The 1989 Colorado General Assembly established Colorado's Petroleum Storage Tank Fund. The Fund reimburses eligible applicants for allowable costs incurred in cleaning up petroleum contamination from underground and aboveground petroleum storage tanks, as well as for third-party liability expenses. Remediation of contamination caused by railroad or aircraft fuel is not eligible for reimbursement.

The Fund satisfies federal Environmental Protection Agency financial assurance requirements. Monies in the Fund come from various sources, predominantly the state environmental surcharge imposed on all petroleum products except railroad or aircraft fuel. The surcharge amount varies according to revenues available in the Fund:

To establish eligibility for Fund benefits once contamination is discovered, tank owners and operators must demonstrate compliance with regulations governing tank registration, release detection, release reporting, and closure. Non-compliance with these regulations can result in a percentage reduction of the reimbursement award. Substantial non-compliance can result in denial of eligibility for Fund reimbursement. Failure to comply with Colorado remediation requirements can also trigger a percentage reduction.

Tank owners and operators are responsible for the first $10,000 of remediation costs and the first $25,000 of third-party liability expenses. After meeting the deductible, an eligible tank owner or operator is eligible for reimbursement of all allowable costs. Allowable costs are those that arise directly from the performance of necessary corrective action in accordance with the requirements of the Division of Oil and Public Safety.

Reimbursement cannot exceed $2,000,000 per release occurrence. Aggregate reimbursement per fiscal year for a single applicant remediating multiple occurrences cannot exceed $3,000,000. No more than $50,000 will be reimbursed until the site has an approved Corrective Action Plan (CAP), which includes a Technical and Economic Feasibility Study.

In addition to tank owners and operators, certain persons deemed to bear no responsibility for the release are eligible for reimbursement without paying any deductible and without penalty for prior non-compliance with storage tank regulations. These applicants include property owners, lenders, and, in very limited circumstances, tank owners or operators. Twenty percent of the Fund is set aside for reimbursement to applicants in this category.

• Eligibility Requirements
   
• Application Forms
   
• Allowable Costs
   
• Controlling Clean-up Costs
   
• Reasonable Cost Guidelines
  
    Updates to the Phase of Work Codes and Task & Labor Codes
   
• Other Reimbursement Information
   
  • Additional Information Sources
     
  • Applying For Reimbursement
     
  • Completing The Application

Send your questions or comments to: Division of Oil and Public Safety