenant;

(2) A brief narrative description of contamination on the property and its remedy, including the contaminants of concern, the pathways of exposure, limits on exposure, and the location and extent of the contamination;

(3) Limitations on amendment or termination of the environmental covenant in addition to those established in sections 5301.89 and 5301.90 of the Revised Code;

(4) Rights of the holder in addition to the right to enforce the environmental covenant pursuant to section 5301.91 of the Revised Code.

(C) In addition to other conditions for an agency's approval of an environmental covenant, the agency may require those persons specified by the agency who have interests in the real property that is the subject of the environmental covenant to sign the covenant.

Sec. 5301.83.  (A) A copy of an environmental covenant shall be provided to all of the following in a manner required by the applicable agency:

(1) Each person that signed the environmental covenant;

(2) Each person holding a recorded interest in the real property that is subject to the environmental covenant;

(3) Each person in possession of the real property that is subject to the environmental covenant;

(4) Each unit of local government in which the real property that is subject to the environmental covenant is located;

(5) Any other person that the agency requires.

(B) The validity of an environmental covenant is not affected by failure to provide a copy of the environmental covenant as required under this section.

Sec. 5301.84. An agency is bound by any obligation that it expressly assumes in an environmental covenant, but an agency does not assume obligations merely by signing an environmental covenant. Any other person that signs an environmental covenant is bound by the obligations that the person assumes in the environmental covenant, but signing the environmental covenant does not change obligations, rights, or protections that are granted or imposed under law other than sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code, except as provided in the environmental covenant.

Sec. 5301.85.  (A) An environmental covenant that complies with sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code runs with the land.

(B) An environmental covenant that is otherwise effective is valid and enforceable even if any of the following limitations on enforcement of interests applies:

(1) It is not appurtenant to an interest in real property.

(2) It can be or has been assigned to a person other than the original holder.

(3) It is not of a character that has been recognized traditionally at common law.

(4) It imposes a negative burden.

(5) It imposes an affirmative obligation on a person having an interest in the real property or on the holder.

(6) The benefit or burden of the environmental covenant does not touch or concern real property.

(7) There is no privity of estate or contract.

(8) The holder dies, ceases to exist, resigns, or is replaced.

(9) The owner of an interest that is subject to the environmental covenant and the holder are the same person.

(C) An instrument that creates restrictions or obligations with respect to real property that would qualify as activity and use limitations except for the fact that the instrument was recorded before the effective date of sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code is not invalid or unenforceable because of any of the limitations on enforcement of interests described in division (B) of this section or because it was identified as an easement, servitude, deed restriction, or other interest. Sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code do not apply in any other respect to such an instrument.

(D) Sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code do not invalidate or render unenforceable any interest, whether designated as an environmental covenant or other interest, that is otherwise enforceable under the laws of this state.

(E) Nothing in sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code shall be construed to restrict, affect, or impair the rights of any person under the Revised Code or common law to enter into or record a restrictive covenant, institutional control, easement, servitude, or other restriction on the use of property that does not satisfy the requirements of division (A) of section 5301.82 of the Revised Code and does not have the permission, approval, or consent of an agency, political subdivision, regulatory body, or other unit of government. However, a restrictive covenant, institutional control, easement, servitude, or other restriction on the use of property entered into or recorded without such permission, approval, or consent is not an environmental covenant and is not binding on an agency, political subdivision, regulatory body, or other unit of government.

Sec. 5301.86. With respect to interests in real property in existence at the time that an environmental covenant is created or amended, all of the following apply:

(A) An interest that has priority under other law is not affected by an environmental covenant unless the person that owns the interest agrees to subordinate that interest to the environmental covenant.

(B) Sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code do not require a person that owns a prior interest to subordinate that interest to an environmental covenant or to agree to be bound by the covenant.

(C) A subordination agreement may be contained in an environmental covenant or in a separate record. If the environmental covenant covers commonly owned property in a common interest community, the record may be signed by any person who is authorized by the common interest community.

(D) An agreement by a person to subordinate a prior interest to an environmental covenant affects the priority of that persons's interest, but does not by itself impose any affirmative obligation on the person with respect to the environmental covenant.

Sec. 5301.87. Sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code do not authorize a use of real property that is otherwise prohibited by zoning, by law other than sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code regulating use of real property, or by a recorded instrument that has priority over an environmental covenant. An environmental covenant may prohibit or restrict uses of real property that are authorized by zoning or by law other than sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5301.88.  (A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, an environmental covenant and any amendment or termination of the environmental covenant shall be filed in the office of the county recorder of each county in which the real property that is subject to the environmental covenant is located and shall be recorded in the same manner as a deed to the property. For purposes of indexing, a holder shall be treated as a grantee.

