82R5340 SLB-F
 
  By: Estes S.B. No. 1569
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the remediation of underground storage tanks and the
  fee on delivery of certain petroleum products.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 26.342, Water Code, is amended by adding
  Subdivision (12-a) to read as follows:
               (12-a)  "Potential release" means a release that is
  possible due to the condition of the tank, but that has not yet
  occurred.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 26.351(a), (b), (c), and (f), Water
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The commission shall use risk-based corrective action
  for taking corrective action in response to a release or potential
  release from an underground or aboveground storage
  tank.  Corrective action may include:
               (1)  site cleanup, including the removal, treatment,
  and disposal of surface and subsurface contamination;
               (2)  removal of underground or aboveground storage
  tanks;
               (3)  measures to halt a release in progress or to
  prevent future or potential [threatened] releases of regulated
  substances;
               (4)  well monitoring, taking of soil borings, and any
  other actions reasonably necessary to determine the extent or
  presence of contamination caused by a release;
               (5)  providing alternate water supplies; and
               (6)  any other action reasonably necessary to protect
  the public health and safety or the environment from harm or
  potential [threatened] harm due to releases or potential releases
  of regulated substances from underground or aboveground storage
  tanks.
         (b)  The owner or operator of an underground or aboveground
  storage tank shall immediately take all reasonable actions to
  prevent a potential [threatened] release of regulated substances
  from an underground or aboveground storage tank and to abate and
  remove any releases subject to applicable federal and state
  requirements. The owner or operator may be ordered to take
  corrective action under this subchapter.
         (c)  The commission may undertake corrective action in
  response to a release or undertake corrective action described by
  Subsection (a)(2) or (4) for underground storage tanks that do not
  meet performance or technical standards adopted under this
  subchapter [a threatened release] if:
               (1)  the owner or operator of the underground or
  aboveground storage tank is unwilling to take corrective action;
               (2)  the owner or operator of the underground or
  aboveground storage tank cannot be found;
               (3)  the owner or operator of the underground or
  aboveground storage tank, in the opinion of the executive director,
  is unable to take the corrective action necessary to protect the
  public health and safety or the environment; or
               (4)  notwithstanding any other provision of this
  chapter, the executive director determines that more expeditious
  corrective action than is provided by this chapter is necessary to
  protect the public health and safety or the environment from harm.
         (f)  The person performing corrective action under this
  section, if the release was reported to the commission on or before
  December 22, 1998, shall meet the following deadlines:
               (1)  a complete site assessment and risk assessment
  (including, but not limited to, risk-based criteria for
  establishing target concentrations), as determined by the
  executive director, must be received by the agency no later than
  September 1, 2002;
               (2)  a complete corrective action plan, as determined
  by the executive director and including, but not limited to,
  completion of pilot studies and recommendation of a cost-effective
  and technically appropriate remediation methodology, must be
  received by the agency no later than September 1, 2003.  The person
  may, in lieu of this requirement, submit by this same deadline a
  demonstration that a corrective action plan is not required for the
  site in question under commission rules.  Such demonstration must
  be to the executive director's satisfaction;
               (3)  for those sites found under Subdivision (2) to
  require a corrective action plan, that plan must be initiated and
  proceeding according to the requirements and deadlines in the
  approved plan no later than March 1, 2004;
               (4)  for sites which require either a corrective action
  plan or groundwater monitoring, a comprehensive and accurate annual
  status report concerning those activities must be submitted to the
  agency;
               (5)  for sites which require either a corrective action
  plan or groundwater monitoring, all deadlines set by the executive
  director concerning the corrective action plan or approved
  groundwater monitoring plan shall be met; and
               (6)  for sites that require either a corrective action
  plan or groundwater monitoring, have met all other deadlines under
  this subsection, and have submitted annual progress reports that
  demonstrate progress toward meeting closure requirements, a site
  closure request must be submitted to the executive director no
  later than September 1, 2017 [2011].  The request must be complete,
  as judged by the executive director.
         SECTION 3.  Section 26.3511(a), Water Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  Notwithstanding Section 26.351(c) [of this code], to
  the extent that the commission pays from the petroleum storage tank
  remediation account or from sources other than the waste management
  account the expenses of the investigations, cleanups, and
  corrective action measures it performs, the commission may
  undertake those corrective action measures described in Section
  26.351 [of this code] in response to a release or potential [a
  threatened] release from an underground or aboveground storage tank
  under any circumstances in which the commission considers it
  necessary to protect the public health and safety or the
  environment.
         SECTION 4.  Sections 26.3513(b) and (f), Water Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  Each owner and operator of an underground storage tank
  or petroleum storage tank at a site to which this section applies
  and from which a release or potential [threatened] release occurs
  is responsible for taking all corrective action at the site which
  may be required under this subchapter; provided that liability for
  the expenses of corrective action among owners and operators may be
  apportioned as provided by this section.
