CSSB 128(FIN): "An Act moving the termination date of the Board of Storage Tank Assistance to June 30, 1999; relating to the storage tank assistance fund, to financial assistance for owners and operators of underground petroleum storage tank systems, and to discharges from underground petroleum storage tank systems; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 128(FIN) 01 "An Act moving the termination date of the Board of Storage Tank Assistance 02 to June 30, 1999; relating to the storage tank assistance fund, to financial 03 assistance for owners and operators of underground petroleum storage tank 04 systems, and to discharges from underground petroleum storage tank systems; and 05 providing for an effective date." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. AS 44.66.010(a)(18) is amended to read: 08 (18) Board of Storage Tank Assistance (AS 46.03.360) - June 30, 1999 09 [2000]; 10 * Sec. 2. AS 46.03.360(e) is amended to read: 11 (e) Under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), the board shall adopt 12 regulations under which the department shall 13 (1) [DETERMINE WHICH COSTS OF TIGHTNESS TESTING AND 14 SITE ASSESSMENT ARE ELIGIBLE COSTS UNDER AS 46.03.415;
01 (2)] rank requests for assistance under AS 46.03.420 and 46.03.422 ; 02 (2) [(3)] determine which costs of risk assessment, containment, 03 corrective action, and cleanup are eligible costs under AS 46.03.420 and 46.03.422 ; 04 (3) [(4)] determine which costs of upgrading and closure are eligible 05 costs under AS 46.03.430. 06 * Sec. 3. AS 46.03.360(f) is amended to read: 07 (f) If the department determines that an owner or operator is not eligible for 08 assistance under AS 46.03.410 - 46.03.430 or that a cost is not eligible under 09 AS 46.03.415 - 46.30.430 and the affected owner or operator disputes that 10 determination, or if an owner or operator disputes the ranking assigned to a request for 11 assistance under AS 46.03.420 or 46.03.422 , the owner or operator may apply to the 12 board for resolution of the dispute. The board may issue a decision in a dispute 13 brought to it under this subsection. The decision is binding on the owner, operator, 14 and department. 15 * Sec. 4. AS 46.03.410(a) is amended to read: 16 (a) There is established the storage tank assistance fund. It consists of money 17 appropriated to it by law. The department shall deposit earnings on money in the fund 18 in the general fund. The legislature may use the estimated balance in the account 19 maintained by the commissioner of administration under AS 37.05.142 to make 20 appropriations to the fund. The legislature may appropriate unencumbered money 21 from the fund for the cost of risk assessment, containment, corrective action, and 22 cleanup relating to an underground petroleum storage tank system owned or 23 operated by the state, the University of Alaska, a public corporation, a school 24 district, or another political subdivision or instrumentality of the state. The 25 legislature may also appropriate unencumbered money from the fund for state 26 legal and regulatory expenses associated with underground petroleum storage 27 tanks. An application for funds under AS 46.03.420, 46.03.422, and 46.03.430 is 28 not considered an encumbrance for purposes of this subsection. 29 * Sec. 5. AS 46.03.410(b) is amended to read: 30 (b) The commissioner may use money in the fund to pay for 31 (1) [TANK TIGHTNESS TESTS OR SITE ASSESSMENTS UNDER
01 AS 46.03.415; 02 (2)] grants and loans under AS 46.03.420 and 46.03.422 for risk 03 assessment, containment, corrective action, and cleanup costs; and 04 (2) [(3)] grants under AS 46.03.430 for tank system upgrading and 05 closure. 06 * Sec. 6. AS 46.03.420(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) The commissioner may make a grant from the storage tank assistance 08 fund to an [SUBJECT TO (b) - (i) OF THIS SECTION, APPLICATION MAY BE 09 MADE TO THE DEPARTMENT BY THE] owner or operator of an underground 10 petroleum storage tank system, other than the state or federal government, [FOR 11 GRANTS AND LOANS FROM THE STORAGE TANK ASSISTANCE FUND TO 12 PAY] for the costs of risk assessment, containment, corrective action, and cleanup 13 resulting from a release of petroleum from or associated with an underground 14 petroleum storage tank system if the owner or operator meets the requirements of 15 this section . Applications for assistance under this section must be submitted to the 16 department before July 1, 1994. Under regulations of the board, the department shall 17 rank requests under this section in order of priority, giving greatest priority to those 18 tank systems that present the greatest threat or potential threat to human health. 19 * Sec. 7. AS 46.03.420(b) is amended to read: 20 (b) A grant [GRANTS] made by the department under this section must 21 [SHALL] exclude a portion of the risk assessment, containment, corrective action, and 22 cleanup costs. The portion of these costs not payable as a grant by the department 23 under this section is 10 percent of total costs, up to a maximum of $25,000 not 24 payable by the department; this portion of the costs shall be loaned at no interest by 25 the department to the owner or operator on request with repayment to be made 26 according to a schedule agreed to by the parties. The department may require security 27 or collateral for a loan made under this subsection and may charge a fee for a late loan 28 repayment equal to five percent of the amount of the late payment. At the 29 department's discretion, a loan or grant under this section may be disbursed in partial 30 payments according to a schedule related to costs anticipated to be incurred during 31 specified time periods.
