CSSB 153(FIN): "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 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 153(FIN) 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 * Sec. 2. AS 46.03.360(f) is amended to read:
01 (f) If the department determines that an owner or operator is not eligible for 02 assistance under AS 46.03.410 - 46.03.422 [AS 46.03.410 - 46.03.430] or that a cost is 03 not eligible [UNDER AS 46.03.415 - 46.30.430] and the affected owner or operator 04 disputes that determination, or if an owner or operator disputes the ranking assigned to 05 the [A] request for assistance [UNDER AS 46.03.420 OR 46.03.422], the owner or 06 operator may apply to the board for resolution of the dispute. The board may issue a 07 decision in a dispute brought to it under this subsection. The decision is binding on 08 the owner, operator, and department. 09 * Sec. 3. AS 46.03.360(g) is amended to read: 10 (g) The board may adopt regulations to limit the number of sites per calendar 11 year for which an owner or operator may be awarded financial assistance under 12 AS 46.03.410 - 46.03.422 [AS 46.03.420 - 46.03.430]. The department shall 13 implement the regulations. 14 * Sec. 4. AS 46.03.365(c) is amended to read: 15 (c) When [EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN AS 46.03.420(c)(2)(A), WHEN] the 16 regulations adopted under this section address areas governed by federal laws or 17 regulations, the state regulations must be consistent with federal laws and regulations 18 and may not be more stringent than the federal laws and regulations. 19 * Sec. 5. AS 46.03.385(e) is amended to read: 20 (e) The department shall deposit fees collected under this section into 21 [LEGISLATURE MAY APPROPRIATE THE ANNUAL ESTIMATED BALANCE 22 OF THE ACCOUNT MAINTAINED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF 23 ADMINISTRATION UNDER AS 37.05.142 TO] the underground storage tank 24 revolving loan [ASSISTANCE] fund established under AS 46.03.410. 25 * Sec. 6. AS 46.03.405 is amended to read: 26 Sec. 46.03.405. Prohibitions. A person, including a governmental entity or 27 institution [,] or a public corporation, may not operate an underground petroleum 28 storage tank or tank system unless 29 (1) the tank and tank system are [IS] registered with the department as 30 provided in AS 46.03.360 - 46.03.450 or other law; and 31 (2) [EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN AS 46.03.420(c)(1)(D),] the person
01 has provided to the department proof of financial responsibility to the extent required 02 under regulations adopted under AS 46.03.365 or proof of application for 03 arrangements that would satisfy state financial responsibility requirements. 04 * Sec. 7. AS 46.03.410 is amended to read: 05 Sec. 46.03.410. Underground storage [STORAGE] tank revolving loan 06 [ASSISTANCE] fund. (a) There is established the underground storage tank 07 revolving loan [ASSISTANCE] fund. It consists of money appropriated to it by law, 08 repayments of principal and interest on loans made or fees collected under 09 AS 46.03.385 - 46.03.450, and income earned on money in the fund [. THE 10 DEPARTMENT SHALL DEPOSIT EARNINGS ON MONEY IN THE FUND IN 11 THE GENERAL FUND. THE LEGISLATURE MAY USE THE ESTIMATED 12 BALANCE IN THE ACCOUNT MAINTAINED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF 13 ADMINISTRATION UNDER AS 37.05.142 TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS TO 14 THE FUND]. The legislature may appropriate unencumbered money from the fund 15 for the cost of risk assessment, containment, corrective action, and cleanup relating to 16 an 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 46.03.420 and [,] 46.03.422 [, AND 46.03.430] is not considered an encumbrance 22 for purposes of this subsection. 23 (b) The commissioner may use money in the underground storage tank 24 revolving loan fund to pay for 25 (1) grants and loans under AS 46.03.420 and 46.03.422 for risk 26 assessment, containment, corrective action, and cleanup costs; [AND] 27 (2) costs of administering the fund and the tank cleanup loan 28 program under AS 46.03.422; and 29 (3) costs of the Board of Storage Tank Assistance (AS 46.03.360) 30 [GRANTS UNDER AS 46.03.430 FOR TANK SYSTEM UPGRADING AND 31 CLOSURE].
