(1) (a) There is
created the petroleum storage tank committee, which consists of seven members
who have technical expertise and knowledge in fields related to corrective actions
taken to mitigate underground and aboveground storage tank releases.
(b) The committee consists of:
(I) The following permanent members:
(A) The director of the division of oil and public safety or the director's
designee;
(B) The executive director of the department or the executive director's
designee; and
(C) An owner or operator; and
(II) Four members appointed by the governor who shall be chosen from
among the following groups, with no more than one member representing each
group:
(A) Fire protection districts;
(B) Elected local governmental officials;
(C) Companies that refine and retail motor fuels in Colorado;
(D) Companies that wholesale motor fuels in Colorado;
(E) Owners and operators of independent retail outlets;
(F) Companies that conduct corrective actions or install and repair
underground and aboveground storage tanks; and
(G) Private citizens or interest groups.
(c) The department shall provide staff to support the activities of the
committee.
(2) Members of the committee shall serve three-year terms. All vacancies
shall be filled by the governor to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.
(3) Members of the committee shall receive no additional salary or per diem
reimbursement for their services as members of the committee, but shall be
allowed travel and parking costs and maintenance expenses while on official
committee business conducted more than one hundred miles from their respective
residences.
(4) The committee shall be required to meet no more than twice in any
month. The committee shall recommend all regulatory actions proposed by the
committee to the director of the division of oil and public safety for adoption or
ratification. The committee shall conduct the following activities in accordance with
section 24-4-105, C.R.S., as its routine business:
(a) Establish procedures, practices, and policies governing the committee's
activities;
(b) Review standards and regulations governing underground and
aboveground storage tanks;
(c) Establish procedures, practices, and policies governing the form and
procedures for applications to the petroleum storage tank fund for reimbursement
compensation;
(d) (I) Establish procedures, practices, and policies governing any and all
aspects of processing, adjusting, defending, or paying claims against the fund. To
encourage tank owners and operators to report and remediate contamination and
achieve compliance with rules promulgated by the director of the division of oil and
public safety, the committee may approve claims involving tanks not operated in
substantial compliance, but may also determine the amount, if any, by which such
claims may be reduced for noncompliance. Before imposing any reduction for
noncompliance the committee shall determine whether the rules issued by the
director of the division of oil and public safety are both substantially and
procedurally no more stringent than United States environmental protection
agency regulations under 42 U.S.C. sec. 6991 and whether the areas of
noncompliance were brought into compliance prior to application to the fund,
where possible. The committee shall use the following guidelines when imposing a
reduction for noncompliance:
(A) Up to a ten percent reduction for failure to register a tank;
(B) Up to a twenty-five percent reduction for improper release detection;
(C) Up to a ten percent reduction for improper release reporting;
(D) Up to a twenty percent reduction for improper out-of-service and closure.
(II) Nothing in this article shall be construed to require the committee to
approve a claim involving substantial noncompliance. The committee shall establish
specific criteria to define when denial for substantial noncompliance may be
imposed.
(e) Establish priorities governing the types of corrective actions which shall
be reimbursed from the fund;
(f) Review corrective action plans submitted pursuant to section 8-20.5-209,
for which no agreement has been reached through informal conferences between
the department and the owner or operator, and make a recommendation to the
department, upon request from the department or the owner or the operator, as to
the corrective action that is acceptable;
(g) Issue public notices and hold public hearings to obtain comment on the
activities described in this subsection (4);
(h) (I) (A) Pay interest to all persons who file a properly and fully completed
claim for reimbursement and are not reimbursed in a timely manner. For purposes
of this paragraph (h), interest shall accrue on the amount approved for payment by
the committee at the rate determined pursuant to section 39-21-110.5, C.R.S., for
each day a properly and fully completed application is not processed in a timely
manner.
(B) Notwithstanding this paragraph (h), if a claimant cannot be reimbursed in
a timely manner because insufficient moneys in the petroleum storage tank fund
prevent the issuance of a reimbursement check within thirty days after approval of
the disbursement, interest shall not begin to accrue on the claim until thirty-one
days after sufficient moneys are available in said fund.
(II) For purposes of this paragraph (h), timely manner means:
(A) That an application filed with the petroleum storage tank fund on or after
January 1, 1996, shall be submitted for review by the committee within ninety
working days of receipt;
(B) That an application filed with the petroleum storage tank fund on or after
July 1, 1995, but before January 1, 1996, shall be submitted for review by the
committee within one hundred twenty working days of receipt;
(C) That an application filed with the petroleum storage tank fund before
July 1, 1995, shall be submitted for review by the committee no later than December
31, 1995;
(D) That reimbursement checks shall be issued within thirty days after
disbursement is approved by the committee.
(5) The committee may, in order to perform any or all of its responsibilities
and functions under subsection (4) of this section, contract for the use of outside
experts, consultants, or services.
(6) Reductions determined by the committee because of noncompliance
shall be cumulative and shall apply to all eligible costs approved by the committee
in the initial and all supplemental claims for the occurrence as defined in section 8-20.5-206 (2); except that in no instance shall cumulative reductions for
noncompliance apply to claims submitted in accordance with section 8-20.5-206
(3) or 8-20.5-303 (3).
(7) The reductions described in subsections (4)(d) and (6) of this section
pertain to this section only and shall not be construed to have any impact on cost-recovery actions taken in accordance with section 8-20.5-209 or any civil or
criminal penalties imposed as part of an enforcement proceeding.
(8) At its first meeting of each fiscal year, on or about July 1, the committee
shall establish and set aside for reimbursements to those individuals who are
eligible to make application to the fund in accordance with section 8-20.5-206 (3)
or 8-20.5-303 (3), an amount equal to twenty percent of the total budget of the
department from the petroleum storage tank fund, which amount shall be used for
the purpose of conducting remediation activities in accordance with sections 8-20.5-206 (3), 8-20.5-209, and 8-20.5-303 (3) and shall protect the integrity of the
fund as a financial assurance mechanism for tank owners and operators. The
committee shall reexamine on a quarterly basis the unencumbered balance of this
allocation and may set aside lesser or additional amounts for reimbursements to
such applicants based on the relative number of requested reimbursements from
the owners and operators of active sites, with preference given to the remediation
of recently contaminated locations and to active tank sites based on their higher
potential for environmental impact.
(9) The petroleum storage tank committee is a type 1 entity as defined in
section 24-1-105, and exercises its powers and performs its duties and functions
specified by this section under the department of labor and employment and the
executive director.