SF 3162

as introduced - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 03/09/2010 03:14pm

A bill for an act
relating to environment; providing for property acquisition from petroleum tank
fund proceeds; amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 115C.08, subdivision
1; Minnesota Statutes 2009 Supplement, section 115C.08, subdivision 4.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 115C.08, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Revenue sources.

Revenue from the following sources must be
deposited in the state treasury and credited to a petroleum tank fund:

(1) the proceeds of the fee imposed by subdivision 3;

(2) money recovered by the state under sections 115C.04, 115C.05, and 116.491,
including administrative expenses, civil penalties, and money paid under an agreement,
stipulation, or settlement;

(3) interest attributable to investment of money in the fund;

(4) money received by the board and agency in the form of gifts, grants other than
federal grants, reimbursements, or appropriations from any source intended to be used for
the purposes of the fund;

(5) fees charged for the operation of the tank installer certification program
established under section 116.491; deleted text begin and deleted text end

(6) money obtained from the return of reimbursements, civil penalties, or other
board action under this chapter new text begin ; and
new text end

new text begin (7) the proceeds from the sales of all properties acquired by the agency under
subdivision 4 new text end .

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2009 Supplement, section 115C.08, subdivision 4, is
amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Expenditures.

(a) Money in the fund may only be spent:

(1) to administer the petroleum tank release cleanup program established in this
chapter;

(2) for agency administrative costs under sections 116.46 to 116.50, sections
115C.03 to 115C.06, and costs of corrective action taken by the agency under section
115C.03, including investigations;

(3) for costs of recovering expenses of corrective actions under section 115C.04;

(4) for training, certification, and rulemaking under sections 116.46 to 116.50;

(5) for agency administrative costs of enforcing rules governing the construction,
installation, operation, and closure of aboveground and underground petroleum storage
tanks;

(6) for reimbursement of the environmental response, compensation, and compliance
account under subdivision 5 and section 115B.26, subdivision 4;

(7) for administrative and staff costs as set by the board to administer the petroleum
tank release program established in this chapter;

(8) for corrective action performance audits under section 115C.093;

(9) for contamination cleanup grants, as provided in paragraph (c); deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(10) to assess and remove abandoned underground storage tanks under section
115C.094 and, if a release is discovered, to pay for the specific consultant and contractor
services costs necessary to complete the tank removal project, including, but not limited
to, excavation soil sampling, groundwater sampling, soil disposal, and completion of
an excavation report new text begin ; and
new text end

new text begin (11) for property acquisition by the agency when the agency has determined that
purchasing a property where a release has occurred is the most appropriate corrective
action. The acquisition of all properties is subject to approval by the board new text end .

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c), money in the fund is appropriated to the
board to make reimbursements or payments under this section.

(c) $6,200,000 is annually appropriated from the fund to the commissioner of
employment and economic development for contamination cleanup grants under section
116J.554. Of this amount, the commissioner may spend up to $225,000 annually for
administration of the contamination cleanup grant program. The appropriation does not
cancel and is available until expended. The appropriation shall not be withdrawn from
the fund nor the fund balance reduced until the funds are requested by the commissioner
of employment and economic development. The commissioner shall schedule requests
for withdrawals from the fund to minimize the necessity to impose the fee authorized by
subdivision 2. Unless otherwise provided, the appropriation in this paragraph may be
used for:

(1) project costs at a qualifying site if a portion of the cleanup costs are attributable
to petroleum contamination or new and used tar and tar-like substances, including but not
limited to bitumen and asphalt, but excluding bituminous or asphalt pavement, that consist
primarily of hydrocarbons and are found in natural deposits in the earth or are distillates,
fractions, or residues from the processing of petroleum crude or petroleum products as
defined in section 296A.01; and

(2) the costs of performing contamination investigation if there is a reasonable basis
to suspect the contamination is attributable to petroleum or new and used tar and tar-like
substances, including but not limited to bitumen and asphalt, but excluding bituminous or
asphalt pavement, that consist primarily of hydrocarbons and are found in natural deposits
in the earth or are distillates, fractions, or residues from the processing of petroleum crude
or petroleum products as defined in section 296A.01.