01 (c) The commissioner shall prepare a report on the status of the underground 02 storage tank revolving loan [ASSISTANCE] fund and notify the legislature not later 03 than the 10th day following the convening of each regular session of the legislature 04 that the report is available. The report may include information considered significant 05 by the commissioner but must include 06 (1) the amount and source of money received by the fund during the 07 preceding fiscal year; 08 (2) the amount of money expended during the preceding fiscal year for 09 each type of expense authorized under (b) of this section; 10 (3) a detailed summary of department activities paid for from the fund 11 during the preceding fiscal year, including how many requests for assistance have 12 been made to the department to use the fund for grants or loans for testing, site 13 assessment, risk assessment, upgrading, closure, containment, corrective action, and 14 cleanup costs, and the number of requests funded in each activity area; 15 (4) the projected cost for the next fiscal year of monitoring, operating, 16 and maintaining sites where department activities have been completed or are 17 expected to start or be continued during the fiscal year; 18 (5) the priority list of tank system sites for which the department 19 expects to provide financial assistance in the next fiscal year. 20 * Sec. 8. AS 46.03.410 is amended to read: 21 Sec. 46.03.410. Underground storage tank revolving loan fund. (a) There 22 is established the underground storage tank revolving loan fund. It consists of money 23 appropriated to it by law, repayments of principal and interest on loans made or fees 24 collected under AS 46.03.385 - 46.03.450, and income earned on money in the fund. 25 The legislature may appropriate unencumbered money from the fund for the cost of 26 risk assessment, containment, corrective action, and cleanup relating to an 27 underground petroleum storage tank system owned or operated by the state, the 28 University of Alaska, a public corporation, a school district, or another political 29 subdivision or instrumentality of the state. The legislature may also appropriate 30 unencumbered money from the fund for state legal and regulatory expenses associated 31 with underground petroleum storage tanks. An application for funds under
01 AS 46.03.422 [AS 46.03.420 AND 46.03.422] is not considered an encumbrance for 02 purposes of this subsection. 03 (b) The commissioner may use money in the underground storage tank 04 revolving loan fund to pay for 05 (1) [GRANTS AND] loans under AS 46.03.422 [AS 46.03.420 AND 06 46.03.422] for risk assessment, containment, corrective action, and cleanup costs; 07 (2) costs of administering the fund and the tank cleanup loan program 08 under AS 46.03.422; and 09 (3) costs of the Board of Storage Tank Assistance (AS 46.03.360). 10 (c) The commissioner shall prepare a report on the status of the underground 11 storage tank revolving loan fund and notify the legislature not later than the 10th day 12 following the convening of each regular session of the legislature that the report is 13 available. The report may include information considered significant by the 14 commissioner but must include 15 (1) the amount and source of money received by the fund during the 16 preceding fiscal year; 17 (2) the amount of money expended during the preceding fiscal year for 18 each type of expense authorized under (b) of this section; 19 (3) a detailed summary of department activities paid for from the fund 20 during the preceding fiscal year, including how many requests [FOR ASSISTANCE] 21 have been made to the department to use the fund for [GRANTS OR] loans for testing, 22 site assessment, risk assessment, upgrading, closure, containment, corrective action, 23 and cleanup costs, and the number of requests funded in each activity area; 24 (4) the projected cost for the next fiscal year of monitoring, operating, 25 and maintaining sites where department activities have been completed or are 26 expected to start or be continued during the fiscal year; 27 (5) the priority list of tank system sites for which the department 28 expects to provide loans [FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE] in the next fiscal year. 29 * Sec. 9. AS 46.03.420(a) is amended to read: 30 (a) The commissioner may make a grant from the underground storage tank 31 revolving loan [ASSISTANCE] fund to an owner or operator of an underground
01 petroleum storage tank system, other than the state or federal government, for the costs 02 of risk assessment, containment, corrective action, and cleanup resulting from a 03 release of petroleum from or associated with an underground petroleum storage tank 04 system if the owner or operator meets the requirements of this section. Applications 05 for assistance under this section must be submitted to the department before July 1, 06 1994. Under regulations of the board, the department shall rank requests under this 07 section in order of priority, giving greatest priority to those tank systems that present 08 the greatest threat or potential threat to human health. 09 * Sec. 10. AS 46.03.420(e) is amended to read: 10 (e) A request for a grant under this section, and a grant payment made under 11 this section, may not exceed $250,000, less the amount not payable as a grant under 12 (b) of this section. Furthermore, a grant payment under this section 13 (1) when combined with a grant payment under former AS 46.03.430 14 to the same owner or operator, may not exceed $250,000; and 15 (2) when combined with grants and loans to the same owner or 16 operator under AS 46.03.422 and former AS 46.03.430 [46.03.430], may not exceed 17 $500,000. 