10.1-1245 - Duration; amendment by court action. - Virginia Statutes

§ 10.1-1245. Duration; amendment by court action.

A. An environmental covenant is perpetual unless it is:

1. By its terms limited to a specific duration or terminated by theoccurrence of a specific event;

2. Terminated by consent pursuant to § 10.1-1246;

3. Terminated pursuant to subsection B;

4. Terminated by foreclosure of an interest that has priority over theenvironmental covenant; or

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

a. The agency that signed the covenant is a party to the proceeding;

b. All persons identified in subsections A and B of § 10.1-1246 are givennotice of the pendency of the proceeding; and

c. The court determines, after hearing, that the termination or modificationwill not adversely affect human health or the environment.

B. If the agency that signed an environmental covenant has determined thatthe intended benefits of the covenant can no longer be realized, a court,under the doctrine of changed circumstances, in an action in which allpersons identified in subsections A and B of § 10.1-1246 have been givennotice, may terminate the covenant or reduce its burden on the real propertysubject to the covenant. The agency's determination or its failure to make adetermination upon request is subject to review pursuant to theAdministrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.).

C. Except as otherwise provided in subsections A and B, an environmentalcovenant may not be extinguished, limited, or impaired through issuance of atax deed, foreclosure of a tax lien, or application of the doctrine ofadverse possession, prescription, abandonment, waiver, lack of enforcement,or acquiescence, or a similar doctrine.

(2010, c. 691.)