§ 143-215.94C. Commercial leaking petroleum underground storage tank cleanup fees.
§ 143‑215.94C. Commercial leaking petroleum underground storage tank cleanup fees.
(a) For purposes ofthis subsection, each compartment of a commercial underground storage tank thatis designed to independently contain a petroleum product is a separate petroleumcommercial underground storage tank. The owner or operator of a commercialpetroleum underground storage tank shall pay to the Secretary for deposit intothe Commercial Fund an annual operating fee of four‑hundred twentydollars ($420.00) for each petroleum commercial underground storage tank.
(b) The annualoperating fee shall be determined on a calendar year basis. For petroleumcommercial underground storage tanks in use on 1 January and remaining in useon or after 1 December of that year, the annual operating fee due for that yearshall be as specified in subsection (a) of this section. For a petroleumcommercial underground storage tank that is first placed in service in anyyear, the annual operating fee due for that year shall be determined bymultiplying one‑twelfth (1/12) of the amount specified in subsection (a)of this section by the number of months remaining in the calendar year. For apetroleum commercial underground storage tank that is permanently removed fromservice in any year, the annual operating fee due for that year shall bedetermined by multiplying one‑twelfth (1/12) of the amount specified insubsection (a) of this section by the number of months in the calendar yearpreceding the permanent removal from use. In calculating the pro rata annualoperating fee for a tank that is first placed in use or permanently removedduring a calendar year under the preceding two sentences, a partial month shallcount as a month, except that where a tank is permanently removed and replaced byanother tank, the total of the annual operating fee for the tank that isremoved and the replacement tank shall not exceed the annual operating fee forthe replacement tank. The annual operating fee shall be due and payable on thefirst day of the month in accordance with a staggered schedule established bythe Department. The Department shall implement a staggered schedule to the endthat the total amount of fees to be collected by the Department isapproximately the same each quarter. A person who owns or operates more thanone petroleum commercial underground storage tank may request that the fee forall tanks be due at the same time. The fee for all commercial undergroundstorage tanks located at the same facility shall be due at the same time. Aperson who owns or operates 12 or more commercial petroleum storage tanks mayrequest that the total of all fees be paid in four equal payments to be due onthe first day of each calendar quarter, provided that the fee for allcommercial underground storage tanks located at the same facility shall be dueat the same time.
(c) Beginning no laterthan sixty days before the first due date of the annual operating fee imposedby this section, any person who deposits a petroleum product in a commercialunderground storage tank that would be subject to the annual operating feeshall, at least once in each calendar year during which such deposit of apetroleum product is made, notify the owner or operator of the duty to pay theannual operating fee. The requirement to notify pursuant to this subsectiondoes not constitute a duty owed by the person depositing a petroleum product ina commercial underground storage tank to the owner or operator and the persondepositing a petroleum product in an underground storage tank shall not incurany liability to the owner or operator for failure to give notice of the dutyto pay the operating fee.
(d) Repealed by SessionLaws 1991, c. 538, s. 3.1.
(e) An owner oroperator of a commercial underground storage tank who fails to pay an annualoperating fee due under this section within 30 days of the date that the fee isdue shall pay, in addition to the fee, a late penalty of five dollars ($5.00)per day per commercial underground storage tank, up to a maximum equal to theannual operating fee due. The Department may waive a late penalty in whole orin part if:
(1) The late penalty wasincurred because of the late payment or nonpayment of an annual operating feeby a previous owner or operator.
(2) The late penalty wasincurred because of a billing error for which the Department is responsible.
(3) Where the latepenalty was incurred because the annual operating fee was not paid by the owneror operator due to inadvertence or accident.
(4) Where payment of thelate penalty will prevent the owner or operator from complying with anysubstantive law, rule, or regulation applicable to underground storage tanksand intended to prevent or mitigate discharges or releases or to facilitate theearly detection of discharges or releases.
(f) A person whobecomes the owner or operator of a commercial petroleum underground storagetank may pay, under protest, unpaid annual operating fees that were theobligation of a previous owner or operator for the purpose of obtaining anoperating permit for the underground storage tanks. An owner or operator whopays unpaid operating fees that were due from a previous owner or operator mayrequest reimbursement of those fees as provided in G.S. 143‑215.94B(h).In collecting unpaid annual operating fees, the Department shall diligentlyseek to collect unpaid annual operating fees from the person who was the owneror operator of the commercial petroleum underground storage tank at the timethe fee first became due notwithstanding the fact that those fees were paidunder protest as provided in this subsection. (1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1035, s. 1; 1989, c.652, ss. 5, 16; 1991, c. 538, ss. 3.1, 4, 5; 1993, c. 400, s. 15; c. 402, s. 2;1995, c. 377, s. 6; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 648, s. 2; 2008‑195, s.1; 2008‑198, s. 7(b).)