18 * Sec. 11. AS 46.03.420(i) is amended to read: 19 (i) The department shall deposit money collected under this section into 20 [LEGISLATURE MAY APPROPRIATE THE ANNUAL ESTIMATED BALANCE 21 OF THE ACCOUNT MAINTAINED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF 22 ADMINISTRATION UNDER AS 37.05.142 TO] the underground storage tank 23 revolving loan [ASSISTANCE] fund established under AS 46.03.410. 24 * Sec. 12. AS 46.03.422(a) is amended to read: 25 (a) The commissioner may make a loan from the underground storage tank 26 revolving loan [ASSISTANCE] fund to an owner or operator of an underground 27 petroleum storage tank system for the costs of risk assessment, containment, corrective 28 action, and cleanup resulting from a release of petroleum from or associated with an 29 underground petroleum storage tank system if the owner or operator submitted a 30 timely application for a grant under AS 46.03.420 and agrees 31 (1) to accept a loan in the same or lesser amount instead of a grant for
01 the same project; 02 (2) to provide additional security or collateral for the loan if requested 03 by the department; 04 (3) [EITHER] to 05 (A) upgrade all underground petroleum storage tanks located at 06 the facility from which the release occurred to the standards set by state and 07 federal regulations according to a time line established by the department; or 08 (B) remove and properly dispose of all liquids and sludges 09 from the underground petroleum storage tanks located at the facility from 10 which the release occurred, conduct a site assessment, and either fill the tanks 11 with inert solid material or properly dismantle, remove, and dispose of the 12 tanks in accordance with applicable state and federal regulations; and 13 (4) to submit a plan for risk assessment, containment, corrective 14 action, and cleanup to the department for its review and approval; if the department 15 and the owner or operator cannot reach agreement on a plan, on later changes in the 16 plan, or on a cleanup decision, the owner or operator may apply to the board to review 17 the dispute; the board may issue a recommendation to the department in a dispute 18 brought to it under this paragraph; the recommendation may include a suggested time 19 limit for completing appropriate cleanup activities or reaching a cleanup decision. 20 * Sec. 13. AS 46.03.422(a) is amended to read: 21 (a) The commissioner may make a loan from the underground storage tank 22 revolving loan fund to an owner or operator of an underground petroleum storage tank 23 system for the costs of risk assessment, containment, corrective action, and cleanup 24 resulting from a release of petroleum from or associated with an underground 25 petroleum storage tank system if the owner or operator submitted a timely application 26 for a grant under former AS 46.03.420 and agrees 27 (1) to accept a loan in the same or lesser amount instead of a grant for 28 the same project; 29 (2) to provide additional security or collateral for the loan if requested 30 by the department; 31 (3) to
01 (A) upgrade all underground petroleum storage tanks located at 02 the facility from which the release occurred to the standards set by state and 03 federal regulations according to a time line established by the department; or 04 (B) remove and properly dispose of all liquids and sludges 05 from the underground petroleum storage tanks located at the facility from 06 which the release occurred, conduct a site assessment, and either fill the tanks 07 with inert solid material or properly dismantle, remove, and dispose of the 08 tanks in accordance with applicable state and federal regulations; and 09 (4) to submit a plan for risk assessment, containment, corrective 10 action, and cleanup to the department for its review and approval; if the department 11 and the owner or operator cannot reach agreement on a plan, on later changes in the 12 plan, or on a cleanup decision, the owner or operator may apply to the board to review 13 the dispute; the board may issue a recommendation to the department in a dispute 14 brought to it under this paragraph; the recommendation may include a suggested time 15 limit for completing appropriate cleanup activities or reaching a cleanup decision. 16 * Sec. 14. AS 46.03.422(e) is amended to read: 17 (e) This section does not affect 18 (1) the liability under state or federal law of a person or entity that 19 receives a loan [ASSISTANCE] under this section for the costs of risk management, 20 containment, corrective action, and cleanup resulting from a release of petroleum; or 21 (2) the authority of the department to seek recovery from the owner or 22 operator of costs other than [GRANTS OR] loans actually made to an owner or 23 operator under this section. 24 * Sec. 15. AS 46.03.422(g) is amended to read: 25 (g) A loan payment under this section, when combined with loans and grants 26 to the same owner or operator under AS 46.03.420 and former AS 46.03.430 27 [46.03.430], may not exceed $500,000. 28 * Sec. 16. AS 46.03.422(g) is amended to read: 29 (g) A loan payment under this section, when combined with loans and grants 30 to the same owner or operator under former AS 46.03.420 and former AS 46.03.430, 31 may not exceed $500,000.
