CHAIRMAN MILLER called the Resources Committee meeting to order at 3:37 p.m. and announced SB 295 (GRANTS/LOANS FOR STORAGE TANK OWNERS) to be up for consideration. JOHN BARNETT, Executive Director, Board of Storage Tank Assistance, said they work with DEC to administer the Storage Tank Assistance Fund. He said that SB 295 clarifies some problems they have found. One of them is the appeal authority of the Board being limited to dealing with appeals for eligible costs and appeals for priority ranking positions on the funding applications. There are over 150 people who have been determined ineligible by the Department. The first section of SB 295 clarifies this authority for the Board. The second section extends the application period for the financial assistance for underground storage tank systems. MR. BARNETT explained that they have two active financial assistance programs; a closure and upgrade program; and a cleanup assistance program. He said they would like to allow all of the closure upgrade applicants to remain eligible for cleanup should they find contamination if they have applied by the July 1 deadline. Number 108 SENATOR ZHAROFF said the primary focus has been on underground tanks and asked what was being done for above ground tanks. MR. BARNETT said the Governor has a new Commission, The Rural Bulk Fuel Task Force, to address some of the rural above ground tank needs. Neither DEC nor his program are empowered to undertake any activities for above ground storage tanks. SENATOR ZHAROFF asked if there were any funds for this program. MR. BARNETT replied that they didn't have a revenue source at this time. The Governor has a proposal to dedicate 1 cent per gallon of his proposed motor fuel tax increase to the program. These funds would be sufficient to satisfy their needs, but not the above ground program. He said there are federal mandates that came down on the underground storage tank program which have been the driving force behind the fund. SENATOR MILLER asked if there was a cutoff date for the people who are on the list beyond that date. MR. BARNETT said the only deadline in statute is the cleanup application deadline of July 1, 1994. There is no deadline for the closure upgrade applicants. Any contamination found after July 1, 1994 by those upgrade closure applicants would have about 2 years to discover that contamination, but then they would have to demonstrate that that contamination occurred before December 22, 1993. That is when both the state and federal level required leak protection equipment. SENATOR LEMAN moved to pass SB 295 from Committee with individual recommendations. There were no objections and it was so ordered.