H-1842

AN ACT Relating to underground storage tanks for petroleum products; amending RCW 70.148.020 and 82.23A.020; adding a new section to chapter 35.21 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 36.32 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 70.148 RCW; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. Laws have been enacted to limit and prevent environmental damage and risk to public health and safety caused by underground petroleum storage tank leaks. Due to the costs associated with compliance with such laws and the high costs associated with correcting past environmental damage, underground petroleum storage tank sites have closed or are planned for closure. In addition, these costs present potential delays in needed corrective action to protect the environment and public health and safety and loss of necessary access to petroleum products within the affected local community. Rural communities in particular have been hard pressed to preserve their limited number of petroleum outlets and service stations, the loss of which would adversely affect the fundamental government responsibilities pertaining to: Emergency medical, fire, and police services; vital educational, economic, social, and transportation services; pollution prevention; and promotion of public health and safety.

It is the intent of the legislature with the passage of this act to assist the communities in the state that are remote from major population centers and that are experiencing difficulties in preserving their necessary petroleum outlets and service stations in order to: Ensure emergency medical, fire, and police services; maintain vital educational, economic, social, and transportation services; address petroleum pollution; and promote public health and safety.

This act authorizes local governments to apply to the state for loans and grants to facilitate the corrective action at an underground petroleum storage tank site necessary to protect public health and safety and preserve community access to fuel and other petroleum products. Such financial assistance is conditioned upon a commitment that the tank site will continue to meet local community needs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 35.21 RCW to read as follows:

CITIES AND TOWNS--AUTHORIZATION. (1) Cities and towns are authorized to provide loans and grants to owners and operators of underground storage tanks containing petroleum located within their jurisdictions for the construction, reconstruction, repair, renewal, site-cleanup, maintenance, or establishment of the underground storage tank containing petroleum if such action is necessary to accomplish one or more of the following fundamental governmental responsibilities:

(a) Maintain emergency medical, fire, and police services;

(b) Preserve vital educational, economic, social, and transportation services;

(d) Promote public health and safety.

(2) In consideration for receiving a loan or grant under subsection (1) of this section, the owner and operator of the underground storage tank containing petroleum shall be subject to the provisions of section 8 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 36.32 RCW to read as follows:

COUNTIES--AUTHORIZATION. (1) Counties are authorized to provide loans and grants to owners and operators of underground storage tanks containing petroleum located within their jurisdictions for the construction, reconstruction, repair, renewal, site-cleanup, maintenance, or establishment of the underground storage tank containing petroleum if such action is necessary to accomplish one or more of the following fundamental governmental responsibilities:

(a) Maintain emergency medical, fire, and police services;

(b) Preserve vital educational, economic, social, and transportation services;

(d) Promote public health and safety.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 70.148 RCW to read as follows:

COMMITTEE ESTABLISHED. There is established within the pollution liability insurance agency the underground storage tank community assistance program committee.

(1) The committee shall have five members. The director shall appoint the members, which shall include:

(a) One member representing the Washington state association of counties;

(b) One member representing the association of Washington cities;

(d) One member representing the pollution liability insurance agency; and

(e) One member representing owners of underground petroleum storage tanks.

(2) Each member shall serve a term of two years. A person appointed to fill a vacancy of a member shall be appointed in a like manner and shall serve for only the unexpired term. A member is eligible for reappointment. A member may be removed by the director only for cause.

(3) The director shall designate a member of the board as its chairperson. The committee may elect other officers it deems appropriate. Three members of the committee constitute a quorum and three affirmative votes are necessary for the transaction of business or the exercise of any power or function of the committee.

(4) The members of the committee shall serve without compensation, but are entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

(5) Members shall not be liable to the state, to cities, towns, or counties, or to any other person as a result of their activities, whether ministerial or discretionary, as members except for willful dishonesty or intentional violations of the law. The department may purchase liability insurance for members and may indemnify these persons against the claims of others.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 70.148 RCW to read as follows:

AUTHORIZATION TO REVIEW AND APPROVE APPLICATIONS. Subject to the restriction contained in sections 4 through 8 of this act, the underground storage tank community assistance program committee is authorized to review and approve applications of cities, towns, and counties for loans or grants which the city, town, or county will use to carry out the activities authorized under sections 2 and 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 70.148 RCW to read as follows:

APPLICATION STANDARDS. The underground storage tank community assistance program committee shall approve those applications for loans and grants that meet the minimum standards set forth in sections 4 through 8 of this act and that will best serve the intent of this chapter to assist communities in providing for fundamental government services.

(1) The committee shall not approve more than one hundred fifty thousand dollars in loans and/or grants for any one underground storage tank site.

(2) The committee shall only approve applications of cities, towns, and counties seeking to preserve or construct an underground storage tank site that constitutes the sole source of petroleum products available to the public in a rural community remote from other population centers.

(3) The committee shall only approve applications from cities or towns that have demonstrated intention to comply with the provisions of sections 2 and 8 of this act.

