Environmental

In South Dakota, the 'innocent landowner defense' under CERCLA protects a property owner from Superfund liability when:

AThe owner was unaware of any contamination when they purchased
BThe owner acquired the property after conducting All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI/Phase I ESA) and had no reason to know of contamination✓ Correct
CThe owner has lived on the property for more than 20 years
DThe contamination occurred before 1980 when CERCLA was enacted

Explanation

CERCLA's innocent landowner defense requires the owner to have conducted appropriate due diligence (All Appropriate Inquiries/Phase I ESA) before purchase and to have had no reason to know of contamination. Simply being unaware is insufficient if adequate inquiry was not conducted. This defense incentivizes pre-purchase environmental due diligence.

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