SB 153: "An Act replacing the storage tank assistance fund with the underground storage tank revolving loan fund and relating to that revolving loan fund; repealing the tank cleanup program and the tank upgrading and closure program; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 153 01 "An Act replacing the storage tank assistance fund with the underground storage tank 02 revolving loan fund and relating to that revolving loan fund; repealing the tank cleanup 03 program and the tank upgrading and closure program; and providing for an effective 04 date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 46.03.360(e) is amended to read: 07 (e) Under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), the board shall adopt 08 regulations under which the department shall 09 (1) rank requests for assistance under AS 46.03.422 [AS 46.03.420 10 AND 46.03.422]; 11 (2) determine which costs of risk assessment, containment, corrective 12 action, and cleanup are eligible costs under AS 46.03.422 [AS 46.03.420 AND 13 46.03.422; 14 (3) DETERMINE WHICH COSTS OF UPGRADING AND
01 CLOSURE ARE ELIGIBLE COSTS UNDER AS 46.03.430]. 02 * Sec. 2. AS 46.03.360(f) is amended to read: 03 (f) If the department determines that an owner or operator is not eligible for a 04 loan under AS 46.03.422 [ASSISTANCE UNDER AS 46.03.410 - 46.03.430] or that 05 a cost is not eligible under AS 46.03.422 [AS 46.03.415 - 46.30.430] and the affected 06 owner or operator disputes that determination, or if an owner or operator disputes the 07 ranking assigned to a request for assistance under AS 46.03.422 [AS 46.03.420 OR 08 46.03.422], the owner or operator may apply to the board for resolution of the dispute. 09 The board may issue a decision in a dispute brought to it under this subsection. The 10 decision is binding on the owner, operator, and department. 11 * Sec. 3. AS 46.03.360(g) is amended to read: 12 (g) The board may adopt regulations to limit the number of sites per calendar 13 year for which an owner or operator may be awarded a loan under AS 46.03.422 14 [FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE UNDER AS 46.03.420 - 46.03.430]. The department 15 shall implement the regulations. 16 * Sec. 4. AS 46.03.365(c) is amended to read: 17 (c) When [EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN AS 46.03.420(c)(2)(A), WHEN] the 18 regulations adopted under this section address areas governed by federal laws or 19 regulations, the state regulations must be consistent with federal laws and regulations 20 and may not be more stringent than the federal laws and regulations. 21 * Sec. 5. AS 46.03.385(e) is amended to read: 22 (e) The legislature may appropriate the annual estimated balance of the 23 account maintained by the commissioner of administration under AS 37.05.142 to the 24 underground storage tank revolving loan [ASSISTANCE] fund established under 25 AS 46.03.410. 26 * Sec. 6. AS 46.03.405 is amended to read: 27 Sec. 46.03.405. Prohibitions. A person, including a governmental entity or 28 institution [,] or a public corporation, may not operate an underground petroleum 29 storage tank or tank system unless 30 (1) the tank and tank system are [IS] registered with the department as 31 provided in AS 46.03.360 - 46.03.450 or other law; and
01 (2) [EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN AS 46.03.420(c)(1)(D),] the person 02 has provided to the department proof of financial responsibility to the extent required 03 under regulations adopted under AS 46.03.365 or proof of application for 04 arrangements that would satisfy state financial responsibility requirements. 05 * Sec. 7. AS 46.03.410 is amended to read: 06 Sec. 46.03.410. Underground storage [STORAGE] tank revolving loan 07 [ASSISTANCE] fund. (a) There is established the underground storage tank 08 revolving loan [ASSISTANCE] fund. It consists of money appropriated to it by law, 09 repayments of principal and interest on loans made under AS 46.03.422, and 10 income earned on money in the fund [. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL DEPOSIT 11 EARNINGS ON MONEY IN THE FUND IN THE GENERAL FUND]. The 12 legislature may use the estimated balance in the account maintained by the 13 commissioner of administration under AS 37.05.142 to make appropriations to the 14 fund. The legislature may appropriate unencumbered money from the fund for the 15 cost of risk assessment, containment, corrective action, and cleanup relating to an 16 underground petroleum storage tank system owned or operated by the state, the 17 University of Alaska, a public corporation, a school district, or another political 18 subdivision or instrumentality of the state. The legislature may also appropriate 19 unencumbered money from the fund for state legal and regulatory expenses associated 20 with underground petroleum storage tanks. An application for funds under 21 AS 46.03.422 [AS 46.03.420, 46.03.422, AND 46.03.430] is not considered an 22 encumbrance for purposes of this subsection. 23 (b) The commissioner may use money in the fund to pay for 24 (1) [GRANTS AND] loans under AS 46.03.422 [AS 46.03.420 AND 25 46.03.422] for risk assessment, containment, corrective action, and cleanup costs; and 26 (2) costs of administering the fund and the tank cleanup loan 27 program under AS 46.03.422 [GRANTS UNDER AS 46.03.430 FOR TANK 28 SYSTEM UPGRADING AND CLOSURE]. 29 (c) The commissioner shall prepare a report on the status of the underground 30 storage tank revolving loan [ASSISTANCE] fund and notify the legislature not later 31 than the 10th day following the convening of each regular session of the legislature
