House, No. 3029

By J. James Marzilli, Jr.
Joint Committee on Revenue

Status
03/01/07– Joint Committee on Revenue

History
01/10/07 - H Filed
01/10/07 - H Referred to Joint Committee on Revenue
01/10/07 - S Senate concurred in committee referral

AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE USES OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HOME FUEL OIL CLEANUP FUND.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 21A of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding after section 18A the following section(s):- Section 18B. The Massachusetts Home Fuel Oil Cleanup Fund, hereinafter known as the Fund, is hereby established to aid the Department of Environmental Protection, and homeowners in the Commonwealth to prevent the environmental hazard of home fuel oil spills and to appropriately deal with those spills that occur.
(a) The Fund shall be administered by the Department of Environmental Protection, hereinafter known as the Department.
(b) The Fund shall be funded by a special dedicated tax levied on the sale of home fuel oil to end-user">s. The tax shall be assessed at a rate of $0.005 per gallon of home fuel. The proceeds of this tax shall flow directly to the Fund.

Section 2. The Department shall establish all necessary regulations regarding the administration of the Fund so as to effectuate the purposes of the Fund as listed herein.
(a) The Fund may be used to pay for the costs of administering the fund including the salaries of those within the Department who are charged with administering the Fund.
(b) Up to ten percent (10%) of the Fund may be used for research relating to the most effective ways to prevent home-fuel oil spills and deal with home fuel oil spills.
(c) The Department shall make grants from the Fund of up to $1000.00 to homeowners who replace home fuel oil tanks that may potentially leak home fuel oil. The Department shall establish the procedures for requesting such grants and shall decide whether to make said grants based on (1) the income and assets of the person or persons making the request for the grant; (2) the need for the replacement of the home fuel oil tank to prevent a leak of home fuel oil; and (3) the amount of money remaining in the Fund. The decisions of the Department as to whether or not to make such a grant are final.
(d) The Department may make grants from the Fund of any amount to homeowners to aid with the cleanup of home fuel oil spills. To qualify for this grant, the homeowner (1) must reside at the property where the spill has occurred; (2) must demonstrate to the Department that they have been denied coverage by their homeowner's insurance company for the costs of cleaning the home fuel oil spill; (3) that they lack sufficient personal funds and assets to implement the most inexpensive cleanup plan as determined by a Licensed Site Professional; and (4) that they are not able to secure a home equity loan to pay for the cleanup. The Department shall establish the procedures for applying for this grant and reviewing those same applications. The decision of the Department shall be final.

Section 3. This Act shall not be construed to be inconsistent with any provision of Chapter 21E of the General Laws. Nor shall it be construed in any way so as to change the preexisting liability of homeowners for damages to the environment or to third parties caused by home fuel oil leaks.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.