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1996 SESSION

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HB 1167 Petroleum storage tanks.

Introduced by: Harry J. Parrish | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY:

Petroleum storage tanks. Makes numerous changes to laws relating to petroleum storage tanks, the Petroleum Storage Tank Fund, financial responsibility requirements and the discharge of oil to water. Storage tank changes include: (i) exempting all heating oil underground storage tanks which are used for on-site consumption from underground storage tank regulation (currently there is a 5,000 gallon capacity cap on this exemption); (ii) refining who the State Water Control Board (Board) may require to take corrective action for the release of petroleum or any other regulated substance from an underground storage tank from the owner or operator of the tank to the owner or operator who is "the responsible person for the release"; and (iii) adding a definition of "responsible person" as "any person who is an owner or operator of an underground storage tank or an aboveground storage tank at the time a release is reported to the Board."

The Petroleum Storage Tank Fund (Fund) changes include: (i) further defining allowable Fund usage by the Board to "reasonable and necessary per occurrence costs incurred by the owner or operator who is the responsible person in taking corrective action" from the current usage for "per occurrence costs in taking corrective action"; (ii) making the same change to provisions relating to payments to third parties who are injured by the release while also subordinating third party claims to payments for corrective actions; (iii) setting out clearly the amount payable by an owner or operator based on tank capacity and specifying how much may be paid out of the Fund; (iv) adding provisions clarifying that operators of facilities with a capacity greater than 20 million gallons and that have net profits of greater than $10 million have no access to the Fund; (v) prohibiting reimbursement by the Fund of moneys spent on corrective actions for releases reported prior to December 22, 1989 (currently the funds may be spent on corrective action taken after that date regardless of when the release was reported to DEQ); (vi) placing conditions on the use of the Fund for payment of interest and other finance charges on certain loans used for corrective actions; (vii) prohibiting funds from being paid to owners or operators when they fail to report a discharge as required by law; (viii) requiring the Board to maintain the Fund balance at a level sufficient to assure that the Fund can be used as a financial responsibility demonstration mechanism; (ix) allowing the Board to temporarily reduce or delay disbursements from the Fund if needed to maintain the Fund balance; and (x) clarifying which fuels the fee that capitalizes the Fund is imposed upon.

Financial responsibility requirements are changed by removing petroleum storage tank vendors from requirements related to the demonstration of financial responsibility.

Changes to the laws relating to the discharge of oil to waters include: (i) exempting, in the requirement that the Board develop regulations necessary to prevent pollution from the discharge of oil from aboveground storage tanks, the following aboveground storage tanks at facilities, regardless of whether or not they are engaged in the resale of oil, from inventory control and testing for significant variations: (a) aboveground storage tanks and all piping completely off the ground; (b) aboveground storage tanks with a 5,000-gallon or less capacity located in a building or structure designed to fully contain a discharge of oil; and (c) aboveground storage tanks containing No. 5 or No. 6 fuel oil for use on the same premises (currently the exemption only applies to these same facilities if they are not engaged in the resale of oil); and (ii) deleting a prohibition on the Board granting certain variances to facilities engaged in the resale of oil from regulations designed to prevent pollution from the discharge of oil from aboveground storage tanks.


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