(1)

(a) An environmental protection fee of Four-tenths of One Cent (⁴⁄₁₀ of 1¢) per gallon is hereby levied upon any bonded distributor, as defined by Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-433, who sells or delivers motor fuels to a retailer or user in this state.

(b) Every person, other than a bonded distributor, who shall purchase or acquire motor fuels within this state on which the environmental protection fee has not accrued, shall be liable for the environmental protection fee.

(c) The environmental protection fee shall be imposed only one (1) time on motor fuels sold in the state.

(d) The environmental protection fee shall be collected by the Department of Revenue and shall be designated separately from the excise taxes on fuels.

(e) Any person liable for the environmental protection fee shall be subject to the same requirements and penalties as distributors under the provisions of the Mississippi Special Fuel Tax Law.

(f) Any person liable for the environmental protection fee shall file a report and remit any fees due at the same time provided for filing reports under Section 27-55-523, on forms prescribed by the Department of Revenue.

(g) The Department of Revenue is hereby authorized and empowered to promulgate all rules and regulations necessary for the administration of the environmental protection fee.

(2)

(a) On or before the fifteenth day of each month the environmental protection fees collected during the previous month shall be deposited into the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund established in Section 49-17-405. When the unobligated balance in the fund reaches or exceeds Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00), the administrator of the fund shall notify in writing the Department of Revenue no later than the twenty-fifth day of the month to revise the distribution of the environmental protection fee and the Department of Revenue shall deposit the fee into the State Highway Fund. Such distribution shall become effective on the last day of the month succeeding the month in which such notice was given. All environmental protection fees accrued shall be reported and paid.

(b) When the fund balance is reduced below Six Million Dollars ($6,000,000.00), the fee shall again be deposited into the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund until such time as the fund shall reach or exceed Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00). The administrator of the fund shall notify, no later than the twenty-fifth day of the month, the Department of Revenue to deposit the environmental protection fee into the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund and such distribution shall become effective on the first day of the second month succeeding the month in which the notice to deposit the fee into the fund was given.

(3) This fund shall be used for the purposes set forth in Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 and for no other governmental purposes, nor shall any portion hereof ever be available to borrow from by any branch of government; it being the intent of the Legislature that this fund and its increments shall remain intact and inviolate. Any interest earned on monies in this fund shall remain in this fund.

(4) Monies held in the fund established under Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 shall be used only at an active site and shall be disbursed in accordance with the commission requirements and as follows:

(a) Payments shall be made to any third party who brings a third-party claim against any owner of an underground storage tank and the commission as trustee of the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund and who obtains a final judgment in such action which is valid and enforceable in this state against such parties. Payment shall be paid to the third party upon filing by such party an application with the department attaching the original or a certified copy of the final judgment.

(b) Payments shall be made in reasonable amounts to approved response action contractors and other parties involved in the site study and cleanup. Payment shall be made to the party incurring the costs by filing of a sworn application with the department indicating the fair and reasonable value of the costs of site rehabilitation, subject to the regulations and limitations as set by the department.

(5) Payments from the fund are limited as follows:

(a) For cleanup purposes, a maximum of One Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,500,000.00) may be disbursed from the fund for any one (1) site, per confirmed release occurrence.

(b) For third-party judgments, a maximum of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) may be disbursed from the fund for any one (1) site, per confirmed release occurrence.

(c) Nothing in Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 shall establish or create any liability or responsibility on the part of the department or the State of Mississippi to pay any cleanup costs or third-party claims if the fund created herein is insufficient to do so.

(6) Monies held in the fund established under Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 shall not be used for purchases of equipment needed to assist in cleanup operations.

(7) Nothing in Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 shall serve to limit any recovery against an owner of an underground storage tank in excess of the fund payment limits established under this section.

(8) Substantial compliance shall in no way be construed to be an absolute defense to civil liability.