I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3062 
To reduce the instances of releases from underground storage tanks by 
strengthening tank inspections, operator training, program enforcement, 
oxygenated fuel cleanup, and providing States greater Federal resources 
from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 24, 2005 
Mr. GILLMOR (for himself and Mr. FOSSELLA) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To reduce the instances of releases from underground storage 
tanks by strengthening tank inspections, operator train-
ing, program enforcement, oxygenated fuel cleanup, and 
providing States greater Federal resources from the 
Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Underground Stor-
age Tank Compliance Act of 2005’’.
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SEC. 2. LEAKING UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9004 of the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991c) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(f) TRUST FUND DISTRIBUTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(A) AMOUNT AND PERMITTED USES OF 
DISTRIBUTION.—The Administrator shall dis-
tribute to States not less than 80 percent of the 
funds from the Trust Fund that are made 
available to the Administrator under section 
9014(2)(A) for each fiscal year for use in pay-
ing the reasonable costs, incurred under a coop-
erative agreement with any State for— 
‘‘(i) corrective actions taken by the 
State under section 9003(h)(7)(A); 
‘‘(ii) 
necessary 
administrative 
ex-
penses, as determined by the Adminis-
trator, that are directly related to State 
fund or State assurance programs under 
subsection (c)(1); or 
‘‘(iii) enforcement, by a State or a 
local government, of State or local regula-
tions pertaining to underground storage 
tanks regulated under this subtitle.
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‘‘(B) USE
OF
FUNDS
FOR
ENFORCE-
MENT.—In addition to the uses of funds au-
thorized under subparagraph (A), the Adminis-
trator may use funds from the Trust Fund that 
are not distributed to States under subpara-
graph (A) for enforcement of any regulation 
promulgated by the Administrator under this 
subtitle. 
‘‘(C) PROHIBITED USES.—Funds provided 
to a State by the Administrator under subpara-
graph (A) shall not be used by the State to pro-
vide financial assistance to an owner or oper-
ator to meet any requirement relating to under-
ground storage tanks under subparts B, C, D, 
H, and G of part 280 of title 40, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations (as in effect on the date of en-
actment of this subsection). 
‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.— 
‘‘(A) PROCESS.—Subject to subparagraphs 
(B) and (C), in the case of a State with which 
the Administrator has entered into a coopera-
tive agreement under section 9003(h)(7)(A), 
the Administrator shall distribute funds from 
the Trust Fund to the State using an allocation 
process developed by the Administrator.
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‘‘(B) DIVERSION OF STATE FUNDS.—The 
Administrator shall not distribute funds under 
subparagraph (A)(iii) of subsection (f)(1) to 
any State that has diverted funds from a State 
fund or State assurance program for purposes 
other than those related to the regulation of un-
derground storage tanks covered by this sub-
title, with the exception of those transfers that 
had been completed earlier than the date of en-
actment of this subsection. 
‘‘(C) REVISIONS
TO
PROCESS.—The Ad-
ministrator may revise the allocation process re-
ferred to in subparagraph (A) after— 
‘‘(i) consulting with State agencies re-
sponsible for overseeing corrective action 
for releases from underground storage 
tanks; and 
‘‘(ii) taking into consideration, at a 
minimum, each of the following: 
‘‘(I) The number of confirmed re-
leases from federally regulated leaking 
underground storage tanks in the 
States.
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‘‘(II) The number of federally 
regulated underground storage tanks 
in the States. 
‘‘(III) The performance of the 
States in implementing and enforcing 
the program. 
‘‘(IV) The financial needs of the 
States. 
‘‘(V) The ability of the States to 
use the funds referred to in subpara-
graph (A) in any year. 
‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTIONS
TO
STATE
AGENCIES.— 
Distributions from the Trust Fund under this sub-
section shall be made directly to a State agency 
that— 
‘‘(A) enters into a cooperative agreement 
referred to in paragraph (2)(A); or 
‘‘(B) is enforcing a State program ap-
proved under this section.’’. 
(b) 
WITHDRAWAL
OF
APPROVAL
OF
STATE 
FUNDS.—Section 9004(c) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act 
(42 U.S.C. 6991c(c)) is amended by inserting the fol-
lowing new paragraph at the end thereof: 
‘‘(6) WITHDRAWAL
OF
APPROVAL.—After an 
opportunity for good faith, collaborative efforts to
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correct financial deficiencies with a State fund, the 
Administrator may withdraw approval of any State 
fund or State assurance program to be used as a fi-
nancial responsibility mechanism without with-
drawing approval of a State underground storage 
tank program under section 9004(a).’’. 
(c) ABILITY
TO PAY.—Section 9003(h)(6) of the 
Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6591a(h)(6)) is 
amended by adding the following new subparagraph at the 
end thereof: 
‘‘(E) INABILITY OR LIMITED ABILITY TO 
PAY.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—In determining 
the level of recovery effort, or amount that 
should be recovered, the Administrator (or 
the State pursuant to paragraph (7)) shall 
consider the owner or operator’s ability to 
pay. An inability or limited ability to pay 
corrective action costs must be dem-
onstrated to the Administrator (or the 
State pursuant to paragraph (7)) by the 
owner or operator. 
