2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 8 - LABOR AND INDUSTRY (§§ 8-1-101 — 8-88-207) › LABOR I - DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT (§§ 8-1-101 — 8-20.5-401) › FUEL PRODUCTS (§§ 8-20-101 — 8-20.5-401) › Article 20.5 - PETROLEUM STORAGE TANKS (§§ 8-20.5-101 — 8-20.5-401) › Part 1 - ADMINISTRATION (§§ 8-20.5-101 — 8-20.5-108) › Section 8-20.5-103 - Petroleum storage tank fund - petroleum cleanup and redevelopment fund - creation - rules - repeal

(1)
There is hereby created in the state treasury the petroleum storage tank fund, which is an enterprise fund. The fund consists of the following:
(a)
Registration and annual renewal fees collected from owners or operators of aboveground and underground storage tanks pursuant to section
8-20.5-102 (3)
;
(b)
Repealed.
(c)
Fees collected pursuant to section
8-20.5-102 (4)
;
(d)
Surcharge funds collected pursuant to section
8-20-206.5
;
(e)
Moneys reimbursed to the department in payment for costs incurred in the investigation of a release and performance of corrective action pursuant to section
8-20.5-209
;
(f)
Any moneys appropriated to the fund by the general assembly;
(g)
Any moneys granted to the department from a federal agency for administration of the underground storage tank program; and
(h)
Moneys from bonds issued pursuant to subsection (8) of this section.
(2)
(a)
The moneys in the petroleum storage tank fund and all interest earned on moneys in the fund shall not be credited or transferred to the general fund at the end of the fiscal year.
(b)
Repealed.
(3)
The money in the petroleum storage tank fund is continuously appropriated to the division of oil and public safety; except that the expenditure of money for the purposes specified in subsections (3)(b), (3)(f), and (3)(g) of this section is subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly. The fund shall be used for:
(a)
Petroleum corrective action purposes and third-party liability where the costs exceed the minimum financial responsibility requirements of the owner or operator provided for in section
8-20.5-206
; except that moneys from the fund may not be used for initial abatement and corrective action regarding fuels that are especially prepared and sold for use in aircraft or railroad equipment or locomotives;
(b)
Administrative costs, limited each year to the amount of the registration fee stated in section
8-20.5-102
, including costs for contract services and costs related to the delegation of duties to units of local government which are incurred by the department of labor and employment in carrying out administrative responsibilities pursuant to this article;
(c)
Any costs related to the abatement of fire and safety hazards as ordered by the director of the division of oil and public safety pursuant to section
8-20.5-208 (3)
;
(d)
Investigation of releases or suspected releases and performance of corrective action for petroleum releases by the department or its designated agent pursuant to section
8-20.5-209
;
(e)
Any federal program pertaining to petroleum underground storage tanks, which program requires state-matching dollars;
(f)
(I)
Costs related to petroleum storage tank facility inspections and meter calibrations.
(II)
This subsection (3)(f) is repealed, effective September 1, 2033.
(g)
Administrative costs necessary for the implementation of this article and section
8-20-206.5
.
(3.5)
(a)
Moneys in the petroleum storage tank fund may be used as incentives to underground or aboveground storage tank owners and operators for significant operational compliance or to upgrade existing systems. The director of the division of oil and public safety shall promulgate rules to implement this subsection (3.5).
(b)
As used in this subsection (3.5), "significant operational compliance" means that an owner or operator of an underground or aboveground storage tank is in full compliance with all of the requirements of this article and, through one or more best management practices that are not otherwise required, has prevented or reduced the threat of a release to the environment.
(3.7)
The director of the division of oil and public safety may annually transfer up to five hundred thousand dollars from the petroleum storage tank fund to the petroleum cleanup and redevelopment fund.
(4)
Appropriations of moneys out of the fund for the purpose of initial abatement response or for corrective action purposes in the cleanup of releases shall be used only for those stated purposes and shall not be used for any administrative costs incurred by the department. Any amounts used for initial abatement response or for corrective action purposes shall be reported annually to the general assembly and the joint budget committee.
(5)
Subject to section
8-20.5-104
, the fund shall be available only to those underground and aboveground storage tanks owners or operators who are in compliance with the provisions of section
8-20.5-209
and regulations promulgated pursuant to sections
8-20.5-202
and
8-20.5-302
.
(6)
Moneys in the petroleum storage tank fund shall not be used:
(a)
Repealed.
(b)
To fund any programs that are not specifically stated within this section.
(7)
(a)
Subject to sections
8-20.5-206 (6)
and
8-20.5-303 (6)
, owners and operators of underground and aboveground storage tanks on fee lands shall be eligible for access to the fund if the tank owner or operator:
(I)
Has registered such tanks pursuant to section
8-20.5-102
and paid the surcharges imposed by section
8-20-206.5
;
(II)
Can demonstrate that the owner or operator is in compliance with the rules promulgated pursuant to sections
8-20.5-202
and
8-20.5-302
; and
(III)
Can demonstrate that the owner or operator has complied with sections
8-20.5-209
and
8-20.5-304
and any other rules, policies, and procedures of the department concerning corrective action.
