Opinion ID: 2221881
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Heading: Scope of Tank Fund Act.

Text: The Tank Fund Act does not apply to all underground storage tanks. See Iowa Code § 455G.1(2)(a), (b), (c). Instead, it applies to petroleum underground storage tanks for which an owner or operator is required to maintain proof of financial responsibility under federal or state law. . . . Id. § 455G.1(2); see also id. §§ 455G.1(2)(b), .2(19). Federal law first required proof of financial responsibility in 1988, and our state law first required proof of financial responsibility in 1989. See 53 Fed.Reg. 43322, 43370-72 (Oct. 26, 1988) (codified at 40 C.F.R. §§ 280.90-.93 (1999)); Iowa Admin. Code r. 567-136.2 (1989). Even though the particular underground tank at issue in this case was in operation prior to the requirement that the owner or operator maintain responsibility, that fact does not exclude the tank from the Tank Fund Act. The Tank Fund Act describes the tanks within its scope as those which require the owner or operator to maintain proof of financial responsibility. See Iowa Code § 455G.1(2). The effective date of the proof of responsibility requirements do not exclude tanks which predate the requirements, but simply designate those tanks subject to the Tank Fund Act whether they existed before or after the requirement. If the tank, regardless of when it was placed in the ground, is a type for which the owner or operator is required to maintain proof of responsibility, it is covered under the Tank Fund Act.