104. DEFINITIONS

104(a)(15)
This definition has been deleted (and subsequent definitions renumbered accordingly).

106. APPLICABILITY; EXEMPTION
106(a) This subsection has been revised to read as follows:

Except as otherwise provided in this section, the provisions of this Act and any regulations promulgated hereunder, in whole or in part, shall apply to any person and to such property owned or operated by such person within the Navajo Nation, including any person who has agreed to participate in a voluntary response program pursuant to Section 402 of this Act, to such extent and under such terms and conditions as may be provided under said voluntary response program.

106(b) This subsection has been revised to read as follows:

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a) of this section, the provisions of this Act and any regulations promulgated hereunder, in whole or in part, shall not apply to any person or property where such application would be in breach of any covenant not to regulate or otherwise exercise jurisdiction over such person or property. Nothing in this section shall be construed as a determination or admission by the Navajo Nation that any covenant not to regulate or otherwise exercise jurisdiction is valid or invalid.

201. OBLIGATION TO REPORT RELEASES OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES

201(a)
This subsection has been revised to read as follows:

Any owner or operator of a site shall, as soon as he or she has knowledge of any release (other than a permitted release) of a hazardous substance from the site in quantities equal to or greater than those determined as reportable quantities under this Act or 42 U.S.C. § 9602, notify the Navajo Nation Department of Emergency Management, or their designee, within 24 hours of learning of such release. The person in charge of a site shall notify the Navajo Nation EPA within 76 hours of learning of said release. Whether a release meets or exceeds a reportable quantity shall be determined based on the amount of the hazardous substance released within a 24-hour period.

201(b)
A new subsection (b) has been added, which reads as follows:

(b) Continuous Releases

Notification need not be given more than annually for a release subject to subsection (a) when that release is a continuous release, stable in quantity and rate, and notification has already been given for that release pursuant to subsection (a) for a period sufficient to establish the continuity, quantity and regularity of such release. At such time as there is any statistically significant increase in the quantity of any hazardous substance or constituent thereof released above that previously reported, however, notice shall be given immediately pursuant to this section.

201(c)
This subsection (b) becomes new subsection (c) and has been revised to read as follows:

Any owner or operator of a site from which a hazardous substance is released, other than a permitted release, in a quantity equal to or greater than the reportable quantity established by the Director or, in the absence of action by the Director, established pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 9602, and who fails to notify immediately the Navajo Department of Emergency Management, or their designee, as soon as he or she has knowledge of such release, or fails to notify the Navajo Nation EPA within 76 hours of learning of said release, or who submits in such a notification any information which he or she knows to be false or misleading, shall, upon conviction, be fined in accordance with section 509(d) of this Act. Notification received pursuant to this subsection or information obtained by the exploitation of such notification shall not be used against any such person in any criminal case, except a prosecution for perjury or for giving a false statement.

201(d)
A new subsection (d) has been added, which reads as follows:

(d) Registered Pesticide Products

This section shall not apply to the application of a pesticide product registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, 7 U.S.C. § 136 et seq., or to the handling and storage of such a pesticide product by an agricultural producer.

202. PRESERVATION OF RECORDS

202(a)
This subsection has been revised to read as follows:

(1) Beginning with the date of enactment of this statute, or at any such earlier time as a waiver is obtained under paragraph (3) of this subsection, any person required to notify the Administrator under 42 U.S.C. § 9603(c) shall preserve said records for fifty years thereafter or for fifty years after the date of establishment of a record required under 42 U.S.C. § 9603 (whichever is later). It shall be unlawful for any such person knowingly to destroy, mutilate, erase, dispose of, conceal, or otherwise render unavailable or unreadable or falsify any records.

301. INFORMATION GATHERING, SITE EVALUATION AND RESPONSE ACTION DETERMINATION

301(b)(1)(A)
Underlining under "transported" was deleted.

301(e)(2)
Underlining under "transported" was deleted.

301(e)(2)
This section has been revised to read as follows:

"Any person to whom confidential information is disclosed pursuant to paragraph (1) who knowingly and willfully divulges or discloses any information . . . ."