‘‘(ii) 
CONSIDERATIONS.—In 
deter-
mining whether or not a demonstration is 
made under clause (i), the Administrator
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(or the State pursuant to paragraph (7)) 
shall take into consideration the ability of 
the owner or operator to pay corrective ac-
tion costs and still maintain its basic busi-
ness operations, including consideration of 
the overall financial condition of the owner 
or operator and demonstrable constraints 
on the ability of the owner or operator to 
raise revenues. 
‘‘(iii) INFORMATION.—An owner or 
operator requesting consideration under 
this subparagraph shall promptly provide 
the Administrator (or the State pursuant 
to paragraph (7)) with all relevant infor-
mation needed to determine the ability of 
the owner or operator to pay corrective ac-
tion costs. 
‘‘(iv) ALTERNATIVE PAYMENT METH-
ODS.—The Administrator (or the State 
pursuant to paragraph (7)) shall consider 
alternative payment methods as may be 
necessary or appropriate if the Adminis-
trator (or the State pursuant to paragraph 
(7)) determines that an owner or operator
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cannot pay all or a portion of the costs in 
a lump sum payment. 
‘‘(v) 
MISREPRESENTATION.—If 
an 
owner or operator provides false informa-
tion or otherwise misrepresents their finan-
cial situation under clause (ii), the Admin-
istrator (or the State pursuant to para-
graph (7)) shall seek full recovery of the 
costs of all such actions pursuant to the 
provisions of subparagraph (A) without 
consideration of the factors in subpara-
graph (B).’’. 
SEC. 3. INSPECTION OF UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS. 
(a) INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 9005 of 
the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991d) is amend-
ed by inserting the following new subsection at the end 
thereof: 
‘‘(c) INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) UNINSPECTED TANKS.—In the case of un-
derground storage tanks regulated under this sub-
title that have not undergone an inspection since De-
cember 22, 1998, not later than 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this subsection, the Adminis-
trator or a State that receives funding under this 
subtitle, as appropriate, shall conduct on-site inspec-
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tions of all such tanks to determine compliance with 
this subtitle and the regulations under this subtitle 
(40 C.F.R. 280) or a requirement or standard of a 
State program developed under section 9004. 
‘‘(2) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS.—After completion 
of all inspections required under paragraph (1), the 
Administrator or a State that receives funding under 
this subtitle, as appropriate, shall conduct on-site in-
spections of each underground storage tank regu-
lated under this subtitle at least once every 3 years 
to determine compliance with this subtitle and the 
regulations under this subtitle (40 C.F.R. 280) or a 
requirement or standard of a State program devel-
oped under section 9004. The Administrator may ex-
tend for up to one additional year the first 3-year 
inspection interval under this paragraph if the State 
demonstrates that it has insufficient resources to 
complete all such inspections within the first 3-year 
period. 
‘‘(3) INSPECTION AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to diminish the Adminis-
trator’s or a State’s authorities under section 
9005(a).’’. 
(b) STUDY
OF ALTERNATIVE INSPECTION PRO-
GRAMS.—The Administrator of the Environmental Protec-
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tion Agency, in coordination with a State, shall gather in-
formation on compliance assurance programs that could 
serve as an alternative to the inspection programs under 
section 9005(c) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
U.S.C. 6991d(c)) and shall, within 4 years after the date 
of enactment of this Act, submit a report to the Congress 
containing the results of such study. 
SEC. 4. OPERATOR TRAINING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9010 of the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991i) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘SEC. 9010. OPERATOR TRAINING. 
‘‘(a) GUIDELINES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of the Underground 
Storage Tank Compliance Act of 2005, in consulta-
tion and cooperation with States and after public no-
tice and opportunity for comment, the Administrator 
shall publish guidelines that specify training require-
ments for— 
‘‘(A) persons having primary responsibility 
for on-site operation and maintenance of under-
ground storage tank systems;
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‘‘(B) persons having daily on-site responsi-
bility for the operation and maintenance of un-
derground storage tank systems; and 
‘‘(C) daily, on-site employees having pri-
mary responsibility for addressing emergencies 
presented by a spill or release from an under-
ground tank system. 
‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—The guidelines de-
scribed in paragraph (1) shall take into account— 
‘‘(A) State training programs in existence 
as of the date of publication of the guidelines; 
‘‘(B) training programs that are being em-
ployed by tank owners and tank operators as of 
the date of enactment of the Underground Stor-
age Tank Compliance Act of 2005; 
‘‘(C) the high turnover rate of tank opera-
tors and other personnel; 
‘‘(D) the frequency of improvement in un-
derground storage tank equipment technology; 
‘‘(E) the nature of the businesses in which 
the tank operators are engaged; 
‘‘(F) the substantial differences in the 
scope and length of training needed for the dif-
ferent classes of persons described in subpara-
graphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (1); and