[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 688 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 688

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require at least 85 percent of 
  funds appropriated to the Environmental Protection Agency from the 
Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund to be distributed to States 
 for cooperative agreements for undertaking corrective action and for 
                 enforcement of subtitle I of such Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 11, 1997

 Mr. Dan Schaefer of Colorado (for himself, Mr. Stupak, Mr. Oxley, Mr. 
 Norwood, Mr. Burr of North Carolina, Mr. Livingston, Mr. McHugh, Mr. 
 Skeen, Ms. Norton, Mr. Bereuter, Ms. Christian-Green, Mr. Nethercutt, 
Mr. Bachus, Mr. Klug, Mr. Parker, Mr. Graham, Mr. Deal of Georgia, Mr. 
 Gillmor, Ms. Rivers, Mr. Taylor of North Carolina, Mr. McIntosh, Mr. 
Doyle, Mr. LaFalce, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Gekas, Mrs. Thurman, Mr. Watkins, 
 Mr. Lucas of Oklahoma, Mr. Hefley, Mr. Porter, Mr. McDade, Mr. Canady 
   of Florida, Mr. Dooley of California, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Spratt, Mr. 
 Hilleary, Mr. Bob Schaffer of Colorado, Mr. Kanjorski, Mr. Crapo, Mr. 
   Tauzin, and Mr. McCrery) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committee 
 on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require at least 85 percent of 
  funds appropriated to the Environmental Protection Agency from the 
Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund to be distributed to States 
 for cooperative agreements for undertaking corrective action and for 
                 enforcement of subtitle I of such Act.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Leaking Underground Storage Tank 
Trust Fund Amendments Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. LEAKING UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS.

    (a) Trust Fund Distribution.--Section 9004 of the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991c) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(f) Trust Fund Distribution to States.--
            ``(1) In general.--(A) The Administrator shall distribute 
        to States at least 85 percent of the funds appropriated to the 
        Environmental Protection Agency from the Leaking Underground 
        Storage Tank Trust Fund (in this subsection referred to as the 
        `Trust Fund') each fiscal year for the reasonable costs under 
        cooperative agreements entered into with the Administrator for 
        the following:
                    ``(i) States' actions under section 9003(h)(7)(A).
                    ``(ii) Necessary administrative expenses directly 
                related to corrective action and compensation programs 
                under section 9004(c)(1).
                    ``(iii) Enforcement of a State or local program 
                approved under this section or enforcement of this 
                subtitle or similar State or local provisions by a 
                State or local government.
                    ``(iv) State and local corrective actions pursuant 
                to regulations promulgated under section 9003(c)(4).
                    ``(v) Corrective action and compensation programs 
                under section 9004(c)(1) for releases from underground 
                storage tanks regulated under this subtitle in any 
                instance, as determined by the State, in which the 
                financial resources of an owner or operator, excluding 
                resources provided by programs under section 
                9004(c)(1), are not adequate to pay for the cost of a 
                corrective action without significantly impairing the 
                ability of the owner or operator to continue in 
                business.
            ``(B) Funds provided by the Administrator under 
        subparagraph (A) may not be used by States for purposes of 
        providing financial assistance to an owner or operator in 
        meeting the requirements respecting underground storage tanks 
        contained in section 280.21 of title 40 of the Code of Federal 
        Regulations (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this 
        subsection) or similar requirements in State programs approved 
        under this section or similar State or local provisions.
            ``(2) Allocation.--
                    ``(A) Process.--In the case of a State that the 
                Administrator has entered into a cooperative agreement 
                with under section 9003(h)(7)(A), the Administrator 
shall distribute funds from the Trust Fund to the State using the 
allocation process developed by the Administrator for such cooperative 
agreements.
                    ``(B) Revisions to process.--The Administrator may 
                revise such allocation process only after--
                            ``(i) consulting with State agencies 
                        responsible for overseeing corrective action 
                        for releases from underground storage tanks and 
                        with representatives of owners and operators; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) taking into consideration, at a 
                        minimum, the total revenue received from each 
                        State into the Trust Fund, the number of 
                        confirmed releases from leaking underground 
                        storage tanks in each State, the number of 
                        notified petroleum storage tanks in each State, 
                        and the percent of the population of each State 
                        using groundwater for any beneficial purpose.
            ``(3) Recipients.--Distributions from the Trust Fund under 
        this subsection shall be made directly to the State agency 
        entering into a cooperative agreement or enforcing the State 
        program.
            ``(4) Cost recovery prohibition.--Funds provided to States 
        from the Trust Fund to owners or operators for programs under 
        section 9004(c)(1) for releases from underground storage tanks 
        are not subject to cost recovery by the Administrator under 
        section 9003(h)(6).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 9508(c)(1) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting before the period at the 
end the following: ``and to carry out section 9004(f) of such Act''.
    (c) Technical Amendments.--Subtitle I of the Solid Waste Disposal 
Act (42 U.S.C. 6991 et seq.) is amended as follows:
            (1) Section 9001(3)(A) (42 U.S.C. 6991(3)(A)) is amended by 
        striking out ``sustances'' and inserting in lieu thereof 
        ``substances''.
            (2) Section 9003(f)(1) (42 U.S.C. 6991b(f)(1)) is amended 
        by striking out ``subsection (c) and (d)'' and inserting in 
        lieu thereof ``subsections (c) and (d)''.
            (3) Section 9004(a) (42 U.S.C. 6991c(a)) is amended by 
        striking out ``in 9001(2)(A)'' and inserting in lieu thereof 
        ``in section 9001(2)(A)''.
            (4) Section 9005 (42 U.S.C. 6991d) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by striking out ``study 
                taking'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``study, 
                taking'';
                    (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking out 
                ``relevent'' and inserting in lieu thereof 
                ``relevant''; and
                    (C) in subsection (b)(4), by striking out 
                ``Evironmental'' and inserting in lieu thereof 
                ``Environmental''.
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