353.562 Kentucky Abandoned Storage Tank and Orphan Well Reclamation Program -- Kentucky abandoned storage tank and orphan well reclamation fund. (1) (a) There is hereby created the Kentucky Abandoned Storage Tank and Orphan Well Reclamation Program. The purpose of the program is to: 1. Reclaim abandoned storage tanks; 2. Properly plug and abandon eligible wells; and 3. Address imminent threats to human health, safety, or the environment posed by oil and gas facilities located in the Commonwealth. (b) Reclamation of abandoned storage tank facilities and eligible wells under the program shall include: 1. Removing necessary well and tank infrastructure; 2. 3. 4. Proper plugging and abandonment of eligible wells; Proper abandonment of tanks posing an imminent threat to human health, safety, or the environment; Implementation of best management practices at sites associated with eligible wells or abandoned storage tank facilities; or 5. Removing primary and secondary sources of contamination of the land, air, and water. (c) Orphan wells and abandoned storage tank facilities determined by the cabinet to be eligible for plugging, removal, reclamation, and clean up funds from the Kentucky abandoned storage tank and orphan well reclamation fund shall be addressed in accordance with this section and KRS 353.561, 353.563, and 353.564. (2) The Kentucky abandoned storage tank and orphan well reclamation fund is hereby created as an interest-bearing, restricted, agency account. The fund shall be administered by the cabinet. Interest credited to the account shall be retained in the account. Notwithstanding KRS 45.229, any moneys remaining in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall not lapse but shall be carried forward into the succeeding fiscal year to be used for the purposes authorized and set forth in this section and KRS 353.561, 353.563, and 353.564. (3) The fund established in subsection (2) of this section may utilize and expend funds as authorized by the biennial budget. (4) Moneys in the fund shall be for carrying out the purpose provided in subsection (1) of this section, including any administrative costs incurred by the cabinet during the implementation of this section and KRS 353.561, 353.563, and 353.564. The fund may receive moneys from federal and state grants or appropriations, and from any other proceeds received for the purposes of this section and KRS 353.561, 353.563, and 353.564. (5) (a) Funds may be expended for costs incurred in the: 1. Reclamation of abandoned storage tank facilities; 2. 3. Proper plugging, reclamation, and abandonment of eligible wells; or Proper reclamation and abandonment of abandoned storage tank facilities posing an imminent threat. (b) These funds may be expended in accordance with this section and after the cabinet determines that: 1. 2. The well qualifies as an eligible well as defined in KRS 353.510; is no person There responsibility for the abandoned storage tank facility; or identified or found with continuing legal 3. Reclamation or remedial measures are necessary to respond to an imminent threat to human health, safety, or the environment, posed by an abandoned storage tank facility or improperly abandoned well. (6) Reclamation measures paid for by the fund shall include the following: (a) Removal and disposal of abandoned storage tank facilities; (b) Reclamation of lands affected by abandoned storage tank facilities, including: 1. Proper removal or abandonment of flow lines; 2. Removal or treatment of contaminated soil to no more than three (3) feet in depth; 3. Elimination of all berms, dikes, and other structures utilized as spill prevention, control, and countermeasure structures; 4. Grading, stabilization, and seeding of the surface where the tank or tank battery was located; and 5. Implementation of best management practices at sites associated with abandoned storage facilities; and (c) Reclamation of lands affected by eligible wells, including: 1. Proper removal or abandonment of flow lines; 2. Removal and disposal of surface production equipment; 3. Grading, stabilization, and seeding of the surface where the well was located; 4. Implementation of best management practices at sites associated with eligible wells; and 5. Removal or treatment of contaminated soil to no more than three (3) feet in depth. (7) If during the course of removing and reclaiming an abandoned storage tank facility or plugging and reclaiming an eligible well, the division observes evidence of soil contamination below three (3) feet depth, the division shall consult with the Department for Environmental Protection to determine whether further action is necessary to protect public health and the environment. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to obligate the fund to provide additional moneys for removal or treatment of contaminated soil other than provided in subsection (6)(b)2. and (c)5. of this section. (8) Any person performing reclamation measures pursuant to this section shall comply with applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations. (9) The cabinet shall have the authority to: (a) Contract for services provided by and engage in cooperative projects with other government agencies or private parties in the furtherance of any remedial or reclamation project authorized and undertaken pursuant to this section and KRS 353.561, 353.563, and 353.564; (b) Enter into agreements with those government agencies or private parties to compensate those agencies and private parties with funds from the account; and (c) Accept and deposit into the fund any federal, state, and other funds for the purposes of KRS 353.561, 353.563, and 353.564. Effective: June 27, 2019 History: Amended 2019 Ky. Acts ch. 21, sec. 2, effective June 27, 2019. -- Created 2015 Ky. Acts ch. 21, sec. 2, effective June 24, 2015.