(a) Within 45 days after issuance of the commitment statement, the owner may transmit to the notice recipient by certified mail, return receipt requested, an executed copy of the commitment statement, indicating its acceptance. If the owner does not execute the commitment statement, the commitment statement shall be deemed to have been rejected upon expiration of the 45-day period. A notice recipient has no obligation with respect to the provisions of a rejected commitment statement. (b) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, or unless the owner or the notice recipient has elected not to proceed with the mediation, if the owner rejects the commitment statement, the owner and notice recipient shall participate in a mediation process prior to the commencement of any litigation which pertains to a release covered by the commitment statement. The mediation process shall be supervised by a neutral third party mutually agreed upon by the owner and the notice recipient in order to mediate a mutually agreeable settlement between the owner and notice recipient of all issues related to the release. (2) Either the notice recipient or the owner may elect not to proceed further with the mediation process at any time prior to completion of those proceedings. (3) To the extent a mutually agreeable settlement is reached which allocates the liability and assigns the rights and obligations of the owner and notice recipient in a manner different from or inconsistent with this chapter, the settlement shall supersede the terms of this chapter pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 853. If a settlement of all issues cannot be reached within 90 days after the ownerâs rejection of the commitment statement, the neutral third party shall declare the mediation process unsuccessful and terminate the process. The owner and notice recipient may mutually agree to extend the mediation process but shall communicate any such extension in writing to the neutral third party. If the party issuing the commitment statement fails, for any reason, to participate in the mediation within 90 days of the rejection of the commitment statement, the owner may proceed with litigation. (4) After the termination of an unsuccessful mediation process, the parties shall be free to litigate or otherwise resolve their respective claims. The parties may mutually agree to the terms of the commitment statement at any time after the termination of an unsuccessful mediation process, in which case this chapter shall govern the rights and obligations of the parties. (5) Any applicable statute of limitations shall be tolled for 90 days following issuance of a notice of potential liability, a release report, or a commitment statement. (6) Any applicable statute of limitations shall be tolled from the time the owner rejects a commitment statement until the termination of the mediation process. If mediation is not commenced within 90 days after the ownerâs rejection of the commitment statement, the tolling of the statute of limitations shall terminate unless otherwise agreed to by the parties. (7) Unless the owner and notice recipient agree otherwise, the fees and costs of the neutral third party shall be borne equally by the notice recipient and the owner. (c) Upon taking effect, the commitment statement shall have all of the following results: (1) The commitment statement shall constitute a binding promise that the notice recipient will undertake any response action as required by an oversight agency through a written action, directed to the owner or notice recipient, in connection with the release that is the subject of the notice of potential liability or release report. The commitment statement shall not create any obligations with respect to releases occurring after the commitment statement is signed, or with respect to any other release that is not the subject of the notice of potential liability. (2) The commitment statement shall constitute a binding promise that the o
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