66-1523. Reimbursement; amount; limitations; Prompt Payment Act applicable.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the department shall provide reimbursement from the fund in accordance with section 66-1525 to eligible responsible persons for the cost of remedial action for releases reported after July 17, 1983, and on or before June 30, 2020, and for the cost of paying third-party claims. The reimbursement for the cost of remedial action shall not exceed nine hundred seventy-five thousand dollars per occurrence. The total of the claims paid under section 66-1531 and the reimbursement for third-party claims shall not exceed one million dollars per occurrence. The responsible person shall pay the first ten thousand dollars of the cost of the remedial action or third-party claim, twenty-five percent of the remaining cost of the remedial action or third-party claim not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars, and the amount of any reduction authorized under subsection (5) of section 66-1525. If the department determines that a responsible person was ordered to take remedial action for a release which was later found to be from a tank not owned or operated by such person, (a) such person shall be fully reimbursed and shall not be required to pay the first cost or percent of the remaining cost as provided in this subsection and (b) the first cost and percent of the remaining cost not required to be paid by the person ordered to take remedial action shall be paid to the fund as a cost of remedial action by the owner or operator of the tank found to be the cause of the release. In no event shall reimbursements or payments from the fund exceed the annual aggregate of one million nine hundred seventy-five thousand dollars per responsible person. Reimbursement of a cost incurred as a result of a suspension ordered by the department shall not be limited by this subsection if the suspension was caused by insufficiency in the fund to provide reimbursement.

(2) Upon the determination by the department that the responsible person sold no less than two thousand gallons of petroleum and no more than two hundred fifty thousand gallons of petroleum during the calendar year immediately preceding the first report of the release or stored less than ten thousand gallons of petroleum in the calendar year immediately preceding the first report of the release, the department shall provide reimbursement from the fund in accordance with section 66-1525 to such an eligible person for the cost of remedial action for releases reported after July 17, 1983, and on or before June 30, 2020, and for the cost of paying third-party claims. The reimbursement for the cost of remedial action shall not exceed nine hundred eighty-five thousand dollars per occurrence. The total of the claims paid under section 66-1531 and the reimbursement for third-party claims shall not exceed one million dollars per occurrence. The responsible person shall pay the first five thousand dollars of the cost of the remedial action or third-party claim, twenty-five percent of the remaining cost of the remedial action or third-party claim not to exceed ten thousand dollars, and the amount of any reduction authorized under subsection (5) of section 66-1525. If the department determines that a responsible person was ordered to take remedial action for a release which was later found to be from a tank not owned or operated by such person, (a) such person shall be fully reimbursed and shall not be required to pay the first cost or percent of the remaining cost as provided in this subsection and (b) the first cost and percent of the remaining cost not required to be paid by the person ordered to take remedial action shall be paid to the fund as a cost of remedial action by the owner or operator of the tank found to be the cause of the release. In no event shall reimbursements or payments from the fund exceed the annual aggregate of one million nine hundred eighty-five thousand dollars per responsible person. Reimbursement of a cost incurred as a result of a suspension ordered by the department shall not be limited by this subsection if the suspension was caused by insufficiency in the fund to provide reimbursement.

(3) The department may make partial reimbursement during the time that remedial action is being taken if the department is satisfied that the remedial action being taken is as required by the department.

(4) If the fund is insufficient for any reason to reimburse the amount set forth in this section, the maximum amount that the fund shall be required to reimburse is the amount in the fund. If reimbursements approved by the department exceed the amount in the fund, reimbursements with interest shall be made when the fund is sufficiently replenished in the order in which the applications for them were received by the department, except that an application pending before the department on January 1, 1996, submitted by a local government as defined in section 13-2202 shall, after July 1, 1996, be reimbursed first when funds are available. This exception applies only to local government applications pending on and not submitted after January 1, 1996.

(5) Applications for reimbursement properly made before, on, or after April 16, 1996, shall be considered bills for goods or services provided for third parties for purposes of the Prompt Payment Act.

(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, there shall be no reimbursement from the fund for the cost of remedial action or for the cost of paying third-party claims for any releases reported on or after July 1, 2020.

(7) For purposes of this section, occurrence shall mean an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to conditions, which results in a release from a tank.

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