§ 30:2195.4 — Procedures for disbursements from the Tank Trust Account

Louisiana § 30:2195.4

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 30: Mortgages and Privileges

Text

§2195.4. Procedures for disbursements from the Tank Trust Account
A. Monies held in the Tank Trust Account established hereunder shall be disbursed
by the secretary in the following manner:
(1) Notwithstanding any provision of R.S. 30:2194 through 2195.11 to the contrary,
any remediation work contracted for on or after August 1, 1995, shall be paid by the
department to the response action contractor who performed the department-approved
assessment or remediation work upon the presentation of proper invoices for response
actions taken when authorized by the secretary or his designee. The secretary may substitute
a lien with the same ranking as that authorized by R.S. 30:2195(F)(2) for the amount required
by R.S. 30:2195.9 and 2195.10, but such lien shall not be substituted on behalf of an owner
or operator who continues to operate the system. An underground motor fuel storage tank
owner who is an eligible participant and a response action contractor will not be reimbursed
for response actions, excluding emergency response actions performed during the first
seventy-two hours following a release, performed at his own site. Underground motor fuel
storage tank owners will not be reimbursed for response actions, excluding emergency
response actions performed during the first seventy-two hours following a release, performed
by a response action contractor who is known to have performed actions which contributed
to or resulted in the release.
(2) The owner or the owner's authorized agent and response action contractor shall
file a sworn application with the department indicating fair and reasonable value of the cost
of site assessment and remediation, subject to those regulations and limitations as set by the
department. Proof of payment of the financial responsibility amounts required by R.S.
30:2195.9 and 2195.10, or a certified copy of the lien authorized in this Section, shall be
provided with the initial application for reimbursement.
(3)(a) Except in cases of emergency, no disbursement from the Tank Trust Account
may be made by the secretary until such time that the secretary obtains verification that the
owner applicant is an eligible participant in compliance with the law.
(b) No disbursements from the Tank Trust Account may be made by the secretary
when the application for reimbursement is filed with the department more than two years
after the date that the response action work is performed.
(c) When the department's action results in a reimbursement application not being
submitted within two years of the date that the work was performed, the applicant will have
ninety days from the date that the issue is resolved to submit the reimbursement application.
(d) Repealed by Acts 2024, No. 167, §2.
B.(1) Payments shall be made to third parties who bring suit against the secretary in
his official capacity as representative of the Tank Trust Account and the owner of an
underground motor fuel storage tank, who is an eligible participant as stated in R.S.
30:2194(B)(3), and such third party obtains a final judgment for a third-party claim which
is enforceable in this state.
(2) The attorney general of the state of Louisiana is hereby responsible to appear in
said suit for and in behalf of the secretary as representative of the Tank Trust Account. The
secretary, as representative of the Tank Trust Account, is a necessary party in any suit that
is brought by any third party which would allow that third party to collect from this trust, and
must be made a party to the initial proceedings. Payment shall be made to the third-party
claimant if and only if the judgment is against the secretary and an owner who was an
eligible participant on the date the incident occurred which gave rise to the claim.
(3) The costs of defending these suits by the attorney general or those assistants
employed by the secretary, or appointed by the attorney general to assist, shall be recovered
from the Tank Trust Account. In the event the Tank Trust Account is insufficient to make
payments at the time the claim is filed, such claims shall be paid in the order of filing at such
time as monies are paid into the Tank Trust Account. Neither the amount of money in this
trust, the method of collecting the Tank Trust Account, nor any of the particulars involved
in setting up this trust shall be admissible as evidence in any trial where suit is brought when
the judgment rendered could affect the trust.
(4) If the attorney general declines to appear in a suit for and on behalf of the
secretary as representative of the trust, or does not respond to the secretary's request for
representation within sixty days of such request and agree to appear on behalf of the
secretary, an attorney from the department may, with the concurrence of the attorney general,
appear in said suit for and on behalf of the secretary as representative of the trust.
C.(1) For any month during which the collection of fees assessed pursuant to R.S.
30:2195.3 is suspended, the treasurer shall transfer an amount equal to twenty percent of the
average monthly fee amount collected according to the schedule specified in R.S.
30:2195.3(A)(1) from the trust into the Environmental Trust Dedicated Fund Account for use
as provided by R.S. 30:2015.
(2) If the secretary determines that the funds deposited on a monthly basis into the
Environmental Trust Dedicated Fund Account pursuant to R.S. 30:2195(B) are insufficient
relative to the legislatively approved fiscal appropriation for the department during a given
year, the secretary may order the treasurer to transfer from the Tank Trust Account to the
Environmental Trust Dedicated Fund Account only that amount necessary to reach the
authorized ceiling.

Legislative History

Acts 1988, No. 767, §2, eff. July 15, 1988; Acts 1989, No. 513, §1; Acts 1990, No. 1014, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1990; Acts 1995, No. 336, §1, eff. June 16, 1995; Acts 1995, No. 1160, §1; Acts 1997, No. 27, §1; Acts 1999, No. 303, §1, eff. June 14, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 602, §1, eff. June 30, 1999; Acts 2004, No. 692, §1, eff. July 6, 2004; Acts 2006, No. 447, §1; Acts 2016, No. 521, §1; Acts 2018, No. 612, §9, eff. July 1, 2020; Acts 2019, No. 404, §1, eff. July 1, 2020; Acts 2021, No. 114, §18, eff. July 1, 2022; Acts 2024, No. 167, §§1, 2 .