House Bill 713 Summary

• Enacts the Mississippi Above Ground Storage Tank Act of 2013 to regulate above ground storage tanks (ASTs) containing motor fuels in Mississippi, effective July 1, 2013.

• Authorizes the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality to promulgate rules and regulations governing AST design, installation, operation, leak detection, closure, and financial responsibility requirements.

• Establishes a tank regulatory fee of $500-$1,000 per tank compartment annually, collected by the Commission to administer the AST program, with fees deposited in a special state treasury fund.

• Creates a grace period (July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2015) allowing owners to report pre-2013 contamination incidents and qualify for fund cleanup assistance without liability, and permits ongoing fund assistance for substantially compliant owners reporting post-2013 releases.

• Authorizes the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund to pay up to $1.5 million per site for response action costs and up to $1 million per site for third-party claims, and allows the Commission to use the Pollution Emergency Fund for immediate corrective action when tank owners fail to respond.

• Establishes an Above Ground Storage Tank Advisory Council to review program costs and recommend equitable fee structures, and requires AST installer/operator certification by July 1, 2015.