(b)
Underground and aboveground storage tank owners and operators who have been denied access to the fund prior to July 1, 2005, based upon a determination that the tanks are on fee lands, are eligible to reapply for reimbursement from the fund if the application is filed prior to December 31, 2005, and is not barred by settlement or other agreement.
(c)
Nothing in this subsection (7) shall be construed to modify the department's authority to regulate operation of or corrective action for underground and aboveground storage tanks on fee lands.
(7.5)
In addition to the sources identified in subsection (1) of this section, the petroleum storage tank fund includes the amount transferred from the petroleum cleanup and redevelopment fund in accordance with subsection (9)(e)(II) of this section. On October 15, 2020, and the fifteenth day of each of the next seven months, the state treasurer shall transfer five hundred thousand dollars from the petroleum storage tank fund to the general fund. These transfers are repayment for the transfer from the petroleum cleanup and redevelopment fund, as the original amount transferred would have otherwise transferred to the general fund.
(8)
The executive director of the department is authorized to issue bonds to reimburse assessment and corrective action costs to remediate petroleum contamination. The petroleum storage tank committee may temporarily raise such bonding limits in the event of extraordinary circumstances or environmental conditions.
(9)
(a)
There is hereby created in the state treasury the petroleum cleanup and redevelopment fund, which is referred to in this subsection (9) as the "redevelopment fund". The redevelopment fund's sources of revenue are:
(I)
Civil penalties collected pursuant to section
8-20.5-107
;
(II)
Any public or private gifts, grants, or donations to the redevelopment fund received by the department;
(III)
Any legislative appropriations made to the redevelopment fund;
(IV)
Earned interest, which the state treasurer shall deposit in the redevelopment fund; and
(V)
Money transferred from the petroleum storage tank fund pursuant to subsection (3.7) of this section.
(b)
(I)
The department may use revenues in the redevelopment fund for administration, investigation, abatement action, and preparing and implementing corrective action plans for petroleum releases not covered by the petroleum storage tank fund if, in the opinion of the director of the division of oil and public safety, such actions would enhance environmental protection and beneficial use of the property affected by the releases. The revenues in the redevelopment fund:
(A)
Remain in the fund and shall neither be credited nor transferred to the general fund at the end of any fiscal year;
(B)
Are exempt from section
24-75-402
, C.R.S.; and
(C)
Are continuously appropriated to the division of oil and public safety for the purposes stated in this section and are not subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly; except that the uses of the fund for the department's costs in administering this subsection (9) are subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly.
(II)
Subject to the availability of money in the redevelopment fund, the maximum amount payable from the redevelopment fund for any single corrective action plan must not exceed fifty percent of the eligible cleanup costs or five hundred thousand dollars, whichever is less.
(c)
Repealed.
(d)
The division of oil and public safety shall promulgate rules to implement this subsection (9).
(e)
Repealed.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 404,§ 1, eff. 8/7/2023.
Amended by 2021 Ch. 423, § 2, eff. 7/2/2021.
Amended by 2020 Ch. 178, § 1, eff. 6/29/2020.
Amended by 2016 Ch. 1, § 2, eff. 8/10/2016.
Amended by 2016 Ch. 153, § 26, eff. 7/1/2016.
Amended by 2015 Ch. 162, § 1, eff. 8/5/2015.
Amended by 2014 Ch. 370, § 1, eff. 6/6/2014.
Amended by 2013 Ch. 247, § 1, eff. 5/18/2013.
L. 95: Entire article added, p. 393, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2000: (3)(f) and (6) added, p. 1383, §§ 1, 2, effective May 30. L. 2001: (3)(c) amended, p. 1126, § 43, effective June 5. L. 2002: (2) amended, p. 150, § 2, effective March 27; (3)(f) amended, p. 950, § 1, effective August 7. L. 2003: (3)(g) added and (6)(a) repealed, p. 2665, §§ 3, 2, effective June 5. L. 2005: IP(1) amended and (1)(h) and (8) added, p. 1326, §§ 1, 2, effective July 1; (7) added, p. 416, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2007: IP(3), (3)(a), and (3)(f)(II) amended, p. 387, § 3, effective April 3; (3.5) added, p. 980, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2010: (3)(f)(II) amended, (HB 10 -1185), ch. 276, p. 276, § 2, effective August 11. L. 2013: IP(1) amended, (1)(b) repealed, and (9) added, (HB 13-1252), ch. 1196, p. 1196, § 1, effective May 18. L. 2014: (9)(b)(I) amended, (HB 14-1334), ch. 1762, p. 1762, § 1, effective June 6. L. 2015: (3.5) added, (HB 15-1299), ch. 494, p. 494, § 1, effective August 5. L. 2016: (2)(b) repealed, (HB 16-1408), ch. 472, p. 472, § 26, effective July 1; IP(3) and (3)(f)(II) amended, (HB 16 -1044), ch. 1, p. 1, § 2, effective August 10. L. 2020: (7.5) and (9)(e) added, (HB 20-1406), ch. 810, p. 810, § 1, effective June 29.
(1) This section is similar to former § 25-18-109 as it existed prior to 1995.
(2) Subsection (9)(c)(II) provided for the repeal of subsection (9)(c), effective July 1, 2014. (See L. 2013, p. 1196.)
2023 Ch. 404, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).