Montana committee hears bill to expand eligibility for petroleum tank cleanup fund to older releases

Representative Marta Bertoglio introduced House Bill 189 in the House State Administration Committee on behalf of owners of small businesses and communities with legacy petroleum releases. The bill would change the discovery-date cutoff used to determine eligibility for the Petroleum Tank Release Cleanup Fund from April 13, 1989, to Jan. 1, 1984.

The change, Bertoglio said, is intended to allow sites discovered before 1989 but after 1984 to qualify for reimbursement from the fund and speed remediation. "This bill changes that eligibility date," Bertoglio said. "... Extending the eligibility date back to 1984 would mean that the ineligible Montana City store release could be eligible...protecting the drinking water wells in the area and moving the release toward closure."

Owners of the Montana City Store, David Hunter and his partner Chris Rehor, testified the property has two releases: one eligible and one not. Hunter told the committee he bought the property in February 2007 and that the Department of Environmental Quality reopened the release in 2009. He described paying a large share of remediation costs and said the change would improve marketability of the business by providing coverage a buyer could rely on. "We're like homeowners who have a house in a fire situation. If you can't get insurance ... you can't sell your property," Hunter said.

Amy Steinmetz, waste management and remediation division administrator at the Department of Environmental Quality, said DEQ supports HB 189 and that the department and the Petroleum Tank Release Compensation Board (PTRCB) estimate about 20 open releases were discovered between 1984 and 1989 that could become eligible if the bill passes. Terry Wadsworth, executive director of the PTRCB, described the original 1989 cutoff as the date the law became effective and said Representative Bertoglio selected 1984 because regulatory attention to underground storage tanks began then. Wadsworth said the fund balance is roughly $6.5 million and that a typical cleanup cost among cases reviewed is on the order of $86,000 to about $100,000, depending on case complexity.

Brad Longcake, speaking for the Montana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, and other industry witnesses urged support, saying the change would let more owners access the underground storage tank program and the pool of remediation contractors and consultants that serve the industry.

Committee members asked questions about the date selection, which sites would be affected and why DEQ reopens releases; witnesses said releases can be reopened when additional contamination is found or when the nature and extent of contamination becomes clearer during investigation. Wadsworth noted some federal or railroad-owned sites would remain ineligible.

No formal committee motion or vote on HB 189 is recorded in the hearing transcript.