01 * Sec. 17. AS 46.03.422(h) is amended to read: 02 (h) The department shall deposit loan repayments and other money 03 collected under this section into [LEGISLATURE MAY APPROPRIATE TO] the 04 underground storage tank revolving loan [ASSISTANCE] fund established under 05 AS 46.03.410 [THE ANNUAL ESTIMATED BALANCE OF THE ACCOUNT 06 MAINTAINED UNDER AS 37.05.142 BY THE COMMISSIONER OF 07 ADMINISTRATION TO KEEP TRACK OF LOAN REPAYMENTS, INCLUDING 08 INTEREST PAYMENTS, UNDER THIS SECTION]. 09 * Sec. 18. AS 46.03.422 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 10 (i) To be eligible for a loan under this section, an owner or operator shall 11 provide the department with a written sworn statement on a form provided by the 12 department that the owner or operator has not been eligible for self-insurance under 40 13 CFR 280.95 at any time on or after July 1, 2002. This subsection does not apply to an 14 owner or operator that is a municipality. For purposes of this subsection, "sworn 15 statement" has the meaning given in AS 11.56.240. 16 * Sec. 19. AS 46.08.040(a) is amended to read: 17 (a) In addition to money in the response account of the fund that is transferred 18 to the commissioner of community and economic development to make grants under 19 AS 29.60.510 and to pay for impact assessments under AS 29.60.560, the 20 commissioner of environmental conservation may use money 21 (1) from the response account in the fund 22 (A) when authorized by AS 46.08.045, to investigate and 23 evaluate the release or threatened release of oil or a hazardous substance, and 24 contain, clean up, and take other necessary action, such as monitoring and 25 assessing, to address a release or threatened release of oil or a hazardous 26 substance that poses an imminent and substantial threat to the public health or 27 welfare, or to the environment; 28 (B) to provide matching funds in the event of a release of oil or 29 a hazardous substance for which use of the response account is authorized by 30 AS 46.08.045 for participation 31 (i) in federal oil discharge cleanup activities; and
01 (ii) under 42 U.S.C. 9601 - 9657 (Comprehensive 02 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980); 03 and 04 (C) to recover the costs to the state, a municipality, a village, or 05 a school district of a containment and cleanup resulting from the release or the 06 threatened release of oil or a hazardous substance for which money was 07 expended from the response account; 08 (2) from the prevention account in the fund to 09 (A) investigate and evaluate the release or threatened release of 10 oil or a hazardous substance, except a release described in AS 46.08.045(a), 11 and contain, clean up, and take other necessary action, such as monitoring and 12 assessing, to address a release or threatened release of oil or a hazardous 13 substance, except a release described in AS 46.08.045(a); 14 (B) pay all costs incurred 15 (i) to establish and maintain the oil and hazardous 16 substance response office; 17 (ii) under agreements entered into under AS 46.04.090 18 or AS 46.09.040; 19 (iii) to review oil discharge prevention and contingency 20 plans submitted under AS 46.04.030; 21 (iv) to conduct training, response exercises, inspections, 22 and tests, in order to verify equipment inventories and ability to prevent 23 and respond to oil and hazardous substance release emergencies, and to 24 undertake other activities intended to verify or establish the 25 preparedness of the state, a municipality, or a party required by 26 AS 46.04.030 to have an approved contingency plan to act in 27 accordance with that plan; and 28 (v) to verify or establish proof of financial 29 responsibility required by AS 46.04.040; 30 (C) pay, when presented with appropriate documentation by the 31 Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs, the expenses incurred by the
