757
‘‘(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
(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.
758
‘‘(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
cannot pay all or a portion of the costs in
a lump sum payment.
‘‘(iii) 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
759
consideration of the factors in subpara-
graph (B).’’.
SEC. 
1523. 
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-
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-
760
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-
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.
761
SEC. 1524. 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;
‘‘(B) persons having daily on-site responsi-
bility for the operation and maintenance of un-
derground storage tanks systems; and
‘‘(C) daily, on-site employees having pri-
mary responsibility for addressing emergencies
presented by a spill or release from an under-
ground storage tank system.
‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—The guidelines de-
scribed in paragraph (1) shall take into account—