1. The Fund for Cleaning Up Discharges of Petroleum is hereby created as a special revenue fund in the State Treasury. The Division shall administer the Fund for the purposes prescribed in NRS 445C.150 to 445C.410, inclusive, and the Board shall adopt appropriate regulations for the:

(a) Investigation and payment of claims against the Fund. The Board shall review each claim presented and authorize payment to the extent warranted by the facts of the case.

(b) Administration by the Division of a grant program described in subsection 2, which must include, without limitation:

(1) The manner in which an operator may apply for a grant of money from the program;

(2) The criteria that the Division must consider in determining whether to award a grant of money from the program;

(3) The methods by which the Division must, in the following order, prioritize the award of available money for grants from the program, including, without limitation, consideration of:

(I) The financial need of an operator who applies for a grant of money from the program;

(II) The total volume of petroleum dispensed on an annual basis from each storage tank of an operator who applies for a grant of money from the program; and

(III) The availability and proximity of other petroleum dispensing locations, if any, in the same geographical area as an operator who applies for a grant of money from the program; and

(4) The manner in which the Division:

(I) Must distribute and administer the grant program;

(II) May audit and inspect relevant records of an operator who receives a grant of money from the program;

(III) May, upon good cause shown, seek repayment of any unauthorized expenditures by an operator who receives a grant of money from the program; and

(IV) May seek to recover from an operator who receives a grant of money from the program the costs incurred by the Division in seeking repayment of any unauthorized expenditures by the operator.

(c) Administration by the Division of the program of assistance described in subsection 3.

2. The Division may award a grant of money from the Fund to an operator who has a demonstrated financial need for assistance in defraying the costs of any infrastructure required by the operator to comply with any law or regulation relating to the prevention of discharges. The Division shall:

(a) Administer the grant program in accordance with the regulations adopted by the Board pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1; and

(b) Submit to the Board an annual report concerning the grants, if any, awarded pursuant to this subsection.

3. The Division shall, in accordance with the regulations adopted pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection 1, administer a program to provide assistance to an operator in complying with any law or regulation relating to the prevention of discharges which are applicable to storage tanks.

4. The expenses incurred by the Division in performing its duties pursuant to NRS 445C.150 to 445C.410, inclusive, are a charge against the Fund. The interest earned on money in the Fund must be credited to the Fund.

5. The Board shall transmit a copy of any resolution that the Board has adopted in carrying out its duties pursuant to this section to the Legislative Counsel within 5 working days after the adoption of the resolution for inclusion in the register of administrative regulations published pursuant to NRS 233B.0653.

6. As used in this section, “petroleum dispensing location” means a facility where a member of the public can obtain petroleum products of the same type as those offered by an operator who has applied for a grant pursuant to subsection 2.

(Added to NRS by 2015, 3603; A 2017, 3553)