01 Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs for Alaska State Emergency 02 Response Commission activities, including staff support, when the activities 03 and staff support relate to oil or hazardous substances, and for the costs of 04 being prepared for responding to a request by the department for support in 05 response and restoration, but not including the costs of maintaining the 06 response corps and the emergency response depots under AS 26.23.045; 07 (D) pay all costs incurred to acquire, repair, or improve an asset 08 having an anticipated life of more than one year and that is acquired, repaired, 09 or improved as a preparedness measure by which the state may respond to, 10 recover from, reduce, or eliminate the effects of a release or threatened release 11 of oil or a hazardous substance; 12 (E) pay the costs, if approved by the commissioner, that were 13 incurred by local emergency planning committees to carry out the duties 14 assigned them by AS 26.23.073(g); 15 (F) provide matching funds in the event of the release of oil or 16 a hazardous substance, except a release of oil for the containment and cleanup 17 of which use of the response account is authorized by AS 46.08.045, for 18 participation 19 (i) in federal oil discharge cleanup activities; and 20 (ii) under 42 U.S.C. 9601 - 9657 (Comprehensive 21 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980); 22 (G) pay or reimburse the underground storage tank revolving 23 loan [ASSISTANCE] fund established in AS 46.03.410 for expenditures from 24 that fund authorized by AS 46.03.410(b); 25 (H) transfer to the Department of Community and Economic 26 Development for payment by the commissioner of community and economic 27 development of 28 (i) municipal impact grants when authorized under 29 AS 29.60.510(b)(2); 30 (ii) assessments of the social and economic effects of 31 the release of oil or hazardous substances as required by AS 29.60.560
01 when, in the judgment of the commissioner, the release of oil or a 02 hazardous substance is not one that is described in AS 46.08.045; and 03 (iii) grants to repair, improve, or replace fuel storage 04 facilities under the bulk fuel system emergency repair and upgrade 05 program; 06 (I) recover the costs to the state, a municipality, a village, or a 07 school district of a containment and cleanup resulting from the release or 08 threatened release of oil or a hazardous substance for which money was 09 expended from the prevention account; 10 (J) prepare, review, and revise 11 (i) the state's master oil and hazardous substance 12 discharge prevention and contingency plan required by AS 46.04.200; 13 and 14 (ii) a regional master oil and hazardous substance 15 discharge prevention and contingency plan required by AS 46.04.210; 16 and 17 (K) restore the environment by addressing the effects of an oil 18 or hazardous substance release. 19 * Sec. 20. AS 46.03.360(e)(3) and 46.03.430 are repealed. 20 * Sec. 21. AS 46.03.420 is repealed. 21 * Sec. 22. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 22 read: 23 TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS. (a) The underground storage tank revolving loan 24 fund established in AS 46.03.410, as amended in secs. 7 and 8 of this Act, is the successor to 25 the storage tank assistance fund, and the balance in the storage tank assistance fund on the 26 effective date of sec. 7 of this Act shall be retained in the underground storage tank revolving 27 loan fund. Grants entered into by the Department of Environmental Conservation before the 28 effective date of sec. 7 of this Act that would have been paid from the storage tank assistance 29 fund shall be paid from the underground storage tank revolving loan fund. 30 (b) The Department of Environmental Conservation may not pay grants under 31 AS 46.03.430 after June 30, 2002. The Department of Environmental Conservation may not
01 enter into a grant agreement under other provisions of AS 46.03.410 - 46.03.450 that requires 02 payment by the department after June 30, 2004, of grant money from any source. On or after 03 July 1, 2004, the department may not pay money for a grant from the underground storage 04 tank revolving loan fund. 05 * Sec. 23. Sections 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 - 12, 15, and 17 - 20 of this Act take effect July 1, 2002. 06 * Sec. 24. Sections 1, 4, 6, 8, 13, 14, 16, and 21 of this Act take effect July 1, 2004. 07 * Sec. 25. Section 22 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).