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.