House passes bill to fund underground tank cleanup and testing; debate centers on tank fees and fund design

The Utah House on February 19 passed Senate Bill 26, an overhaul of state law governing underground storage tanks that creates a state-managed mitigation fund and tightens testing and compliance requirements for petroleum retailers. Representative Bill Brown, the House sponsor, said the bill seeks to align state law with federal EPA rules while protecting small, independently owned stations.

"This is something that has been fashioned for that purpose," Brown said, urging colleagues to support a fund intended to be "actuarially sound" and to preserve service in rural areas. He noted the bill removes a prior soil-test requirement and changes the fund's funding triggers so that money flows in and out based on fund levels.

Opponents and amendment proponents argued the bill's proposed $250 flat tank fee imposes a disproportionate burden on low-volume rural operators. Representative Bill Wright offered pink-sheet amendments to scale the tank fee by volume and location, saying, "I think we need to do some things for small business in our state," and that a flat fee is not equitable. Wright said he had asked jobbers, majors and the health department for data on tank volumes but had only partial information.

Supporters, including Representative Brown and members who had worked on the task force that drafted the bill, said a uniform fee simplifies administration and that fund solvency depends mainly on the surcharge mechanism rather than the tank fee alone. "The money that is necessary to determine that actuarial soundness is going to come out of the surcharge, not out of the tank fee," Brown said.

Members debated other technical elements: eligibility criteria for the fund, a $25,000 deductible for claimants, differential coverage depending on throughput (smaller users eligible for a lower liability cap under federal rules), and explicit limits on annual payouts per owner. Representative Harwood raised constitutional concerns over applying the petroleum surcharge broadly, asking the body to consider narrowing the levy to petroleum delivered into underground tanks; his motion to amend that language failed on the floor.

The House rejected the volume-based pink-sheet amendment and other proposed changes and ultimately approved the bill. The clerk announced the final vote in favor and noted the bill will be transmitted for signature and journal notation.

What happens next: The bill, as amended on the floor (pink-sheet activity and motions recorded during debate), will be forwarded to the Senate (or returned for signature as provided in the legislative process) per the clerk's announcement.