For the purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meaning:
(a) “Easement” means a conservation easement, as defined in Section 815.1 of the Civil Code.
(b) “Environmental assessment” means an investigation of real property, conducted by an independent qualified environmental consultant, to discover the presence or likely presence of a release or a threat of a release of a hazardous substance at, on, to, or from the real property. An environmental assessment shall include, but is not limited to, an investigation of the historical use of the real property, any prior releases, records, consultant reports and regulatory agency correspondence, a visual survey of the real property, and, if warranted, sampling and analytical testing.
(c) “Owner” means either of the following:
(1) An independent special district, as defined in Section 56044 of the Government Code.
(2) An entity or organization that holds an easement.
(d) “Property” means either of the following:
(1) Real property acquired by a special district by means of a gift or donation for which an environmental assessment was completed prior to the transfer or conveyance of the real property to the special district.
(2) An easement for which an environmental assessment was completed prior to the transfer or conveyance of the easement to an entity or organization authorized to accept the easement pursuant to Section 815.3 of the Civil Code.