TCA § 68-215-109 — Annual fees — Failure to pay — Petition for reduction of penalties — Petition for refund of annual fee

The board shall levy and collect annual fees from the owners or operators of petroleum underground storage tanks containing petroleum substances. Subject to this section, the board is authorized to promulgate rules establishing the following: Which petroleum underground storage tanks are subject to annual fees; The amount or amounts of such fees, the fee due date, and the basis on which such fees are assessed; and A system of incentives to provide for reduced annual tank fees, in order to encourage tank owners to use technologies or management practices that go beyond the minimum requirements related to release detection and prevention for tanks and piping. Such technologies or practices must be found by the board to be proven methods of significantly enhancing prevention of releases or reducing the detection time frame for releases. The annual fee shall be: Two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per tank per year for noncompartmentalized petroleum underground storage tanks; Two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per tank compartment per year for compartmentalized petroleum underground storage tanks. Pursuant to subsection (a), the board may promulgate rules raising these tank fees up to a maximum level of three hundred dollars ($300) per tank per year for noncompartmentalized tanks and three hundred dollars ($300) per tank compartment per year for compartmentalized tanks. In addition, the board is authorized to promulgate rules lowering or suspending these tank fees if the board determines that the condition of the fund warrants it. The tank fees authorized in this section shall be paid by or on behalf of the petroleum underground storage tank owner or operator. Upon failure or refusal of any person to pay a fee assessed under this part within a reasonable time allowed by the commissioner, the commissioner may proceed in the chancery court of Davidson County to obtain judgment and seek execution of such judgment. If a lawfully levied fee or any part of that fee is not paid by its due date, there shall be assessed against the tank owner or operator a penalty of five percent (5%) of the amount due, which shall accrue on the first day of the delinquency and be added thereto. Thereafter, on the last day of each month during which any part of any fee or any prior accrued penalty remains unpaid, an additional five percent (5%) of the then unpaid balance shall accrue and be added thereto; however, the total of the penalties and interest that accrue pursuant to this section shall not exceed three (3) times the amount of the original fee. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring the issuance of a commissioner's order for the payment of a fee or a late payment penalty. The tank owner or operator may file with the commissioner a written petition requesting a reduction in the penalties assessed under this section, setting forth in the petition the grounds and reasons for such a request. At the commissioner's sole discretion, the commissioner may reduce the penalties that otherwise accrue pursuant to this section if, in the commissioner's opinion, the failure to pay fees was due to inadvertent error or excusable neglect; however, in no event shall the penalties be reduced to an amount less than ten percent (10%) per annum, plus statutory interest. The tank owner or operator may file with the commissioner a written petition requesting a refund of the annual fee paid for the current annual billing cycle or a waiver or reduction of the penalties associated with such annual fee that would otherwise accrue pursuant to this section, or both. At the commissioner's sole discretion, the commissioner may refund the annual fee or waive or reduce penalties associated with such fee, or both, if: The annual fee notice was issued to the tank owner or operator subsequent to approval of an application for permanent closure of underground storage tanks by the commissioner; In the commissioner's opinion the refund is in the best interest of the state; and The tank was: Empty for temporary closure as defined by the board from the beginning of the applicable annual billing cycle until permanent closure; and Permanently closed during the applicable annual billing cycle. This subsection (g) does not authorize the commissioner to refund annual fees other than the annual fee paid for the current annual billing cycle as provided in this subsection (g) or to waive or reduce penalties associated with any unpaid annual fee except as provided in subsection (f) and this subsection (g).