(B) Pursuant to Chapter 5309. of the Revised Code, an environmental covenant and any amendment or termination of the environmental covenant in connection with registered land, as defined in section 5309.01 of the Revised Code, shall be entered as a memorial on the page of the register where the title of the owner is registered.

(C) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of section 5301.89 of the Revised Code, an environmental covenant is subject to the laws of this state governing recording and priority of interest in real property.

Sec. 5301.89. (A) An environmental covenant is perpetual unless any of the following applies:

(1) The environmental covenant is limited by its terms to a specific duration or is terminated by its terms by the occurrence of a specific event.

(2) The environmental covenant is terminated by consent pursuant to section 5301.90 of the Revised Code.

(3) The environmental covenant is terminated pursuant to division (B) of this section.

(4) The environmental covenant is terminated by foreclosure of an interest that has priority over the environmental covenant.

(5) The environmental covenant is terminated or modified in an eminent domain proceeding, but only if all of the following apply:

(a) The agency that signed the environmental covenant is a party to the proceeding.

(b) All persons identified in divisions (A) and (B) of section 5301.90 of the Revised code are given notice of the pendency of the proceeding.

(c) The court determines, after a hearing, that the termination or modification will not adversely affect human health or safety or the environment.

(B) If the agency that signed an environmental covenant has determined that the intended benefits of the environmental covenant can no longer be realized, a court, under the doctrine of changed circumstances, in an action in which all persons identified in divisions (A) and (B) of section 5301.90 of the Revised Code have been given notice, may terminate the environmental covenant or reduce its burden on the real property that is subject to the environmental covenant.

(C) Except as otherwise provided in divisions (A) and (B) of this section, an environmental covenant may not be extinguished, limited, or impaired through issuance of a tax deed, foreclosure of a tax lien, or application of the doctrine of adverse possession, prescription, abandonment, waiver, lack of enforcement, or acquiescence or a similar doctrine.

(D) An environmental covenant may not be extinguished, limited, or impaired by application of sections 5301.47 to 5301.56 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5301.90.  (A) An environmental covenant may be amended or terminated by consent only if the amendment or termination is signed by all of the following:

(1) The applicable agency;

(2) Unless waived by that agency, the current owner of the fee simple of the real property that is subject to the environmental covenant;

(3) Each person that originally signed the environmental covenant unless the person waived in a signed record the right to consent or a court finds that the person no longer exists or cannot be located or identified with the exercise of reasonable diligence;

(4) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(2) of this section, each holder.

(B) If an interest in real property is subject to an environmental covenant, the interest is not affected by an amendment of the environmental covenant unless the current owner of the interest consents in writing to the amendment or has waived in a signed record the right to consent to amendments.

(C) Except for an assignment undertaken pursuant to a governmental reorganization, assignment of an environmental covenant to a new holder is an amendment of the environmental covenant.

(D) Except as otherwise provided in an environmental covenant, both of the following apply:

(1) A holder may not assign its interest without consent of the other parties to the environmental covenant specified in division (A) of this section.

(2) A holder may be removed and replaced by agreement of the other parties specified in division (A) of this section.

(E) A court of competent jurisdiction may fill a vacancy in the position of holder.

Sec. 5301.91.  (A) A civil action for injunctive or other equitable relief for violation of an environmental covenant may be maintained by any of the following:

(1) A party to the environmental covenant specified in division (A) of section 5301.90 of the Revised Code that is not otherwise specified in divisions (A)(2) to (6) of this section;

(2) The environmental protection agency;

(3) The applicable agency if it is other than the environmental protection agency;

(4) Any person to whom the environmental covenant expressly grants the authority to maintain such an action;

(5) A person whose interest in the real property or whose collateral or liability may be affected by the alleged violation of the environmental covenant;

(6) A unit of local government in which the real property that is subject to the environmental covenant is located.

(B) Sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code do not limit the regulatory authority of the applicable agency or the environmental protection agency if it is not the applicable agency under any law other than sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code with respect to an environmental response project.

(C) A person is not responsible for or subject to liability for environmental remediation solely because it has the right to enforce an environmental covenant.

Sec. 5301.92.  Sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code modify, limit, or supersede the "Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act," 114 Stat. 464 (2000), 15 U.S.C. 7001 et seq., as amended, except that sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code do not modify, limit, or supersede section 101 of that act, 15 U.S.C. 7001(a), as amended, or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in section 103 of that act, 15 U.S.C. 7003(b), as amended.

Section 2. That existing sections 123.01, 317.08, 3734.22, 3734.24, 3734.25, 3734.26, 3737.88, 3737.882, 3745.01, 3746.01, 3746.04, 3746.05, 3746.10, 3746.11, 3746.13, 3746.14, and 3746.171 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.