IIA

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 688

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 24, 1997

Received; 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.
2

HR 688 RFS

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 1997’’.

6 TITLE I—DISTRIBUTIONS FROM

7 LEAKING UNDERGROUND

8 STORAGE TANK TRUST FUND

9 SEC. 101. LEAKING UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS.

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

11 the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991c) is amend12 ed by adding at the end the following new subsection:

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

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

15 shall distribute to States at least 85 percent of the

16 funds appropriated to the Environmental Protection

17 Agency from the Leaking Underground Storage

18 Tank Trust Fund (in this subsection referred to as

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

20 costs under cooperative agreements entered into with

21 the Administrator for the following:

22 ‘‘(i) States’ actions under section

23 9003(h)(7)(A).
3

HR 688 RFS

1 ‘‘(ii) Necessary administrative expenses di2 rectly related to corrective action and com3 pensation programs under subsection (c)(1).

4 ‘‘(iii) Enforcement of a State or local pro5 gram approved under this section or enforce6 ment of this subtitle or similar State or local

7 provisions by a State or local government.

8 ‘‘(iv) State and local corrective actions pur9 suant to regulations promulgated under section

10 9003(c)(4).

11 ‘‘(v) Corrective action and compensation

12 programs under subsection (c)(1) for releases

13 from underground storage tanks regulated

14 under this subtitle in any instance, as deter15 mined by the State, in which the financial re16 sources of an owner or operator, excluding re17 sources provided by programs under subsection

18 (c)(1), are not adequate to pay for the cost of

19 a corrective action without significantly impair20 ing the ability of the owner or operator to con21 tinue in business.

22 ‘‘(B) Funds provided by the Administrator

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

24 for purposes of providing financial assistance to an

25 owner or operator in meeting the requirements re-
4

HR 688 RFS

1 specting underground storage tanks contained in

2 section 280.21 of title 40 of the Code of Federal

3 Regulations (as in effect on the date of the enact4 ment of this subsection) or similar requirements in

5 State programs approved under this section or simi6 lar State or local provisions.

7 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—

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

9 that the Administrator has entered into a coop10 erative agreement with under section

11 9003(h)(7)(A), the Administrator shall distrib12 ute funds from the Trust Fund to the State

13 using the allocation process developed by the

14 Administrator for such cooperative agreements.

15 ‘‘(B) REVISIONS TO PROCESS.—The Ad16 ministrator may revise such allocation process

17 only after—

18 ‘‘(i) consulting with State agencies re19 sponsible for overseeing corrective action

20 for releases from underground storage

21 tanks and with representatives of owners

22 and operators; and

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

24 minimum, the total revenue received from

25 each State into the Trust Fund, the num-
5

HR 688 RFS

1 ber of confirmed releases from leaking un2 derground storage tanks in each State, the

3 number of notified petroleum storage tanks

4 in each State, and the percent of the popu5 lation of each State using groundwater for

6 any beneficial purpose.

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

8 Trust Fund under this subsection shall be made di9 rectly to the State agency entering into a cooperative

10 agreement or enforcing the State program.

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

12 provided to States from the Trust Fund to owners

13 or operators for programs under subsection (c)(1)

14 for releases from underground storage tanks are not

15 subject to cost recovery by the Administrator under

16 section 9003(h)(6).’’.

17 (b) 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)’’
6

HR 688 RFS

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’’.

17 TITLE II—EXTENSION OF TRUST

18 FUND PURPOSES

19 SEC. 201. EXTENSION OF TRUST FUND PURPOSES.

20 Paragraph (1) of section 9508(c) of the Internal Rev21 enue Code of 1986 (relating to expenditures) is amended

22 by striking ‘‘to carry out section 9003(h)’’ and all that

23 follows and inserting ‘‘to carry out—

24 ‘‘(A) section 9003(h) of the Solid Waste

25 Disposal Act (as in effect on the date of the en-
7

HR 688 RFS

1 actment of the Superfund Amendments and Re2 authorization Act of 1986), and

3 ‘‘(B) section 9004(f) of the Solid Waste

4 Disposal Act (as in effect on the date of the en5 actment of the Leaking Underground Storage

6 Tank Trust Fund Amendments Act of 1997).’’

Passed the House of Representatives April 23, 1997.

Attest: ROBIN H. CARLE,

Clerk.