         (f)  Where the owner or operator can prove by a preponderance
  of the evidence that liability for the expenses of taking
  corrective action in response to a release or potential
  [threatened] release is divisible, that person shall be liable for
  the expenses only to the extent that the impact to the groundwater,
  surface water, or subsurface soils is attributable to the release
  or potential [threatened] release from his underground storage tank
  or petroleum storage tank.
         SECTION 5.  Sections 26.3573(d), (r-1), and (s), Water Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (d)  The commission may use the money in the petroleum
  storage tank remediation account to pay:
               (1)  necessary expenses associated with the
  administration of the petroleum storage tank remediation account
  and the groundwater protection cleanup program;
               (2)  expenses associated with investigation, cleanup,
  or corrective action measures performed in response to a release or
  potential [threatened] release from a petroleum storage tank,
  whether those expenses are incurred by the commission or pursuant
  to a contract between a contractor and an eligible owner or operator
  as authorized by this subchapter;
               (3)  subject to the conditions of Subsection (f),
  expenses associated with investigation, cleanup, or corrective
  action measures performed in response to a release or potential
  [threatened] release of hydraulic fluid or spent oil from hydraulic
  lift systems or tanks located at a vehicle service and fueling
  facility and used as part of the operations of that facility; and
               (4)  expenses associated with assuring compliance with
  the commission's applicable underground or aboveground storage
  tank administrative and technical requirements, including
  technical assistance and support, inspections, enforcement, and
  the provision of matching funds for grants.
         (r-1)  In this subsection, "state-lead program" means the
  petroleum storage tank state-lead program administered by the
  commission.  The executive director shall grant an extension for
  corrective action reimbursement to a person who is an eligible
  owner or operator under Section 26.3571.  The petroleum storage
  tank remediation account may be used to reimburse an eligible owner
  or operator for corrective action performed under an extension
  before August 31, 2017 [2011].  Not later than July 1, 2017 [2011],
  an eligible owner or operator who is granted an extension under this
  subsection may apply to the commission in writing using a form
  provided by the commission to have the site subject to corrective
  action placed in the state-lead program.  The eligible owner or
  operator must agree in the application to allow site access to state
  personnel and state contractors as a condition of placement in the
  state-lead program under this subsection.  On receiving the
  application for placement in the state-lead program under this
  subsection, the executive director by order shall place the site in
  the state-lead program until the corrective action is completed to
  the satisfaction of the commission.  An eligible owner or operator
  of a site that is placed in the state-lead program under this
  subsection is not liable to the commission for any costs related to
  the corrective action.
         (s)  The petroleum storage tank remediation account may not
  be used to reimburse any person for corrective action contained in a
  reimbursement claim filed with the commission after March 1, 2018
  [2012].
         SECTION 6.  Section 26.3574(b), Water Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  A fee is imposed on the delivery of a petroleum product
  on withdrawal from bulk of that product as provided by this
  subsection.  Each operator of a bulk facility on withdrawal from
  bulk of a petroleum product shall collect from the person who orders
  the withdrawal a fee in an amount determined as follows:
               (1)  $3.75 for each delivery into a cargo tank having a
  capacity of less than 2,500 gallons for the state fiscal year
  beginning September 1, 2011 [2007], through the state fiscal year
  ending August 31, 2017 [2011];
               (2)  $7.50 for each delivery into a cargo tank having a
  capacity of 2,500 gallons or more but less than 5,000 gallons for
  the state fiscal year beginning September 1, 2011 [2007], through
  the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2017 [2011];
               (3)  $11.75 for each delivery into a cargo tank having a
  capacity of 5,000 gallons or more but less than 8,000 gallons for
  the state fiscal year beginning September 1, 2011 [2007], through
  the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2017 [2011];
               (4)  $15.00 for each delivery into a cargo tank having a
  capacity of 8,000 gallons or more but less than 10,000 gallons for
  the state fiscal year beginning September 1, 2011 [2007], through
  the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2017 [2011]; and
               (5)  $7.50 for each increment of 5,000 gallons or any
  part thereof delivered into a cargo tank having a capacity of 10,000
  gallons or more for the state fiscal year beginning September 1,
  2011 [2007], through the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2017
  [2011].
         SECTION 7.  Section 26.361, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 26.361.  EXPIRATION OF REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM.
  Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, the
  reimbursement program established under this subchapter expires
  September 1, 2018 [2012].  On or after September 1, 2018 [2012], the
  commission may not use money from the petroleum storage tank
  remediation account to reimburse an eligible owner or operator for
  any expenses of corrective action or to pay the claim of a person
  who has contracted with an eligible owner or operator to perform
  corrective action.
         SECTION 8.  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
  may adopt rules to implement the changes in law made to Subchapter
  I, Chapter 26, Water Code, as amended by this Act.
         SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.