TITLE 41

INSURANCE

CHAPTER 49

PETROLEUM CLEAN WATER TRUST FUND ACT

41-4909.  Source of trust fund — Application fees — Application for enrollment — Transfer fees. (1) Every owner or operator of an underground storage tank may, if he desires to apply to the trust fund to insure the underground tank, make application for and pay into the trust fund an initial application fee set by the administrator, but not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each tank for which application for coverage is made.

(2)  Every owner or operator of an aboveground storage tank may, if he desires to apply to the trust fund to insure the aboveground tank, make application for and pay into the trust fund an initial application fee set by the administrator, but not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each tank for which application for coverage is made.

(3)  Every owner or operator of a farm tank or residential tank may, if he desires to apply to the trust fund to insure the tank, make application for and pay into the trust fund an initial application fee set by the administrator, but not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each tank for which application for coverage is made.

(4)  Every owner or operator of a heating tank may, if he desires to apply to the trust fund to insure the tank, make application for and pay into the trust fund an initial application fee set by the administrator, but not to exceed five dollars ($5.00) for each tank for which application for coverage is made.

(5)  The application for insurance shall be made to the administrator on forms furnished and prescribed by the administrator for the purpose of eliciting reasonably available information as to the type and use of the storage tank, the type of business enterprise of the tank owner or operator, the age of the storage tank, the materials used in the construction of the tank and the inside and outside protective coatings and other corrosion protective measures, leak detection methods, spill and overfill prevention methods of the tank, the location of the tank and its proximity to roads and buildings, the foundation and type of material used as a bedding and fill for the tank, any available inspection records of the tank including the gallons of petroleum products entered into the tank and the gallon dispersements from the tank, and other information that is reasonably prudent in order to obtain a sufficient body of statistical data to determine the relative hazards of various categories of tanks, the potential that future leaks or discharges may occur, and the conditions under which cleanup costs and personal injury and property damage costs may occur and vary in the severity of the release and the resultant costs to the trust fund.

(6)  The administrator shall act upon the application for insurance with all reasonable promptness, and the administrator shall make such investigations of the applicant as the administrator deems advisable to determine if the information contained in the application for insurance is accurate and complete. The administrator shall determine if the applicant’s storage tanks meet all the eligibility requirements and promptly notify the applicant of the acceptance or nonacceptance of the application for insurance. The absence of unknown data requested on the application shall not preclude an applicant’s acceptance for coverage by the trust fund, if the applicant is otherwise eligible for insurance under this chapter.

(7)  In addition to the application fees received by the trust fund pursuant to this section, the trust fund shall receive the revenue produced by the imposition of a "transfer fee" of one cent (1¢) per gallon on the delivery or storage of all petroleum products as defined in subsection (23) of section 41-4903, Idaho Code, delivered or stored within the state of Idaho. This transfer fee is hereby imposed upon the first licensed distributor who receives, as receipt is determined in section 63-2403, Idaho Code, a petroleum product within this state for the privilege of engaging in the delivery or storage of petroleum products whose delivery or storage may present the danger of a discharge into the environment and thus create the liability to be funded. The fee imposed by this subsection shall not apply to: (a) petroleum or petroleum products which are first delivered or stored in this state in a container of fifty-five (55) gallons or less if such container is intended to be transferred to the ultimate consumer of the petroleum or petroleum products; or (b) petroleum or petroleum products delivered or stored in this state for the purpose of packaging or repackaging into containers of fifty-five (55) gallons or less if such container is intended to be transferred to the ultimate consumer of the petroleum or petroleum products.

(8)  The transfer fee shall be collected by the commission on all petroleum products delivered or stored within this state after April 1, 1990. This transfer fee shall be in addition to any excise tax imposed on motor fuel or other petroleum products and shall be remitted to the commission with the distributor’s monthly report as required in section 63-2406, Idaho Code. The distributor may deduct from his monthly report those gallons of petroleum products returned to a licensed distributor’s refinery or pipeline terminal storage or exported from the state when supported by proper documents approved by the commission. For the purpose of carrying out its duties under the provisions of this chapter, the commission shall have the powers and duties provided in sections 63-3038, 63-3039, 63-3042 through 63-3066, 63-3068, 63-3071, and 63-3074 through 63-3078, Idaho Code, which sections are incorporated by reference herein as though set out verbatim.

(9)  No person shall be excused from liability for any duty or fee imposed in this chapter for failure to obtain a distributor’s license.

(10) The director shall certify to the commission when the unencumbered balance in the trust fund equals thirty-five million dollars ($35,000,000). Effective the first day of the second month following the date of such certification, the imposition of the transfer fee shall be suspended. Thereafter, the director shall certify to the commission when the unencumbered balance in the trust fund equals twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000). Effective the first day of the second month following the date of such certification, the imposition of the transfer fee shall be reinitiated.

History:

[(41-4909) 41-4908, added 1990, ch. 119, sec. 1, p. 274; am. 1991, ch. 59, sec. 5, p. 123; am. 1998, ch. 103, sec. 1, p. 353; am. 1998, ch. 428, sec. 8, p. 1356; am. 2000, ch. 419, sec. 1, p. 1364; am. and redesig. 2003, ch. 96, sec. 8, p. 291; am. 2007, ch. 194, sec. 1, p. 570.]