Overview
The Texas IOP created by House Bill 2776 of the 75th
Legislature, provides a certificate to an innocent owner or
operator if their property is contaminated as a result of a release
or migration of contaminants from a source or sources not located
on the property, and they did not cause or contribute to the source
or sources of contamination. Like the Texas Voluntary Cleanup
Program (VCP), the IOP can be used as a redevelopment tool or as a
tool to add value to a contaminated property by providing an
Innocent Owner/Operator Certificate (IOC). However, unlike the VCP
release of liability, IOCs are not transferable to future
owners/operators. Future innocent owners or operators are eligible
to enter the IOP and may receive an IOC only after they become an
owner or operator of the site.
Becoming Eligible for
Immunity
To become eligible for immunity, the innocent owner or operator
must grant reasonable access to the property for future
investigation or remediation, agree on necessary restrictions to
protect human health and the environment, if appropriate, and
demonstrate that:
- the property has become contaminated because of a release or
migration of contaminants from a source or sources not located on
or at the property;
- he or she has not caused or contributed to the source or
sources of the contamination;
- he or she did not acquire the property from the person that
caused the release; or if the property was purchased from the owner
of the source property after September 1, 1997, the effective date
of the IOP law, the applicant must demonstrate he did not know or
have reason to know of the contamination at the time the property
was acquired.
- As per the IOP law, it will be
necessary for IOP parties to submit:
- an application;
- a fee of $1,000 to cover the TCEQ's review cost. (Any portion
of the application fee not incurred or obligated in the review of
the application shall be refunded.); and
- a Site Investigation Report (SIR) that describes the
contaminated area of concern.
Upon completion of a SIR that demonstrates that the above
criteria have been met, then the owner/operator is eligible to
receive an IOC from the TCEQ. Parties may terminate their
participation in the IOP at any time by written notice to the
program.
Through August 2006, the IOP had received 572 applications
representing undeveloped property, office/warehouses,
supermarket/retail, commercial development and private residences.
Of these sites, 460 have received IOCs.
IOP Forms and
Publications
The following documents are provided in pdf. (
Help with PDF.)
IOP Database
This database
contains information on all sites that are in the IOP. It is
provided as a compressed file. See Compressed Files for assistance
in downloading. Fields in the database are identified in the
accompanying file, iopfields.txt. This file and the database,
iopdb.zip, can be downloaded as a single zipped file. The database
is in Microsoft Excel format. This file was last revised September
2008. If you have any questions about how to download this database
or this web page, please contact Diana Christiano at
512-239-5696.
Contact
Information
If you have any comments or questions about the IOP or would
like any of the forms on this web page in Word or Word Perfect,
please send an e-mail to vcp@tceq.state.tx.us.
