{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-27a-27a-1-4-119","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 27A, § 27A-1-4-119","heading":"Voluntary disclosure of violations - Immunity","body":"A. Except as otherwise provided by this act, a person who makes\n\na voluntary disclosure of a violation of an environmental or health\n\nand safety law is immune from an administrative or civil penalty for\n\nthe violation disclosed.\n\nB. A disclosure is voluntary only if:\n\n1. The disclosure was made:\n\na. promptly after knowledge of the information disclosed\n\nis obtained by the person making the disclosure, and\n\nb. no later than forty-five (45) days after the\n\nacquisition closing date, if the violation was\n\ndiscovered during an audit conducted before the\n\nacquisition closing date by a person considering the\n\nacquisition of the regulated facility or operation;\n\n2. Notice of the disclosure was made in writing by certified\n\nmail to an agency that has regulatory authority with regard to the\n\nviolation disclosed;\n\n3. An investigation of the violation was not initiated or the\n\nviolation was not independently detected by an agency with\n\nenforcement jurisdiction before the disclosure was made using\n\ncertified mail;\n\n4. The disclosure arises out of a voluntary environmental or\n\nhealth and safety audit;\n\n5. The person who makes the disclosure initiates an appropriate\n\neffort to achieve compliance, pursues that effort with due\n\ndiligence, and corrects the noncompliance within a reasonable time;\n\n6. The person making the disclosure cooperates with the\n\nappropriate agency in connection with an investigation of the issues\n\nidentified in the disclosure; and\n\n7. The violation did not result in:\n\na. injury or imminent and substantial risk of serious\n\ninjury to one or more persons at the site, or\n\nb. off-site substantial harm or imminent and substantial\n\nrisk of harm to persons, property, or the environment.\n\nC. For a disclosure described in subparagraph b of paragraph 1\n\nof subsection B of this section, the person making the disclosure\n\nmust certify in the disclosure that before the acquisition closing\n\ndate:\n\n1. The person was not responsible for the environmental,\n\nhealth, or safety compliance at the regulated facility or operation\n\nthat is subject to the disclosure;\n\n2. The person did not have the largest ownership share of the\n\nseller;\n\n3. The seller did not have the largest ownership share of the\n\nperson; and\n\n4. The person and the seller did not have a common corporate\n\nparent or a common majority interest owner.\n\nD. A disclosure is not voluntary for purposes of this section\n\nif it is a report to a regulatory agency required solely by a\n\nspecific condition of an enforcement order or decree.\n\nE. The immunity established by subsection A of this section\n\ndoes not apply and an administrative or civil penalty may be imposed\n\nunder applicable law if:\n\n1. The person who made the disclosure willfully or knowingly\n\ncommitted or was responsible within the meaning of state laws for\n\nthe commission of the disclosed violation;\n\n2. The person who made the disclosure recklessly committed or\n\nwas responsible within the meaning of state laws for the commission\n\nof the disclosed violation and the violation resulted in substantial\n\ninjury to one or more persons at the site or off-site harm to\n\npersons, property or the environment;\n\n3. The offense was committed willfully or knowingly by a member\n\nof the person's management or an agent of the person and the\n\nperson's policies or lack of prevention systems contributed\n\nmaterially to the occurrence of the violation;\n\n4. The offense was committed recklessly by a member of the\n\nperson's management or an agent of the person, the person's policies\n\nor lack of prevention systems contributed materially to the\n\noccurrence of the violation, and the violation resulted in\n\nsubstantial injury to one or more persons at the site or off-site\n\nharm to persons, property or the environment; or\n\n5. The violation has resulted in a substantial economic benefit\n, the person's policies\n\nor lack of prevention systems contributed materially to the\n\noccurrence of the violation, and the violation resulted in\n\nsubstantial injury to one or more persons at the site or off-site\n\nharm to persons, property or the environment; or\n\n5. The violation has resulted in a substantial economic benefit\n\nthat gives the violator a clear advantage over its business\n\ncompetitors.\n\nF. A penalty that is imposed under subsection D of this section\n\nshould, to the extent appropriate, be mitigated by factors such as:\n\n1. The voluntariness of the disclosure;\n\n2. Efforts by the disclosing party to conduct environmental or\n\nhealth and safety audits;\n\n3. Remediation;\n\n4. Cooperation with government officials investigating the\n\ndisclosed violation;\n\n5. The period of ownership of the regulated facility or\n\noperation; or\n\n6. Other relevant considerations.\n\nG. In a civil or administrative enforcement action brought\n\nagainst a person for a violation for which the person claims to have\n\nmade a voluntary disclosure, the person claiming the immunity has\n\nthe burden of establishing a prima facie case that the disclosure\n\nwas voluntary. After the person claiming the immunity establishes a\n\nprima facie case of voluntary disclosure, other than a case in which\n\nunder subsections D and E of this section immunity does not apply,\n\nthe enforcement authority has the burden of rebutting the\n\npresumption by a preponderance of the evidence.\n\nH. In order to receive immunity under this section, a facility\n\nconducting an environmental or health and safety audit under this\n\nact must give notice to an appropriate regulatory agency of the fact\n\nthat it is planning to commence the audit. The notice shall specify\n\nthe facility or portion of the facility to be audited, the\n\nanticipated time the audit will begin and the general scope of the\n\naudit. The notice may provide notification of more than one\n\nscheduled environmental or health and safety audit at a time.\n\nI. In order to receive immunity under this section, a potential\n\npurchaser:\n\n1. That acquires a regulated facility or operation that is the\n\nsubject of an audit begun prior to acquisition may continue the\n\naudit after the acquisition closing date if, no later than forty-\n\nfive (45) days after the acquisition closing date, the person\n\nprovides notice to an appropriate regulatory agency of the fact that\n\nthe potential purchaser intends to continue the ongoing audit;\n\n2. The notice must specify:\n\na. the facility or portion of the facility being audited,\n\nb. the date the audit began, and\n\nc. the general scope of the audit; and\n\n3. The potential purchaser must certify that before the\n\nacquisition closing date:\n\na. the potential purchaser was not responsible for the\n\nscope of the environmental, health, or safety\n\ncompliance being audited at the regulated facility of\n\noperation,\n\nb. the potential purchaser did not have the largest\n\nownership share of the seller,\n\nc. the seller did not have the largest ownership share of\n\nthe potential purchaser, and\n\nd. the potential purchaser and the seller did not have a\n\ncommon corporate parent or a common majority interest\n\nowner.\n\nJ. The immunity under this section does not apply if a court or\n\nadministrative law judge finds that the person claiming the immunity\n\nhas, after the effective date of this act:\n\n1. Repeatedly or continuously committed significant violations;\n\nand\n\n2. Not attempted to bring the facility or operation into\n\ncompliance, so as to constitute a pattern of disregard of\n\nenvironmental or health and safety laws.\n\nFor violations to be considered a pattern, the person shall have\n\ncommitted a series of violations that were due to separate and\n\ndistinct events occurring within a three-year period at the same\n\nfacility or operation.","path":["OK Code","Title 27A"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os27A.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"4739d9a334b87367228926a86163b3beec4fef39e9c5001aac54f40c08b0e950","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-27a-27a-1-4-118","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-27a-27a-1-4-120"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}