As used in this article, "hazardous material" shall have the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 25260 of the Health and Safety Code, except that under no circumstances shall petroleum which is naturally occurring on a site be considered a hazardous material.
§ 1263.711.Hazardous Material Defined
Title 7. Eminent Domain Law · Chapter 9. Compensation · Article 8. Remediation of Hazardous Materials on Property to be Acquired by School Districts · Enacted 1995 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1263.711 defines 'hazardous material' for this article by cross-reference to the Health and Safety Code, while expressly excluding petroleum that occurs naturally on the site from that definition.
Full Text of § 1263.711
Plain-English Summary
This section supplies the article's core substantive term. "Hazardous material" carries the same meaning the Health and Safety Code gives it -- the article borrows that definition rather than writing a new one.
One exception narrows it, though: naturally occurring petroleum on the site is never treated as a hazardous material under this article, no matter what the Health and Safety Code definition would otherwise capture. That carve-out keeps ordinary natural petroleum on a site from triggering the article's cleanup-and-cost-recovery machinery.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this article use its own definition of hazardous material?
No -- it borrows the definition from Health and Safety Code § 25260.
Is naturally occurring petroleum on a site treated as hazardous material?
No, it is expressly excluded from the definition under this section.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 247, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1996.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: hazardous material definition condemnation californiapetroleum exclusion eminent domain california