Bill Text: MS SB2158 | 2022 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund; authorize payment of administrative costs.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2022-04-18 - Approved by Governor [SB2158 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2022-SB2158-Enrolled.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2022 Regular Session
To: Environment Prot, Cons and Water Res; Appropriations
By: Senator(s) McCaughn, Jackson (11th), Branning
Senate Bill 2158
(As Sent to Governor)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 49-17-405, 49-17-407 AND 49-17-421, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT WHEN UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK FEES ARE INSUFFICIENT TO COVER ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ADMINISTRATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI GROUNDWATER PROTECTION TRUST FUND AND RELATED PURPOSES SHALL BE PAID FROM THE FUND; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 49-17-405, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-17-405. (1) There is
hereby created the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund, hereinafter
referred to as the "fund" to be administered by the Executive Director
of the Department of * * * Environmental Quality. The commission shall adopt
regulations for administering this fund.
(2) The commission shall expend or utilize monies up to One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) annually in the fund by an annual appropriation approved by the Legislature to supplement all reasonable direct and indirect costs associated with the development and administration of the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program if the annual tank regulatory fee in Section 49-17-421 does not adequately cover the costs associated with Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435. All reasonable direct and indirect costs associated with development and administration of the UST Program, including, but not limited to, the reasonable costs of the following activities as they relate to the UST Program:
(a) Preparing generally applicable regulations or guidance regarding the UST Program or its implementation or enforcement;
(b) Administering the UST Program, including the supporting and tracking of UST owners/operators and associated UST systems, compliance with UST regulations, the fund, UST-certified contractors, tank fees and related data entry;
(c) Implementing and enforcing the terms of the UST regulations; and
(d) Investigation, assessment and rehabilitation of contamination sites with restoration or replacement of potable water supplies.
At no time shall an annual fund appropriation result in more than supplemental funding for the current annual cost of administering the UST Program.
(3) Whenever in the executive director's determination a release of motor fuels at an active site may pose a threat to the environment or the public health, safety or welfare, the department shall obligate monies available in the fund to provide for:
(a) Investigation and assessment of contamination sites;
(b) Restoration or replacement of potable water supplies;
(c) Rehabilitation of contamination sites, which may consist of cleanup of affected soil, groundwater and inland surface waters, using cost-effective alternatives that are technologically feasible and reliable, and that provide adequate protection of the public health, safety and welfare and minimize environmental damage, in accordance with the site selection and clean-up criteria established by the commission, except that nothing herein shall be construed to authorize the commission to obligate funds for payment of costs which may be associated with, but are not integral to, site rehabilitation, such as the cost for retrofitting or replacing underground storage tanks.
( * * *4) Whenever the commission has
expended funds from the fund created by Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-433,
the owner of the underground storage tank shall not be liable to the department
for such costs if the owner was in substantial compliance on the date on which
the discharge of the motor fuels which necessitates the cleanup was reported to
the department. Otherwise owners are responsible for reimbursement and the reimbursed
monies shall go back into the fund. In such circumstances the commission is
authorized to take any necessary action to recover these monies from
responsible owners.
( * * *5) Any provisions of this section and
chapter regarding liability for the costs of cleanup, removal, remediation or
abatement of any pollution, hazardous waste or solid waste shall be limited as
provided in Section 49-17-42 and rules adopted thereto.
SECTION 2. Section 49-17-407, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-17-407. (1) (a) An environmental protection fee of Four-tenths of One Cent (4/10 of 1¢) per gallon is hereby levied upon any bonded distributor, as defined by Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-433, who sells or delivers motor fuels to a retailer or user in this state.
(b) Every person, other than a bonded distributor, who shall purchase or acquire motor fuels within this state on which the environmental protection fee has not accrued, shall be liable for the environmental protection fee.
(c) The environmental protection fee shall be imposed only one (1) time on motor fuels sold in the state.
(d) The environmental protection fee shall be collected by the Department of Revenue and shall be designated separately from the excise taxes on fuels.
(e) Any person liable for the environmental protection fee shall be subject to the same requirements and penalties as distributors under the provisions of the Mississippi Special Fuel Tax Law.
(f) Any person liable for the environmental protection fee shall file a report and remit any fees due at the same time provided for filing reports under Section 27-55-523, on forms prescribed by the Department of Revenue.
(g) The Department of Revenue is hereby authorized and empowered to promulgate all rules and regulations necessary for the administration of the environmental protection fee.
