{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-353.564","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 353.564","heading":"When owner or prior owner deemed to have waived certain rights --","body":"Cabinet's authority to recover actual and necessary expenses incurred in\nimplementing KRS 353.561 to 353.564 -- Cabinet's powers when seeking cost -\nefficiency or public benefit -- Administrative regulations.\n(1) (a) Any prior owner or the surface owner shall be deemed to have waived any\nright to any equipment or product remaining at the site of an orphan well or\nabandoned storage tank facility at the time of plugging, removal, or\nreclamation by the cabinet or its contractors pursuant to this section or KRS\n353.561, 353.562, or 353.563 because of the abandonment or neglect of the\nfacility being plugged, removed, or reclaimed with public moneys from the\nKentucky abandoned storage ta nk and orphan well reclamation fund\nestablished in KRS 353.562.\n(b) Pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection, the cabinet or its agents may\ninclude as part of the plugging, removal, reclamation or remediation contract\nall equipment or products removed from that orphan well or abandoned\nstorage tank facility for sale, recycling, or disposal.\n(2) The cabinet shall have the authority to recover actual and necessary expenditures,\nincluding administrative costs, reasonably incurred in carrying out the duties  of this\nsection and KRS 353.561, 353.562, and 353.563 from:\n(a) The last owner or operator of record of the abandoned storage tank facility\nwhere fund moneys were expended; and\n(b) Any other party legally responsible for causing or contributing to a threa t to\nhuman health, safety, and the environment that the Commonwealth incurred\nas costs or expenses under this section and KRS 353.561, 353.562, and\n353.563.\n(3) The cabinet may initiate an action for reimbursement of costs in any court of\ncompetent jurisdi ction. The recovery of any costs under this section and KRS\n353.563 shall be credited to the Kentucky abandoned storage tank and orphan well\nreclamation fund except for recovered administrative costs which shall be retained\nby the cabinet.\n(4) The cabinet may not seek reimbursement from the landowner for costs incurred\nunder this section and KRS 353.563 unless the landowner qualifies as the last\nknown owner or operator under subsection (2)(a) of this section or caused or\ncontributed to a threat under subsection (2)(b) of this section.\n(5) (a) Expenditures of moneys from the fund for the purposes established in KRS\n353.562(5) and (6) shall be prioritized in the following order:\n1. Eligible wells and abandoned storage tank facilities that are an imminent\nthreat to human health, safety, or the environment;\n2. Abandoned storage tank facilities and orphan wells that could pose a\nthreat to human health, safety, or the environment as evidenced by the\nproximity to structures, streams, rivers, water bodies, or other s ensitive\nareas; and\n3. Abandoned storage tank facilities and orphan wells that could pose a\npotential threat to human health, safety, or the environment.\n(b) The cabinet may address any abandoned storage tank facility or eligible well,\nregardless of priority, if doing so would be cost -efficient or otherwise create a\ndemonstrable benefit for the public at large.\n(c) The cabinet may promulgate administrative regu lations pursuant to KRS\nChapter 13A in order to provide further detail related to the ranking of wells\nand abandoned storage tank facilities for plugging, removal, remediation, and\nreclamation.","path":["KRS Chapter 353"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=48616","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:39Z","sha256":"aa16563502a8fd0c265d127d60581c7d3fe9cdab5e0bfd7bc10cb1502130ff68","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-353.563","next":"us-ky/krs-353.565"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}