Tex.
Health & Safety Code Section 1101.152
Nature of Voluntary Disclosure
(a)
A disclosure is voluntary for purposes of this subchapter only if:(1)
the disclosure was made:(A)
promptly after knowledge of the information disclosed is obtained by the person making the disclosure; or(B)
not later than the 45th day after the acquisition closing date, if the violation was discovered during an audit conducted before the acquisition closing date by a person considering the acquisition of the regulated facility or operation;(2)
the disclosure was made in writing by certified mail to an agency that has regulatory authority with regard to the violation disclosed;(3)
an investigation of the violation was not initiated or the violation was not independently detected by an agency with enforcement jurisdiction before the disclosure was made using certified mail;(4)
the disclosure arises out of a voluntary environmental or health and safety audit;(5)
the person making the disclosure initiates an appropriate effort to achieve compliance, pursues that effort with due diligence, and corrects the noncompliance within a reasonable time;(6)
the person making the disclosure cooperates with the appropriate agency in connection with an investigation of the issues identified in the disclosure; and(7)
the violation did not result in:(A)
injury or imminent and substantial risk of serious injury to one or more persons at the site; or(B)
off-site substantial actual harm or imminent and substantial risk of harm to persons, property, or the environment.(b)
For a disclosure described by Subsection (a)(1)(B), the person making the disclosure must certify in the disclosure that before the acquisition closing date:(1)
the person was not responsible for the environmental, health, or safety compliance at the regulated facility or operation that is subject to the disclosure;(2)
the person did not have the largest ownership share of the seller;(3)
the seller did not have the largest ownership share of the person; and(4)
the person and the seller did not have a common corporate parent or a common majority interest owner.(c)
A disclosure is not voluntary for purposes of this subchapter if the disclosure is a report to a regulatory agency required solely by a specific condition of an enforcement order or decree.
Source:
Section 1101.152 — Nature of Voluntary Disclosure, https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.1101.htm#1101.152 (accessed Jun. 5, 2024).