(4) The committee shall only approve applications from counties that have demonstrated intention to comply with the provisions of sections 3 and 8 of this act.

(5) In approving applications for grant money, the committee shall give preference to those applicants providing a local match, in cash or through in-kind services, for the state assistance. The committee shall ensure to the greatest extent possible, given the limited resources of the city, town, or county, that there is financial participation by the city, town, or county.

(6) The committee shall adopt rules necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 70.148 RCW to read as follows:

FUNDING LIMITATION. Loans or grants provided under sections 2 and 3 of this act for cleanup of underground petroleum storage tank sites may not exceed seventy-five thousand dollars. If at any time before providing the financial assistance, it appears to the city, town, or county that site clean-up costs may exceed seventy-five thousand dollars, the city, town, or county may not provide further financial assistance until the owner or operator has developed and implemented a corrective action plan with the department of ecology. These funds shall not be expended for ongoing operations of underground storage tanks.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 70.148 RCW to read as follows:

OWNER OR OPERATOR RESPONSIBILITIES TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT. (1) To qualify for a loan or grant under section 2 or 3 of this act, the owner or operator of an underground petroleum storage tank must:

(a) Apply and qualify for insurance from the pollution liability insurance program; and

(b) Enter into a written agreement with the city, town, or county that conditions financial assistance upon the owner's and operator's promise to: (i) Provide needed petroleum products and related services; (ii) maintain the tank site for the use for which the assistance was provided for a period of not less than twenty-five years from the date of the agreement; and (iii) maintain compliance with state underground storage tank financial responsibility and other technical requirements.

(2) The city, town, or county shall file the agreement required of owners and operators receiving financial assistance as a real property lien against the tank site with the county auditor in which the tanks are located. If the owner or operator receiving financial assistance under this chapter transfers his or her interest in such property, the new owner or operator must agree to abide by the agreement, or any financial assistance provided under this section immediately becomes due and repayable to the awarding city, town, or county by the owner or operator who received the assistance.

(3) If an owner or operator materially breaches the agreement required of owners and operators receiving financial assistance, any financial assistance provided under this section immediately becomes due and repayable by the owner or operator.

Sec. 9. RCW 70.148.020 and 1990 c 64 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The pollution liability insurance program trust account is established in the custody of the state treasurer. All funds appropriated for this chapter and all premiums collected for reinsurance shall be deposited in the account. Expenditures from the account shall be used exclusively for the purposes of this chapter including payment of costs of administering the pollution liability insurance and underground storage tank community assistance programs. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW. Expenditures for payment of the costs of administering the programs may be made only after appropriation by statute. No appropriation is required for other expenditures from the account. The earnings on any surplus balances in the pollution liability insurance program trust account shall be credited to the account notwithstanding RCW 43.84.090.

(2) Each calendar quarter, the director shall report to the insurance commissioner and the chairs of the senate ways and means, senate financial institutions, house of representatives revenue, and house of representatives financial institutions committees, the loss and surplus reserves required for the calendar quarter. The director shall notify the department of revenue of this amount by the fifteenth day of each calendar quarter.

(3) Each calendar quarter the director shall report to the senate ways and means and house of representatives revenue committees the amount of reserves necessary to fund commitments made to provide financial assistance under sections 4 through 8 of this act to the extent that the financial assistance reserves do not jeopardize the operations and liabilities of the pollution liability insurance program. The director shall notify the department of revenue of this amount by the fifteenth day of each calendar quarter. The director may immediately establish an initial financial assistance reserve of five million dollars from available revenues.

Sec. 10. RCW 82.23A.020 and 1990 c 64 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A tax is imposed on the privilege of possession of petroleum products in this state. The rate of the tax shall be fifty one-hundredths of one percent multiplied by the wholesale value of the petroleum product.

(2) Moneys collected under this chapter shall be deposited in the pollution liability insurance program trust account under RCW 70.148.020.

(3) Chapter 82.32 RCW applies to the tax imposed in this chapter. The tax due dates, reporting periods, and return requirements applicable to chapter 82.04 RCW apply equally to the tax imposed in this chapter.

(4) Within thirty days after the end of each calendar quarter the department shall determine the "quarterly balance," which shall be the cash balance in the pollution liability insurance program trust account as of the last day of that calendar quarter, after excluding the reserves determined for that quarter under RCW 70.148.020 (2) and (3). Balance determinations by the department under this section are final and shall not be used to challenge the validity of any tax imposed under this section. For each subsequent calendar quarter, tax shall be imposed under this section during the entire calendar quarter unless:

(a) Tax was imposed under this section during the immediately preceding calendar quarter, and the most recent quarterly balance is more than fifteen million dollars; or

(b) Tax was not imposed under this section during the immediately preceding calendar quarter, and the most recent quarterly balance is more than seven million five hundred thousand dollars.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Section captions as used in this act do not constitute any part of the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.