01 * Sec. 8. AS 46.03.420(c) is amended to read: 02 (c) An owner or operator of an underground petroleum storage tank system is 03 not eligible for a grant or loan under this section for activities related to a release 04 unless the release occurs before December 22, 1993, and the owner or operator 05 (1) establishes the following to the department's reasonable satisfaction: 06 (A) the owner or operator reported the release to the department 07 in compliance with state and federal law before July 1, 1994, for a release that 08 the owner or operator establishes first occurred on or after September 5, 1990 , 09 and before December 22, 1993; 10 (B) the owner or operator promptly reported the release to the 11 department in compliance with applicable regulations; 12 (C) the tank or tank system from which the release occurred 13 was installed before December 22, 1988; 14 (D) the owner and operator have, within six months after 15 September 5, 1990, been in compliance with all state and federal laws 16 applicable to underground petroleum storage tank systems and releases from 17 them, including notification and registration laws, but excluding financial 18 responsibility requirements; 19 (E) the release was not a result of the owner's or operator's 20 gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional conduct; 21 (2) agrees to 22 (A) upgrade all underground petroleum storage tanks located at 23 the facility from which the release occurred to the standards set by state and 24 federal regulations according to a time line established by the department; 25 notwithstanding (g) of this section and AS 46.03.365(c), the department may 26 require upgrading under this subparagraph that is required earlier than that 27 required under federal law; or 28 (B) remove and properly dispose of all liquids and sludges from 29 the underground petroleum storage tanks located at the facility from which the 30 release occurred, conduct a site assessment, and either fill the tanks with inert 31 solid material or properly dismantle, remove, and dispose of the tanks in
01 accordance with applicable state and federal regulations; [AND] 02 (3) agrees to submit a plan for risk assessment, containment, corrective 03 action, and cleanup to the department for its review and approval; if the department 04 and the owner or operator cannot reach agreement on a plan or on later changes in the 05 plan, the owner or operator may apply to the board to review the dispute; the board 06 may issue a recommendation to the department in a dispute brought to it under this 07 paragraph ; and 08 (4) certifies, under oath and subject to penalties for perjury, on a 09 form developed by the department and adopted as a regulation that the owner or 10 operator's tangible net worth is $1,000,000 or less as of the effective date of this 11 bill section . 12 * Sec. 9. AS 46.03.420(e) is amended to read: 13 (e) A request for a grant under this section, and a grant payment made under 14 this section, may not exceed $250,000 [$1,000,000 PER OCCURRENCE], less the 15 amount not payable as a grant under (b) of this section. Furthermore, a grant 16 payment under this section 17 (1) when combined with a grant payment under AS 46.03.430 to the 18 same owner or operator, may not exceed $250,000; and 19 (2) when combined with grants and loans to the same owner or 20 operator under AS 46.03.422 and 46.03.430, may not exceed $500,000. 21 * Sec. 10. AS 46.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 22 Sec. 46.03.422. Tank cleanup loan program. (a) The commissioner may 23 make a loan from the storage tank assistance fund to an owner or operator of an 24 underground petroleum storage tank system for the costs of risk assessment, 25 containment, corrective action, and cleanup resulting from a release of petroleum from 26 or associated with an underground petroleum storage tank system if the owner or 27 operator submitted a timely application for a grant under AS 46.03.420 and agrees 28 (1) to accept a loan in the same or lesser amount instead of a grant for 29 the same project; 30 (2) to provide additional security or collateral for the loan if requested 31 by the department
01 (3) either to 02 (A) upgrade all underground petroleum storage tanks located at 03 the facility from which the release occurred to the standards set by state and 04 federal regulations according to a time line established by the department; or 05 (B) remove and properly dispose of all liquids and sludges from 06 the underground petroleum storage tanks located at the facility from which the 07 release occurred, conduct a site assessment, and either fill the tanks with inert 08 solid material or properly dismantle, remove, and dispose of the tanks in 09 accordance with applicable state and federal regulations; and 10 (4) to submit a plan for risk assessment, containment, corrective action, 11 and cleanup to the department for its review and approval; if the department and the 12 owner or operator cannot reach agreement on a plan or on later changes in the plan, 13 the owner or operator may apply to the board to review the dispute; the board may 14 issue a recommendation to the department in a dispute brought to it under this 15 paragraph. 16 (b) The department may require more security or collateral for a loan made 17 under this section than was required under a previously approved grant application for 18 the same project. 19 (c) Under regulations of the board, the department shall rank requests under 20 this section in order of priority, giving greatest priority to those tank systems that 21 present the greatest threat or potential threat to human health. 22 (d) The department may deny a request for a loan under this section if 23 (1) other risk assessment, containment, corrective action, tank upgrading 24 or closure, and cleanup activities for which money may be used under AS 46.03.410 25 constitute a higher priority for fund expenditures; 26 (2) the work that would have been covered by the loan has already 27 been completed; or 28 (3) the loan is for reimbursement of expenses previously incurred. 29 (e) This section does not affect 30 (1) the liability under state or federal law of a person or entity that 31 receives assistance under this section for the costs of risk management, containment,