301(f)
The following language was added to this section at the beginning of the last sentence: "In addition to any other enforcement action available under this Act,"

305. RESPONSE ACTION SELECTION

305(g)
The following statement was added to this section: "For purposes of this paragraph, onsite means the areal extent of contamination and all suitable areas in very close proximity to the contamination necessary for implementation of the response action."

403. ADMINISTRATIVE AND CIVIL ACTIONS FOR IMMINENT AND SUBSTANTIAL ENDANGERMENT

403(a)
"release" in second line was revised to read "release of a hazardous substance"

403(e)
The subsection (e) on Reimbursement was deleted.

501. LIABLE PERSONS AND STANDARDS OF LIABILITY

501(d)
The following sentence was added at the end of this subsection: "In addition, the Director may apply requirements concerning removal and remedial actions under this act to federal sites that are not included on the National Priorities List, provided that such requirements are not more stringent than requirements applicable to non-federal sites."

502. DEFENSES TO LIABILITY AND LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY

502(a)(4)(D)
This paragraph ends with a semicolon instead of a period.

502(a)(5)(B)
The word "or" at the end of the paragraph was deleted..

502(a)(5)(C)
This paragraph was renumbered as 502(a)(4)(D) and revised to read as follows: "any combination of paragraphs (1) - (4) above".

503. COSTS AND DAMAGES

503(d)
A new subsection (d) was added:

(d) Contribution

Any person may seek contribution in tribal court from any other person who is liable or potentially liable under Section 501(a), during or following any action brought under this Act. In resolving contribution claims, the court may allocate response costs among liable parties using such equitable factors as the court determines are appropriate. Nothing in this subsection shall diminish the right of any person to bring an action for contribution in the absence of an action being brought under this Act.

503(e)
A new subsection (e) was added:

(e) Limitation Period

The limitation period for bringing actions under this section shall be the same as that specified in 42 U.S.C. § 9613(g), subject to the same conditions as specified therein (as modified to pertain to this Act).

510. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSESSMENT OF PENALTIES

510(d)
A new subsection (d) was added:

Any person subject to a penalty under this subsection may seek review of such penalty assessment in the Navajo Nation District Court in Window Rock, AZ, by filing a petition for review in such court within 30 days following the date that the penalty becomes final and by simultaneously sending a copy of such filing be certified mail to the Director and the Attorney General. A notice of intent to challenge such penalty assessment, otherwise required by the Navajo Nation Sovereign Immunity Act, 1 N.N.C. § 351 et seq., is not required. Within 30 days thereafter, the Director shall file in such court a certified copy or certified index of the record on which the penalty was based. The court shall not set aside or remand an order or assessment under this section unless the record, taken as a whole, does not substantially support the finding of a violation or unless the order or penalty assessment constitutes an abuse of discretion. In any such proceedings, the Director may seek to recover civil penalties ordered or assessed under this section.

701. HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES FUND

701(b)(6)
The paragraph was deleted. The following language was added at the end of the subsection:

Provided, that the Hazardous Substances Fund shall not contain any funds resulting from natural or cultural resource damage claims brought under this Act.

702. NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES FUND

(a) Establishment

The Director shall establish a fiduciary account, called the Natural and Cultural Resources Fund, which shall be used solely to restore, replace or acquire natural or cultural resources equivalent to those damaged, destroyed or otherwise lost.

(b) Sources of Funding

The Natural and Cultural Resources Fund shall be comprised of all funds received from natural and cultural resource damage claims brought pursuant to this Act.

(c) Uses of the Fund

The monies deposited into the Fund shall be expended by the Trustee(s) for Natural and Cultural Resources, designated pursuant to Section 503(c), for use only to restore, replace or acquire the equivalent of any natural or cultural resources that have been damaged, destroyed or otherwise lost, pursuant to the provisions of Section 503(c)(1). The Trustee(s) shall report annually, through the Director, on the sums deposited into the Fund, including the sources and uses thereof. Any monies contained in said Fund at the end of the fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall remain available for appropriation as provided in this section.

801. RULEMAKING

801(b)(1)
The following language was added at the end of the paragraph:

"except in the case of petroleum, where the reportable quantity shall be 25 gallons for releases on land and, for releases into surface water, such quantity as violates applicable water quality standards or causes a film or sheen upon or discoloration of the surface of the water or causes a sludge or emulsion to be deposited beneath the surface of the water."