Michigan Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund

by | Sep 15, 2015 | Blog |

A state-funded financial-assurance program for addressing underground storage tanks (USTs) in Michigan has been nonexistent since the Michigan Underground Storage Tank Financial Assurance (MUSTFA) Fund tanked in the mid-1990s.

Since this time, there has been much debate about how to refund this program; but there has been little debate that something had to be done to address environmental issues associated with USTs.  In fact, according to a March 31, 2015, report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “EPA UST Corrective Action Measures for Mid-Year FY 2015,” Michigan has more than 8,400 UST cleanups remaining.  This is, by far, the most in EPA Region 5 (Illinois is next with approximately 3,800).

With this as background, on December 30, 2014, the Governor signed into law P.A. 416 creating the Michigan Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund and the Michigan Underground Storage Tank Authority.  Under P.A. 416, the State collects 7/8 of a cent from the sale of each gallon of refined petroleum “to fund corrective actions to address releases from refined petroleum underground storage tank systems, to assist owners and operators of refined petroleum underground storage tank systems in meeting their financial responsibility requirements pursuant to part 211, and to achieve compliance with part 213.”

Status of Michigan’s UST Cleanup Fund

Since P.A. 416 was signed into law approximately nine months ago, there have been (at least) two questions that continually arise:

  • What is the status of the fund?
  • When can an owner or operator of a leaking UST system begin applying for funds?

The first meeting of the Underground Storage Tank Authority (Authority) occurred on July 21, 2015.  This meeting started the process for developing policies and procedures (i.e., the nuts and bolts), including gaining fund approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  This is a critical step, as the U.S. EPA needs to “sign off” that the fund meets the “rigor” of the federal regulation.

Also, we recently reached out to Robert Reisner of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). Mr. Reisner is the Administrator of Michigan’s Underground Storage Tank Authority.  Based on this conversation, it is our understanding that the Authority’s goal is to submit the financial assurance fund application to EPA by October 1, 2015.  The Authority anticipates the EPA will take about two months to process and authorize the financial assurance fund application.

The Authority is also developing the required forms under P.A. 416 for submitting a claim for financial reimbursement.  Mr. Reisner said they anticipate that the claim forms and submission procedures will be ready for posting at their new website by December 1, 2015, and will begin processing owner/operator claims by January 1, 2016.

Remain Eligible UST Cleanup Assistance

Until the process is completed, it is highly recommended that owners and operators maintain their UST registration and retain records of their existing insurance and of corrective actions that have occurred since December 30, 2014.  Keeping this paperwork in order will help you maintain your eligibility for a future claim and (perhaps) reduce delays.

Updates on status of the claim procedure status can be found on the MDEQ website.

Finally, see our August 5th blog for more information on the Federal and State changes to operation of USTs.  As always, if you have questions about a UST assessment or remediation, please feel free to contact me (mresch@dragun.com) at 248-932-0228, ext 133.