PA USTIF Fee Remains The Same In 2021
On December 10, the Department of Insurance Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Fund Board met and determined NO FEE INCREASE was warranted in 2021.
Chaired by PPA appointee Bruce Sheller, the Board decided a fee increase was not necessary after the annual report from the Board’s actuaries was received by the panel that outlined the strong financial status of the Fund.
The law the created USTIF requires that the fund be actuarially sound.
The question of whether a fee increase would be necessary was particularly relative at this juncture because the state budget process in late November transferred $30 million of the Fund’s assets to the General Fund to help balance the state’s FY 2020-21 budget.
In addition, the Board approved the annual request from DEP for an allocation of funds to be used toward cleanup programs and administrative costs related to the management of the Storage Tank Program.
Included in that allocation were monies to be used in the conjunction with the Underground Home Heating Oil Cleanup Reimbursement Fund.
That fund provides for reimbursement of cleanup costs of incidents involving 3,000 gallon or smaller tanks. These cleanup projects are eligible for reimbursement of up to $4,000, with a deductible of $1,000.
