Minnesota Session Laws - 1990, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1990 

                        CHAPTER 501-S.F.No. 1725 
           An act relating to the environment; changing the fund 
          balances required to impose the fee and the collection 
          period of the fee; changing the terms for 
          reimbursement of petroleum tank release costs by the 
          petroleum tank release compensation board; providing 
          certain tank facilities and refineries are ineligible 
          for reimbursement; appropriating money reimbursed to 
          state agencies; amending Minnesota Statutes 1988, 
          sections 115C.02, by adding subdivisions; 115C.08, 
          subdivision 2; Minnesota Statutes 1989 Supplement, 
          sections 115C.08, subdivision 5; and 115C.09, 
          subdivisions 1, 3, and by adding a subdivision. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 115C.02, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 10a.  [PETROLEUM REFINERY.] "Petroleum refinery" 
means a facility engaged in producing gasoline, kerosene, 
distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oil, lubricants, or other 
products through distillation of petroleum or through 
redistillation, cracking, or reforming of unfinished petroleum 
derivatives.  "Petroleum refinery" includes fluid catalytic 
cracking unit catalyst regenerators, fluid catalytic cracking 
unit incinerator-waste heat boilers, fuel gas combustion 
devices, and indirect heating equipment associated with the 
refinery.  
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 115C.02, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 15.  [TANK FACILITY.] "Tank facility" means a 
contiguous area where tanks are located that are under the same 
ownership or control.  
    Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 115C.08, 
subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 2.  [IMPOSITION OF FEE.] The board shall notify the 
commissioner of revenue if the unexpended unencumbered balance 
of the fund falls below $1,000,000 $2,000,000, and within 60 
days after receiving notice from the board, the commissioner of 
revenue shall impose the fee established in subdivision 3 on the 
use of a tank for a 30-day period, within 60 days of receiving 
notice from the board four calendar months, with payment to be 
submitted with each monthly distributor tax return. 
    Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1989 Supplement, section 
115C.08, subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 5.  [FUND TRANSFER.] The board shall authorize the 
commissioner of finance to transfer to the harmful substance 
compensation fund the amount requested by the harmful substance 
compensation board under section 115B.26, subdivision 4.  
Transfer of the amount must be made at the earliest practical 
date after authorization by the board.  If the unexpended 
unencumbered balance in the fund is less than 
$1,000,000 $2,000,000 the transfer must be made at the 
earliest practical date after the unexpended unencumbered 
balance in the fund exceeds that amount.  
     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1989 Supplement, section 
115C.09, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  [REIMBURSABLE COSTS.] (a) The board shall 
provide partial reimbursement to eligible responsible persons 
for reimbursable costs incurred after June 4, 1987.  
    (b) The following costs shall be considered are 
reimbursable for purposes of this section:  
    (1) corrective action costs incurred by the responsible 
person, except the costs related to the physical removal of a 
tank; and 
    (2) costs that the responsible person is legally obligated 
to pay as damages to third parties for bodily injury or property 
damage caused by a release if the responsible person's liability 
for the costs has been established by a court order or a consent 
decree.  
    (c) A cost for liability to a third party is considered to 
be incurred by the responsible person when an order or consent 
decree establishing the liability is entered.  Except as 
provided in this paragraph, reimbursement may not be made for 
costs of liability to third parties until all eligible 
corrective action costs have been reimbursed.  If a corrective 
action is expected to continue in operation for more than one 
year after it has been fully constructed or installed, the board 
may estimate the future expense of completing the corrective 
action and, after subtracting this estimate from the total 
reimbursement available under subdivision 3, reimburse the costs 
for liability to third parties.  The total reimbursement may not 
exceed the limit set forth in subdivision 3. 
    Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1989 Supplement, section 
115C.09, subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 3.  [REIMBURSEMENT.] (a) The board shall reimburse a 
responsible person who is eligible under subdivision 2 from the 
fund for 90 percent of the portion of the total reimbursable 
costs less than $250,000 or $1,000,000, whichever is less.  Not 
more than $250,000 $1,000,000 may be reimbursed for costs 
associated with a single release, regardless of the number of 
persons eligible for reimbursement, and not more than $2,000,000 
may be reimbursed for costs associated with a single tank 
facility. 
    (b) A reimbursement may not be made from the fund under 
this subdivision until the board has determined that the costs 
for which reimbursement is requested were actually incurred and 
were reasonable. 
    (c) Money in the fund is appropriated to the board to make 
reimbursements under this section.  A reimbursement to a state 
agency must be credited to the appropriation account or accounts 
from which the reimbursed costs were paid. 
    Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1989 Supplement, section 
115C.09, is amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 3c.  [RELEASE AT REFINERIES AND TANK FACILITIES NOT 
ELIGIBLE FOR REIMBURSEMENT.] Notwithstanding other provisions of 
subdivisions 1 to 3b, a reimbursement may not be made under this 
section for costs associated with a release:  
    (1) from a tank located at a petroleum refinery; or 
    (2) from a tank facility, including a pipeline terminal, 
with more than 1,000,000 gallons of total petroleum storage 
capacity at the tank facility.  
    Sec. 8.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
    This act is effective the day following final enactment and 
section 5 applies to applications for reimbursement received by 
the board after that date. 
    Presented to the governor April 23, 1990 
    Signed by the governor April 23, 1990, 10:40 a.m.