01 corrective action, and cleanup resulting from a release of petroleum; or 02 (2) the authority of the department to seek recovery from the owner or 03 operator of costs other than grants or loans actually made to an owner or operator 04 under this section. 05 (f) The rate of interest on a loan under this section is equal to the 12th Federal 06 Reserve District discount rate in effect on January 1 of the year in which the loan is 07 approved plus one-half percentage point. The department shall disburse a loan in 08 partial payments according to a schedule that allows reasonable oversight and 09 assessment during implementation of the plan approved under (a) of this section. The 10 interest rate applicable to a loan remains the same throughout the project for which the 11 loan was approved but begins accruing on each partial payment only after 12 disbursement of that payment. 13 (g) A loan payment under this section, when combined with loans and grants 14 to the same owner or operator under AS 46.03.420 and 46.03.430, may not exceed 15 $500,000. 16 (h) The legislature may appropriate to the storage tank assistance fund 17 established under AS 46.03.410 the annual estimated balance of the account maintained 18 under AS 37.05.142 by the commissioner of administration to keep track of loan 19 repayments, including interest payments, under this section. 20 * Sec. 11. AS 46.03.430(c) is amended to read: 21 (c) A grant may not be awarded under this section 22 (1) for upgrading or closure activities that do not meet the requirements 23 of state and federal law 24 (2) unless the owner or operator certifies to the department under 25 oath on penalty of perjury that, as of the effective date of this bill section, the 26 tangible net worth of the owner or operator is $250,000 or less; 27 (3) if the grant, when combined with a grant to the same owner or 28 operator under AS 46.03.420, exceeds $250,000; or 29 (4) if the grant, when combined with grants and loans to the same 30 owner or operator under AS 46.03.420 and 46.03.422, exceeds $500,000 . 31 * Sec. 12. AS 46.03.450 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read:
01 (14) "tangible net worth" means the value of tangible assets, including 02 existing assets and probable future economic benefits that will be obtained or 03 controlled by the entity as a result of past transactions, minus liabilities associated with 04 bringing underground petroleum storage tank systems into compliance with state and 05 federal laws and liabilities associated with releases of petroleum from underground 06 petroleum storage tank systems; notwithstanding other provisions of this paragraph, 07 "tangible net worth" does not include the value of goodwill. 08 * Sec. 13. Section 4(a), ch. 96, SLA 1990, is amended to read: 09 (a) Notwithstanding AS 46.03.420(h), 46.03.422(e), 46.03.758, 46.03.760, 10 46.03.780, 46.03.790, and 46.03.822, a person, including a municipal school district, 11 regional educational attendance area, or municipality, is not civilly or criminally liable 12 to the state under those sections for a discharge covered by those sections if the person 13 demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that the person 14 (1) is the owner or operator of an underground petroleum storage tank 15 or tank system, as defined in AS 46.03.450 [, ENACTED BY SEC. 2 OF THIS ACT,] 16 that was installed before December 22, 1988, and the discharge occurred from that 17 tank or tank system before December 22, 1992; 18 (2) acted in good faith to report, assess, and mitigate damage from the 19 discharge and to undertake corrective action in accordance with applicable state and 20 federal law and was in compliance with all applicable state and federal law before the 21 discharge occurred; 22 (3) is receiving or has been approved for state funds under 23 AS 46.03.420 - 46.03.430 [, ENACTED BY SEC. 2 OF THIS ACT]; and 24 (4) did not intentionally cause the discharge. 25 * Sec. 14. AS 46.03.380(b)(2), 46.03.380(b)(3)(B)(ii), 46.03.415; and sec. 7, ch. 96, SLA 26 1990, are repealed. 27 * Sec. 15. APPLICABILITY. AS 46.03.420(e), as amended by sec. 9 of this Act; 28 AS 46.03.422(g), enacted by sec. 10 of this Act; and AS 46.03.430(c)(3) and (4), enacted by 29 sec. 11 of this Act, apply to financial assistance received on or after July 1, 1999. 30 * Sec. 16. TRANSITIONAL REGULATIONS. (a) The Board of Storage Tank Assistance 31 may adopt regulations as authorized by this Act and other statutory authority to implement
01 changes made by this Act. Regulations adopted under this section may not take effect until 02 the corresponding enabling statute takes effect under sec. 18 of this Act. 03 (b) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act, regulations in effect on June 30, 1999, 04 relating to the storage tank assistance fund that are not inconsistent with the provisions of this 05 Act remain in effect until amended or repealed by the Board of Storage Tank Assistance. 06 * Sec. 17. Sections 1 and 16 of this Act take effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 07 * Sec. 18. Except as provided in sec. 17 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 1999.