IIA

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3391

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 26, 1996

Received

SEPTEMBER 27, 1996

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

AN ACT

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require at least

85 percent of funds appropriated to the Environmental

Protection Agency from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund to be distributed to States for

cooperative agreements for undertaking corrective action

and for enforcement of subtitle I of such Act.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Leaking Underground

5 Storage Tank Trust Fund Amendments Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. LEAKING UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS.

7 (a) TRUST FUND DISTRIBUTION.—Section 9004 of

8 the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991c) is amend9 ed by adding at the end the following new subsection:

10 ‘‘(f) TRUST FUND DISTRIBUTION TO STATES.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—(A) The Administrator

12 shall distribute to States at least 85 percent of the

13 funds appropriated to the Environmental Protection

14 Agency from the Leaking Underground Storage

15 Tank Trust Fund (in this subsection referred to as

16 the ‘Trust Fund’) each fiscal year for the reasonable

17 costs under cooperative agreements entered into with

18 the Administrator for the following:

19 ‘‘(i) States’ actions under section

20 9003(h)(7)(A).

21 ‘‘(ii) Necessary administrative expenses di22 rectly related to corrective action and com23 pensation programs under section 9004(c)(1).

24 ‘‘(iii) Enforcement of a State or local pro25 gram approved under this section or enforce-
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1 ment of this subtitle or similar State or local

2 provisions by a State or local government.

3 ‘‘(iv) State and local corrective actions pur4 suant to regulations promulgated under section

5 9003(c)(4).

6 ‘‘(v) Corrective action and compensation

7 programs under section 9004(c)(1) for releases

8 from underground storage tanks regulated

9 under this subtitle in any instance, as deter10 mined by the State, in which the financial re11 sources of an owner or operator, excluding re12 sources provided by programs under section

13 9004(c)(1), are not adequate to pay for the cost

14 of a corrective action without significantly im15 pairing the ability of the owner or operator to

16 continue in business.

17 ‘‘(B) Funds provided by the Administrator

18 under subparagraph (A) may not be used by States

19 for purposes of providing financial assistance to an

20 owner or operator in meeting the requirements re21 specting underground storage tanks contained in

22 section 280.21 of title 40 of the Code of Federal

23 Regulations (as in effect on the date of the enact24 ment of this subsection) or similar requirements in
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1 State programs approved under this section or simi2 lar State or local provisions.

3 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—

4 ‘‘(A) PROCESS.—In the case of a State

5 that the Administrator has entered into a coop6 erative agreement with under section

7 9003(h)(7)(A), the Administrator shall distrib8 ute funds from the Trust Fund to the State

9 using the allocation process developed by the

10 Administrator for such cooperative agreements.

11 ‘‘(B) REVISIONS TO PROCESS.—The Ad12 ministrator may revise such allocation process

13 only after—

14 ‘‘(i) consulting with State agencies re15 sponsible for overseeing corrective action

16 for releases from underground storage

17 tanks and with representatives of owners

18 and operators; and

19 ‘‘(ii) taking into consideration, at a

20 minimum, the total revenue received from

21 each State into the Trust Fund, the num22 ber of confirmed releases from leaking un23 derground storage tanks in each State, the

24 number of notified petroleum storage tanks

25 in each State, and the percent of the popu-
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1 lation of each State using groundwater for

2 any beneficial purpose.

3 ‘‘(3) RECIPIENTS.—Distributions from the

4 Trust Fund under this subsection shall be made di5 rectly to the State agency entering into a cooperative

6 agreement or enforcing the State program.

7 ‘‘(4) COST RECOVERY PROHIBITION.—Funds

8 provided to States from the Trust Fund to owners

9 or operators for programs under section 9004(c)(1)

10 for releases from underground storage tanks are not

11 subject to cost recovery by the Administrator under

12 section 9003(h)(6).’’.

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 9508(c)(1)

14 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by in15 serting before the period at the end the following: ‘‘and

16 to carry out section 9004(f) of such Act’’.

17 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Subtitle I of the

18 Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991 et seq.) is

19 amended as follows:

20 (1) Section 9001(3)(A) (42 U.S.C. 6991(3)(A))

21 is amended by striking out ‘‘sustances’’ and insert22 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘substances’’.

23 (2) Section 9003(f)(1) (42 U.S.C. 6991b(f)(1))

24 is amended by striking out ‘‘subsection (c) and (d)’’
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1 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsections (c) and

2 (d)’’.

3 (3) Section 9004(a) (42 U.S.C. 6991c(a)) is

4 amended by striking out ‘‘in 9001(2)(A)’’ and in5 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘in section 9001(2)(A)’’.

6 (4) Section 9005 (42 U.S.C. 6991d) is amend7 ed—

8 (A) in subsection (a), by striking out

9 ‘‘study taking’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

10 ‘‘study, taking’’;

11 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking out

12 ‘‘relevent’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘rel13 evant’’; and

14 (C) in subsection (b)(4), by striking out

15 ‘‘Evironmental’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

16 ‘‘Environmental’’.

Passed the House of Representatives September 25,

1996.

Attest: ROBIN H. CARLE,

Clerk.

By JEFF TRANDAHL,

Assistant to the Clerk.