Missouri Senate

Introduced

The act modifies the definition of "environmental response project" for purposes of the Missouri Environmental Covenants Act, by specifying that an environmental response project shall not include plans or work performed for environmental remediation of releases from aboveground or underground storage tanks containing petroleum.

The act removes the provision in existing law that requires termination of participation in the Underground Storage Tank Insurance Fund for owners of underground storage tanks whose tank re-registration is denied or whose tank registration is revoked by the Department of Natural Resources.

Under current law, the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund expires on December 31, 2010 or upon revocation of 40 CFR Parts 280 and 285, which are federal standards and corrective action requirements for owners of underground storage tanks. This act extends the expiration date until December 31, 2020 and removes the clause concerning revocation of federal law.

Under current law, an owner or operator of petroleum storage tanks may participate in the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund to "partially" meet the applicable financial obligations required by state law. This act removes the word "partially" to allow this participation to fully meet the financial obligation. The act additionally changes the statute reference for the financial obligations to a single section in chapter 319 and an additional section in chapter 414, which concerns aboveground storage tanks.

Under current law, the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund Board of Trustees' advisory committee is composed of insurers and owners and operators of petroleum storage tanks. This act allows other interested parties to also serve on the committee. The requirement that the committee report to the General Assembly on the status of private insurance for fuel storage tanks is changed from "annually" to "every 4 years" or "upon the written request of the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tem of the Senate," whichever occurs first.

The act provides that after December 31, 2017, the current legal owner of a site where an aboveground or underground storage tank was taken out of use prior to December 31, 1997 shall be considered the responsible party for cleanup of any petroleum contamination.

Under current law, each participant in the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund shall pay a per-tank fee each year in an amount of at least $100 but not greater than $300. This act raises the maximum from $300 to $500. The Board of Trustees for the Fund is given authority to promulgate rules that require new applicants to conduct site assessments prior to participating in the Fund. The Board may also require new applicants to pay a surcharge up to $500 per tank per year for each year after which the tank was eligible for coverage by the Fund.

An underground storage tank is ineligible to receive petroleum if certain spill prevention, overfill protection, leak detection, or corrosion prevention equipment have not been installed.

The act requires the Department of Natural Resources to affix a red violation tag to any underground storage tank that it determines to be ineligible to receive petroleum and the Department must notify the owner or operator of the tank of its action within 14 days. No person shall deposit petroleum in any tank with a red violation tag and removal of the tag is prohibited except in certain circumstances.

Upon the receipt of documentation from the tank owner or operator that satisfactorily indicates resolution of the problem, the Department must immediately authorize the removal of the violation tag. If the Department determines that an inspection is needed before issuing approval to remove the tag, the inspection must be conducted within 24 hours of receiving notification from the tank owner or operator. If the Department does not conduct its inspection in that time period, the owner or operator may remove the violation tag and return the tag to the Department in a pre-paid envelope provided by the Department.

Tank owners or operators may appeal any decision by the Department to the circuit court or Administrative Hearing Commission.

The act requires that after December 31, 2010, owners or operators of aboveground storage tanks containing petroleum shall maintain evidence of financial responsibility in an amount sufficient to cover at least $1 million per occurrence of a spill, up to $2 million annually in aggregate, to pay for corrective action, third-party bodily injury compensation, and property damage. Participation in the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund is sufficient to meet this requirement. The Department of Agriculture shall promulgate rules for this requirement.

Provisions of this act are similar to provisions in SB 601 (2007).

ERIKA JAQUES