HB 6023 — Underground storage tank corrective action fund (summary)
Status: Introduced Oct. 15, 2024; reported with recommendation (12/05/2024); referred to second reading. Subsequent committee referrals and actions in 2025 include referrals, a subcommittee review, and procedural actions (see “Legislative timeline” below).
Purpose
- To amend Part 215 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) to revise eligibility, claims process, deadlines, and administrative procedures governing payments from the Underground Storage Tank (UST) corrective action fund.
Key provisions and changes
- Eligibility and reporting
- Only “confirmed releases” (a release so designated on a department form) qualify for claims.
- Adds requirement that a claim must be filed within 24 months after the confirmed release is reported (the bill also bars claims filed more than two calendar years after the confirmed release).
- Clarifies reporting obligations by inserting “confirmed” when requiring owners/operators to report a release within 24 hours after discovery.
- For tanks owned by federally recognized tribes, federal registration/fee and financial responsibility requirements must be met at time of discovery (with limited waiver authority if the tank was previously unknown to the tribe).
- Removes coverage for releases that originate from aboveground piping/dispensing portions of a system.
- Administrator and board may consider “substantial compliance” when determining eligibility.
Claims handling and sequencing
- An approved claim must cover corrective actions related to the release that was the basis of approval.
- If a subsequent release is discovered at the same location before closure of the current claim, the claimant may request (on an authority form) that the subsequent release be added to the most recent approved claim; if approved, it is subject to the same deductible, claim limit, and claim-period aggregate limit.
- A new, separate claim for the same location may be submitted only after the prior claim achieves closure; additional claims are subject to the same eligibility criteria and limits.
Disqualifications
- Prohibits approval for releases that were expected/intended, that result from intentional/knowing/willful noncompliance, arising from loading/unloading/operation of vehicles/aircraft/watercraft, or from acts of war/terrorism/insurrection/riot, etc.
Definitions and deductible rules
- Adds a formal definition of “claimant” (person to whom an approved claim is assigned or transferred).
- Changes references from “owner or operator” to “claimant” for deductible responsibility.
- Deductible tiers remain: $2,000 per claim for owners/operators (or affiliates) with fewer than eight refined petroleum USTs; $10,000 per claim for those with eight or more — thresholds are explicitly tied to tanks owned or operated in Michigan.
- The bill specifies the deductible applies to each approved claim (removes existing rules that allowed one deductible for related/continuous releases spanning multiple claims or claim periods).
Administrative procedures
- Extends from 45 to 60 days the time the administrator has to make certain determinations after receiving work invoices.
- Allows submission of work invoices when more than 120 days have passed since the most recent invoice (retains $5,000 aggregate threshold for invoice submission after initial approval).
- Repeals section 21510c (text not included in summary).
Financial limits retained or clarified
- Claim limit: $1,000,000 per release.
- Claim period aggregate limits (per fiscal year Oct 1–Sept 30):
- $1,000,000 for owners/operators/affiliates of 1–100 refined petroleum USTs in the state.
- $2,000,000 for owners/operators/affiliates of more than 100 refined petroleum USTs in the state.
Who is affected
- UST owners and operators of refined petroleum tanks in Michigan (including affiliates and claimants).
- Federally recognized tribes owning USTs (special federal compliance provisions).
- The Underground Storage Tank Authority, its administrator, and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (DEGLE) / department processes.
- Third parties with indemnification claims tied to UST releases.
Legislative timeline / procedural notes
- Introduced 10/15/2024 by Rep. Laurie Pohutsky; read first time and referred to the Natural Resources committee.
- Reported with recommendation (12/05/2024) and referred to second reading.
- Multiple 2025 committee referrals and subcommittee activity recorded; actions in 2025 include referrals to State Affairs and Natural Resources & Disasters Subcommittee, and later procedural entries indicating indefinite postponement and subcommittee death dates (committee actions varied through 06/16/2025).
Notes
- This summary is based on the introduced version and House analysis. Some procedural entries indicate the bill did not advance in 2025; check the legislature’s bill status page for the current official disposition and any later amendments.
