PRINTER'S NO. 856
No. 125 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY M. WHITE, MUSTO, BOSCOLA, ARMSTRONG, COSTA,
TARTAGLIONE, KITCHEN, EARLL, ORIE, FERLO, LOGAN, ERICKSON,
GORDNER, O'PAKE, WENGER, LEMMOND, RAFFERTY, D. WHITE,
PILEGGI, WAUGH, CONTI, RHOADES, SCARNATI, STOUT, GREENLEAF,
PIPPY, WOZNIAK AND THOMPSON, MAY 26, 2005
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, MAY 26, 2005
A RESOLUTION
1 Encouraging the Congress of the United States and the United
2 States Environmental Protection Agency to release funds to
3 the states from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust
4 Fund.
5 WHEREAS, In 1989 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania passed the
6 Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act, becoming one of the
7 largest industrial states to regulate underground storage tanks
8 to protect ground and surface water and to comply with a Federal
9 mandate to regulate these tanks; and
10 WHEREAS, There are more than 56,300 underground storage tanks
11 in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania owned by service stations,
12 farmers, local governments, petroleum product distributors,
13 convenience stores, small businesses, truck stops and food
14 merchants; and
15 WHEREAS, The owners of underground tanks pay more than $3.8
16 million in fees every year to support the Storage Tank Program
17 of the Department of Environmental Protection and now face fee
1 increases that would in most cases triple the existing rates;
2 and
3 WHEREAS, The Storage Tank Advisory Committee has offered to
4 work with the Department of Environmental Protection to reduce
5 administrative costs of the Storage Tank Program; and
6 WHEREAS, Underground tank owners in the Commonwealth of
7 Pennsylvania pay more than $29 million in fees for leak cleanup
8 insurance every year to the Underground Storage Tank
9 Indemnification Fund in response to a Federal mandate to have
10 spill cleanup coverage; and
11 WHEREAS, While Pennsylvania gasoline and diesel fuel
12 consumers pay more than $6.4 million to the Leaking Underground
13 Storage Tank Trust Fund every year, the Commonwealth of
14 Pennsylvania receives only $1.8 million in return to help fund
15 the Storage Tank Program; and
16 WHEREAS, The Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund now
17 has a balance of more than $2 billion that could be allocated to
18 states to offset the administrative costs of the Storage Tank
19 Program; and
20 WHEREAS, The Congress is now considering changes to Federal
21 requirements covering underground storage tanks that may impose
22 additional unfunded mandates on states responsible for
23 administering Federal storage tank regulations; therefore be it
24 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
25 strongly encourage the Congress and the United States
26 Environmental Protection Agency to take the steps necessary to
27 redistribute more of the $2 billion in the Leaking Underground
28 Storage Tank Trust Fund to states to offset administrative costs
29 of the federally mandated program; and be it further
30 RESOLVED, That these actions be accomplished as soon as
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1 practicable to help the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania avoid
2 unnecessary fee increases for owners of underground storage
3 tanks; and be it further
4 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
5 the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to the
6 presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each member
7 of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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