(2) (a) On or before the fifteenth day of each month the environmental protection fees collected during the previous month shall be deposited into the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund established in Section 49-17-405. When the unobligated balance in the fund reaches or exceeds Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00), the administrator of the fund shall notify in writing the Department of Revenue no later than the twenty-fifth day of the month to revise the distribution of the environmental protection fee and the Department of Revenue shall deposit the fee into the State Highway Fund. Such distribution shall become effective on the last day of the month succeeding the month in which such notice was given. All environmental protection fees accrued shall be reported and paid.
(b) When the fund balance is reduced below Six Million Dollars ($6,000,000.00), the fee shall again be deposited into the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund until such time as the fund shall reach or exceed Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00). The administrator of the fund shall notify, no later than the twenty-fifth day of the month, the Department of Revenue to deposit the environmental protection fee into the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund and such distribution shall become effective on the first day of the second month succeeding the month in which the notice to deposit the fee into the fund was given.
(3) This fund shall be used for the purposes set forth in Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 and for no other governmental purposes, nor shall any portion hereof ever be available to borrow from by any branch of government; it being the intent of the Legislature that this fund and its increments shall remain intact and inviolate. Any interest earned on monies in this fund shall remain in this fund.
(4) Monies held in the fund established under Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 shall be used for supplemental funding of the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program as described in Section 49-17-405 and only at an active site and shall be disbursed in accordance with the commission requirements and as follows:
(a) Payments shall be made to any third party who brings a third-party claim against any owner of an underground storage tank and the commission as trustee of the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund and who obtains a final judgment in such action which is valid and enforceable in this state against such parties. Payment shall be paid to the third party upon filing by such party an application with the department attaching the original or a certified copy of the final judgment.
(b) Payments shall be made in reasonable amounts to approved response action contractors and other parties involved in the site study and cleanup. Payment shall be made to the party incurring the costs by filing of a sworn application with the department indicating the fair and reasonable value of the costs of site rehabilitation, subject to the regulations and limitations as set by the department.
(5) Payments from the fund are limited as follows:
(a) For cleanup purposes, a maximum of One Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,500,000.00) may be disbursed from the fund for any one (1) site, per confirmed release occurrence.
(b) For third-party judgments, a maximum of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) may be disbursed from the fund for any one (1) site, per confirmed release occurrence.
(c) Nothing in Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 shall establish or create any liability or responsibility on the part of the department or the State of Mississippi to pay any cleanup costs or third-party claims if the fund created herein is insufficient to do so.
(6) Monies held in the fund established under Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 shall not be used for purchases of equipment needed to assist in cleanup operations.
(7) Nothing in Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 shall serve to limit any recovery against an owner of an underground storage tank in excess of the fund payment limits established under this section.
(8) Substantial compliance shall in no way be construed to be an absolute defense to civil liability.
SECTION 3. Section 49-17-421, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-17-421. (1) After receiving the annual report and recommendation of the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Advisory Council, the commission may assess and collect an annual tank regulatory fee in an amount sufficient to administer Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435, but not to exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) per tank. The fee, as set by the commission, shall be assessed per tank per year and shall be collected from the owner of each underground storage tank available for use in Mississippi on July 1, 1988, or brought into use or available for use after that date, as provided in the Mississippi Underground Storage Tank Act of 1988 (Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435). The fee assessed under this section is a debt due by the owner of each tank in use in Mississippi on July 1, 1988, or brought into use after that date.
(2) The commission shall establish the amount of the tank regulatory fee to cover the costs of the Underground Storage Tank Program. The fee for each state fiscal year shall be set by order of the commission, which shall include:
(a) A receipt of the report and recommendations of the UST Advisory Council, and
(b) A public notice to allow the public a period of at least thirty (30) days to provide comments regarding the underground storage tank fee report and recommendation, or to request a public hearing in accordance with Section 49-17-29(4)(a).
The department may conduct a public hearing on the tank regulatory fee when a significant level of public interest exists or when warranted by other factors. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (2), the commission may proceed with entry of the order if the UST Advisory Council fails to submit its report in a timely manner.
The tank regulatory fee shall be due July 1 of each year, and if any part of the fee is not paid within thirty (30) days after the due date, a penalty of fifty percent (50%) of the amount due shall accrue at once and be added to the fee, unless the owner of the underground storage tank demonstrates to the commission that the failure to make timely payment was unavoidable due to financial hardship or otherwise beyond the control of the owner.
Monies collected under this section shall be deposited in a special fund which is created in the State Treasury. Unexpended amounts remaining in the special fund at the end of the fiscal year shall not lapse into the General Fund and any interest earned on amounts in the special fund shall be credited to the special fund by the Treasurer. The fund may receive monies from any available public or private source, including, but not limited to, the fund, collection of fees, interest, grants, taxes, public or private donations and judicial actions. Monies in this special fund shall be expended by annual appropriation approved by the Legislature to administer Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
