[§128D-20]  De minimis settlements. (a)  Whenever practicable and in the public interest, the director, inconsultation with the attorney general, as promptly as possible, shall reach afinal settlement with a potentially responsible party in any administrative orcivil action brought under this chapter, provided that the settlement involvesonly a minor portion of the response costs at the facility concerned and, inthe judgment of the director, the conditions in either paragraph (1) or (2) aremet:

(1)  Both the amount of the hazardous substancescontributed by that party to the facility and the toxic or other hazardouseffects of the substances contributed by that party to the facility are minimalin comparison to other hazardous substances at the facility; or

(2)  The potentially responsible party is the owner ofthe real property on or in which the facility is located, and did not conductor permit the generation, transportation, storage, treatment, or disposal ofany hazardous substance at the facility, and did not contribute to the releaseor threat of release of a hazardous substance at the facility through anyaction or omission.

This subsection shall not apply if the potentiallyresponsible party purchases the real property with actual or constructiveknowledge that the property was used for the generation, storage, treatment, ordisposal of any hazardous substance.

(b)  The director may provide a covenant not tosue with respect to the facility concerned to any party who has entered into asettlement under this section unless such a covenant would be inconsistent withthe public interest.

(c)  The director shall reach any suchsettlement or grant such covenant not to sue as soon as possible after thedirector has available the information necessary to reach such a settlement orgrant such a covenant.

(d)  A settlement under this section shall beentered as a consent decree or embodied in an administrative order settingforth the terms of the settlement.  Any state court with jurisdiction may enforceany such consent decree or administrative order.

(e)  A party who has resolved its liability tothe State under this section shall not be liable for claims for contribution orindemnity regarding matters addressed in the settlement.  Such settlement doesnot discharge any of the other potentially responsible parties unless its termsso provide, but it reduces the potential liability of the others by the amountof the settlement.

(f)  Nothing in this section shall be construedto affect the authority of the director to reach settlements with otherpotentially responsible parties. [L 1991, c 280, pt of §1]