SB 505

2026 Regular Session  ENROLLED
  ACT No. 524
 SENATE BILL NO. 505
 BY SENATOR CATHEY
1
2 AN ACT
3 To amend and reenact R.S. 30:2195.2(A)(5) and (6)(a)(ii), (b), (c), (d), and (e), and to enact
4R.S. 30:2195.2 (A)(6)(f) and (g), relative to the Motor Fuels Underground Storage
5Tank Trust Dedicated Fund Account; to provide for time limits; to provide for single
6and total grant amounts; to provide for minimum account balances; to provide for
7limitations; to provide for eligible applicants; to provide for ownership disclosure;
8to provide for application periods; to provide for applicability; to provide for an
9effective date; and to provide for related matters.
10 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
11Section 1. R.S. 30:2195.2(A)(5) and (6)(a)(ii), (b), (c), (d), and (e) are hereby
12 amended and reenacted, and R.S. 30:2195.2(A)(6)(f) and (g) are hereby enacted to read as
13 follows:
14§2195.2. Uses of the Tank Trust Account
15A. The department shall administer the Tank Trust Account and shall make
16disbursements from the account for all necessary and appropriate expenditures.
17Pursuant to the authorization in R.S. 30:2195, the secretary of the Department of
18Environmental Quality shall use the Tank Trust Account as follows:
19*       *       *
20(5) The Tank Trust Account may be used to make payments to a third party
21who brings a third-party claim against the secretary of the department and any owner
22of a motor fuel underground storage tank because of damages sustained by a release
23into the groundwater, surface waters, or soils and who obtains a final judgment in
24said action enforceable in this state against the owner and the secretary if and only
25if it has been satisfactorily demonstrated that the owner was an eligible participant
26at the time that the release occurred as defined in R.S. 30:2194(B)(3). The
27indemnification limit of the trust with respect to satisfaction of third-party claims
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  Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
  words in boldface type and underscored are additions.
 SB NO. 505  ENROLLED
1shall be that which is necessary to satisfy federal petroleum underground storage
2tank financial responsibility requirements.
3(6)  *       *        *
4(a) A grant or loan may only be made pursuant to this Paragraph if all of the
5following apply:
6*       *        *
7(ii) The site is registered with the department as a single wall
8underground storage tank system was installed prior to December 20, 2008.
9*       *        *
10(b) Grants provided pursuant to this Paragraph shall only be made in the form
11of reimbursement for completed upgrades and improvements after inspection and
12approval by the department. Applicants shall complete the upgrade or
13improvement no later than three years from approval for participation in the
14program.
15(c)No grant or loan shall exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars, and the
16total amount of grants per year shall not exceed three million dollars The board
17annually shall limit the maximum amount of funds to be awarded for a single
18grant or loan, not to exceed three hundred thousand dollars.
19(d) The board annually shall limit the total amount of funds to be
20awarded for grants and loans in an amount not to exceed seventy-five percent
21of the unobligated balance of the interest account of the Tank Trust Account.
22(e) Eligible applicants may only apply for one grant or loan each year. The
23department shall establish rules to ensure that an owner may participate in the
24program no more than once per fiscal year. For purposes of this Subparagraph,
25an owner shall be the natural person or juridical entity that owns the
26underground storage tank project facility where the grant will be applied.
27Applicants to the program shall be required to disclose the ownership structure
28of the underground storage tank project facility.
29(e)(f) The maximum number of grants and loans awarded per
30application period and per fiscal year shall be set by the board, not to exceed
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  Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
  words in boldface type and underscored are additions.
 SB NO. 505  ENROLLED
1twenty per application period and forty per fiscal year. The application periods
2for grants and loans shall be as follows:
3(i) First quarter, from July first to September thirtieth.
4(ii) Third quarter, from January first to March thirty-first.
5(g) The secretary shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement this
6Paragraph, including the application process, procedures the applicant shall follow
7prior to making upgrades or improvements to the site, inspection and approval of
8upgrades or improvements by the department, and procedures the applicant shall
9follow after completing the work to either claim reimbursement or begin making
10repayments.
11*       *       *
12Section 2. The provisions of this Act shall apply to sites that receive approval on or
13 after July 1, 2026.
14Section 3. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026; if vetoed by the governor
15 and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become effective on the day
16 following such approval by the legislature or July 1, 2026, whichever is later.
  PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
  SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
 APPROVED:
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  Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
  words in boldface type and underscored are additions.