Section 12-13-10. Environmental assurance fees; late participation fee

   (a) In order to participate in the liability limitations and reimbursement benefits of the Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund, a potential claimant shall pay to the division his or her share of an environmental assurance fee on each gallon of petroleum products imported into this state. Such fees shall be established by the board in such amount as is sufficient to assure the funding of emergency, preventive, or corrective actions necessary when public health or safety is, or potentially may be, threatened from a release of regulated substances from an underground storage tank, at a rate not to exceed 1.0 cent(s) per gallon. This fee shall be collected by the terminal operator upon request of the owner or operator when the petroleum is removed from a terminal by the person who sells the petroleum, or if the petroleum product will never be stored in a terminal in this state then by the importer thereof, and paid to the department. Proof of such payment shall be provided the owner or operator. Exchanges of petroleum products on a gallon-for-gallon basis within a terminal shall be exempt from this fee. Petroleum product which is subsequently exported from this state is exempt from this fee.

(b) Environmental assurance fees as specified in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be paid into the trust fund until the unobligated principal balance of the environmental assurance fees contained in the trust fund equals or exceeds $50 million, regardless of the total balance of the trust fund, at which time no environmental assurance fees shall be levied unless the unobligated balance of environmental assurance fees in the trust fund is less than or equal to $30 million, in which case the collection of the environmental assurance fee will resume within 180 days following the end of the month in which such unobligated balance of environmental assurance fees occurs. No funds paid into the trust fund from any source other than the environmental assurance fees shall be considered in calculating either the $50 million or $30 million balance of environmental assurance fees in the trust fund as provided in this subsection.

(c) If an underground storage tank was in use for the storage of jet turbine fuel prior to the owner's or operator's participation in the Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund, the director shall require, as a condition for beginning participation in the fund, the owner or operator to pay into the fund a late participation fee which shall be an amount equal to the environmental assurance fee provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section which would have been paid by the owner or operator, as if the owner or operator had been a participant in the fund, during a period beginning on July 1, 1988, and ending on the beginning date of participation in the fund or beginning on the date the jet turbine fuel underground storage tank was first used, if after July 1, 1988, and ending on the beginning date of participation in the fund.

Code 1981, § 12-13-10, enacted by Ga. L. 1988, p. 2072, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 256, § 2; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1421, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 804, § 5; Ga. L. 1999, p. 658, § 3.