01 that the report is available. The report may include information considered significant 02 by the commissioner but must include 03 (1) the amount and source of money received by the fund during the 04 preceding fiscal year; 05 (2) the amount of money expended during the preceding fiscal year for 06 expenses [EACH TYPE OF EXPENSE] authorized under (b) of this section; 07 (3) a detailed summary of department activities paid for from the fund 08 during the preceding fiscal year, including how many requests [FOR ASSISTANCE] 09 have been made to the department to use the fund for [GRANTS OR] loans for testing, 10 site assessment, risk assessment, upgrading, closure, containment, corrective action, 11 and cleanup costs, and the number of requests funded in each activity area; 12 (4) the projected cost for the next fiscal year of monitoring, operating, 13 and maintaining sites where department activities have been completed or are 14 expected to start or be continued during the fiscal year; 15 (5) the priority list of tank system sites for which the department 16 expects to provide loans [FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE] in the next fiscal year. 17 * Sec. 8. AS 46.03.422(a) is amended to read: 18 (a) The commissioner may make a loan from the underground storage tank 19 revolving loan [ASSISTANCE] fund to an owner or operator of an underground 20 petroleum storage tank system for the costs of risk assessment, containment, corrective 21 action, and cleanup resulting from a release of petroleum from or associated with an 22 underground petroleum storage tank system if the owner or operator submitted a 23 timely application for a grant under former AS 46.03.420 and agrees 24 (1) to accept a loan in the same or lesser amount instead of a grant for 25 the same project; 26 (2) to provide additional security or collateral for the loan if requested 27 by the department; 28 (3) [EITHER] to 29 (A) upgrade all underground petroleum storage tanks located at 30 the facility from which the release occurred to the standards set by state and 31 federal regulations according to a time line established by the department; or
01 (B) remove and properly dispose of all liquids and sludges 02 from the underground petroleum storage tanks located at the facility from 03 which the release occurred, conduct a site assessment, and either fill the tanks 04 with inert solid material or properly dismantle, remove, and dispose of the 05 tanks in accordance with applicable state and federal regulations; and 06 (4) to submit a plan for risk assessment, containment, corrective 07 action, and cleanup to the department for its review and approval; if the department 08 and the owner or operator cannot reach agreement on a plan, on later changes in the 09 plan, or on a cleanup decision, the owner or operator may apply to the board to review 10 the dispute; the board may issue a recommendation to the department in a dispute 11 brought to it under this paragraph; the recommendation may include a suggested time 12 limit for completing appropriate cleanup activities or reaching a cleanup decision. 13 * Sec. 9. AS 46.03.422(e) is amended to read: 14 (e) This section does not affect 15 (1) the liability under state or federal law of a person or entity that 16 receives a loan [ASSISTANCE] under this section for the costs of risk management, 17 containment, corrective action, and cleanup resulting from a release of petroleum; or 18 (2) the authority of the department to seek recovery from the owner or 19 operator of costs other than [GRANTS OR] loans actually made to an owner or 20 operator under this section. 21 * Sec. 10. AS 46.03.422(g) is amended to read: 22 (g) A loan payment under this section, when combined with loans and grants 23 to the same owner or operator under former AS 46.03.420 and former AS 46.03.430 24 [46.03.430], may not exceed $500,000. 25 * Sec. 11. AS 46.03.422(h) is amended to read: 26 (h) The legislature may appropriate to the underground storage tank 27 revolving loan [ASSISTANCE] fund established under AS 46.03.410 the annual 28 estimated balance of the account maintained under AS 37.05.142 by the commissioner 29 of administration to keep track of loan repayments, including interest payments, under 30 this section. 31 * Sec. 12. AS 46.08.040(a) is amended to read:
01 (a) In addition to money in the response account of the fund that is transferred 02 to the commissioner of community and economic development to make grants under 03 AS 29.60.510 and to pay for impact assessments under AS 29.60.560, the 04 commissioner of environmental conservation may use money 05 (1) from the response account in the fund 06 (A) when authorized by AS 46.08.045, to investigate and 07 evaluate the release or threatened release of oil or a hazardous substance, and 08 contain, clean up, and take other necessary action, such as monitoring and 09 assessing, to address a release or threatened release of oil or a hazardous 10 substance that poses an imminent and substantial threat to the public health or 11 welfare, or to the environment; 12 (B) to provide matching funds in the event of a release of