(a) General rule.--Persons who have suffered catastrophic losses to their property shall have the right to appeal before the board within the remainder of the county fiscal year in which the catastrophic loss occurred or within six months of the date on which the catastrophic loss occurred, whichever period is longer. The duty of the board shall be to reassess the property to reflect the loss in value from the date of the loss to the end of the taxable year. Any property improvements made subsequent to the catastrophic loss in the same tax year shall not be added to the assessment roll for the remainder of that tax year but shall be added for the following year.

(b) Refund or credit.--Any adjustments in assessment under this section:

(1) shall be reflected by the appropriate taxing authorities in the form of a credit for the succeeding tax year; or

(2) upon application by the property owner to the appropriate taxing authorities, shall result in a refund being paid to the property owner at the time of issuance of the tax notice for the next succeeding tax year by the respective taxing authorities; however, a reduction in assessed value for catastrophic loss due to inclusion or proposed inclusion as residential property on either the National Priority List under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-510, 94 Stat. 2767) or the State priority list under the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), known as the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, shall be in effect until remediation is completed.

(c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "catastrophic loss" means any loss due to mine subsidence, fire, flood or other natural disaster which affects the physical state of the real property and which exceeds 50% of the market value of the real property prior to the loss. The term "catastrophic loss" shall also mean any loss which exceeds 50% of the market value of the real property prior to the loss incurred by residential property owners who are not deemed responsible parties under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 or the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act and whose residential property is included or proposed to be included as residential property on:

(1) the National Priority List by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980; or

(2) the State priority list by the Department of Environmental Resources under the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act.

Cross References. Section 8815 is referred to in section 8847 of this title.