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House Bill 1987 |
House Author: Bonnen |
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Effective: 9-1-05 |
Senate Sponsor: Armbrister |
House Bill 1987 amends provisions of the Water Code relating to regulating petroleum storage tanks (PST).
Although it remains an offense for the owner or operator of an underground PST to have a regulated substance delivered into a PST that has not been validly registered with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the bill provides that it is no longer an offense for the person who physically delivers the substance.
House Bill 1987 requires a site closure request to be submitted to the executive director of TCEQ no later than September 1, 2007, for sites requiring a corrective action plan or groundwater monitoring that have met deadlines and submitted progress reports as were required by the original September 1, 2005, site closure request deadline. The bill requires the executive director to grant an extension for corrective action reimbursement to a statutorily eligible owner or operator of a PST and allows the petroleum storage tank remediation account to be used to reimburse an eligible owner or operator for corrective action performed under an extension before August 31, 2007. The bill allows a person granted an extension to apply before July 1, 2007, to have a site placed in the State-Lead Program and requires the eligible owner or operator to agree to allow site access to state personnel as a condition of being granted placement into the State-Lead Program. On receiving an application, the executive director must place the site in the State-Lead Program until corrective action has been completed to TCEQ's satisfaction. Additionally, the bill provides that an eligible owner or operator thusly placed into the State-Lead Program is not liable for any costs related to corrective action.
House Bill 1987 changes the date after which no further reimbursements can be made from the petroleum storage tank remediation account from March 1, 2006, to March 1, 2008, and the expiration date of the petroleum storage tank reimbursement program from September 1, 2006, to September 1, 2008. The bill also eliminates the cap on the amount of money from the petroleum storage tank remediation account that can be used by TCEQ to pay for expenses associated with the administration of the program.