oil or 13 a hazardous substance for which use of the response account is authorized by 14 AS 46.08.045 for participation 15 (i) in federal oil discharge cleanup activities; and 16 (ii) under 42 U.S.C. 9601 - 9657 (Comprehensive 17 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980); 18 and 19 (C) to recover the costs to the state, a municipality, a village, or 20 a school district of a containment and cleanup resulting from the release or the 21 threatened release of oil or a hazardous substance for which money was 22 expended from the response account; 23 (2) from the prevention account in the fund to 24 (A) investigate and evaluate the release or threatened release of 25 oil or a hazardous substance, except a release described in AS 46.08.045(a), 26 and contain, clean up, and take other necessary action, such as monitoring and 27 assessing, to address a release or threatened release of oil or a hazardous 28 substance, except a release described in AS 46.08.045(a); 29 (B) pay all costs incurred 30 (i) to establish and maintain the oil and hazardous 31 substance response office;
01 (ii) under agreements entered into under AS 46.04.090 02 or AS 46.09.040; 03 (iii) to review oil discharge prevention and contingency 04 plans submitted under AS 46.04.030; 05 (iv) to conduct training, response exercises, inspections, 06 and tests, in order to verify equipment inventories and ability to prevent 07 and respond to oil and hazardous substance release emergencies, and to 08 undertake other activities intended to verify or establish the 09 preparedness of the state, a municipality, or a party required by 10 AS 46.04.030 to have an approved contingency plan to act in 11 accordance with that plan; and 12 (v) to verify or establish proof of financial 13 responsibility required by AS 46.04.040; 14 (C) pay, when presented with appropriate documentation by the 15 Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs, the expenses incurred by the 16 Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs for Alaska State Emergency 17 Response Commission activities, including staff support, when the activities 18 and staff support relate to oil or hazardous substances, and for the costs of 19 being prepared for responding to a request by the department for support in 20 response and restoration, but not including the costs of maintaining the 21 response corps and the emergency response depots under AS 26.23.045; 22 (D) pay all costs incurred to acquire, repair, or improve an asset 23 having an anticipated life of more than one year and that is acquired, repaired, 24 or improved as a preparedness measure by which the state may respond to, 25 recover from, reduce, or eliminate the effects of a release or threatened release 26 of oil or a hazardous substance; 27 (E) pay the costs, if approved by the commissioner, that were 28 incurred by local emergency planning committees to carry out the duties 29 assigned them by AS 26.23.073(g); 30 (F) provide matching funds in the event of the release of oil or 31 a hazardous substance, except a release of oil for the containment and cleanup
01 of which use of the response account is authorized by AS 46.08.045, for 02 participation 03 (i) in federal oil discharge cleanup activities; and 04 (ii) under 42 U.S.C. 9601 - 9657 (Comprehensive 05 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980); 06 (G) pay or reimburse the underground storage tank revolving 07 loan [ASSISTANCE] fund established in AS 46.03.410 for expenditures from 08 that fund authorized by AS 46.03.410(b); 09 (H) transfer to the Department of Community and Economic 10 Development for payment by the commissioner of community and economic 11 development of 12 (i) municipal impact grants when authorized under 13 AS 29.60.510(b)(2); 14 (ii) assessments of the social and economic effects of 15 the release of oil or hazardous substances as required by AS 29.60.560 16 when, in the judgment of the commissioner, the release of oil or a 17 hazardous substance is not one that is described in AS 46.08.045; and 18 (iii) grants to repair, improve, or replace fuel storage 19 facilities under the bulk fuel system emergency repair and upgrade 20 program; 21 (I) recover the costs to the state, a municipality, a village, or a 22 school district of a containment and cleanup resulting from the release or 23 threatened release of oil or a hazardous substance for which money was 24 expended from the prevention account; 25 (J) prepare, review, and revise 26 (i) the state's master oil and hazardous substance 27 discharge prevention and contingency plan required by AS 46.04.200; 28 and 29 (ii) a regional master oil and hazardous substance 30 discharge prevention and contingency plan required by AS 46.04.210; 31 and
01 (K) restore the environment by addressing the effects of an oil 02 or hazardous substance release. 03 * Sec. 13. AS 46.03.420 and 46.03.430 are repealed. 04 * Sec. 14. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 05 read: 06 TRANSITIONAL PROVISION. The underground storage tank revolving loan fund 07 established in AS 46.03.410, as amended in sec. 7 of this Act, is the successor to the storage 08 tank assistance fund, and the balance in the storage tank assistance fund on the effective date 09 of this Act shall be retained in the underground storage tank revolving loan fund. 10 * Sec. 15. This Act takes effect July 1, 2001.