260.1024 Covenants are perpetual, exceptions — department may terminate covenants, when.

260.1024. Covenants are perpetual, exceptions — department may terminate covenants, when. — 1. An environmental covenant is perpetual unless it is:

(1) By its terms, limited to a specific duration or terminated by the occurrence of a specific event;

(2) Terminated by consent under section 260.1027 ;

(3) Terminated by subsection 2 of this section;

(4) Terminated by foreclosure of an interest that has priority over the environmental covenant; or

(5) Terminated or modified in an eminent domain proceeding, but only if:

(a) The department that signed the covenant is a party to the proceeding;

(b) All persons identified in section 260.1027 are given notice of the pendency of the proceeding; and

(c) The court determines, after hearing, that the termination or modification will not adversely affect human health, public welfare, or the environment.

2. If the department that signed an environmental covenant has determined that the intended benefits of the covenant can no longer be realized, a court, under the doctrine of changed circumstances, in an action in which all persons identified in section 260.1027 have been given notice, may terminate the covenant or reduce its burden on the real property subject to the covenant. The department's determination or its failure to make a determination upon request is subject to review under chapter 536 .

3. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 1 and 2 of this section, an environmental covenant may not be extinguished, limited, or impaired through issuance of a tax deed, foreclosure of a tax lien, or application of the doctrine of adverse possession, prescription, abandonment, waiver, lack of enforcement, or acquiescence, or any similar doctrine.

4. An environmental covenant may not be extinguished, limited, or impaired by the application of chapter 442 or chapter 444 .

(L. 2007 S.B. 54) Effective 1-01-08