§2195.8. Advisory board

            A.(1) There shall be a Motor Fuels Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund Advisory Board, hereinafter referred to as the "board," to advise the secretary with regard to implementation of the Tank Trust Account including investment of the trust and issuance of grants and loans.

            (2) The board shall determine the minimum level of funding of the Tank Trust Account by conducting an annual review of receipts from the Tank Trust Account from the previous fiscal year along with the projected amounts expected to be expended in the following fiscal year for purposes of recommending changes to the fee. Prior to the end of each fiscal year, the board shall meet to determine its recommendation on the setting of the fee for the next fiscal year and shall make such recommendation to the secretary.

            (3) The board shall annually review the "Louisiana Motor Fuels Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund Cost Control Guidance Document" and may make recommendations for changes.

            (4) The board shall review any proposed underground storage tank regulations prior to the adoption of such regulations.

            (5) The board shall also determine the role of the Tank Trust Account in establishing financial responsibility as required by federal or state law, except that such requirement shall not exceed those established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

            (6) The board shall additionally examine claims made and loss experience, make recommendations to the secretary regarding minimum levels of financial responsibility for underground storage tank owners, and the necessity for and contents of rules and regulations issued under the Environmental Quality Act in similar matters.

            (7) The board may recommend standards for the qualification of response action contractors.

            (8) The board may recommend at any time that response action contractors be added to or deleted from the list.

            (9) The board shall also have the authority to review applications for disbursements from the Tank Trust Account.

            B. The board shall consist of the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality or his designee and seven members, as follows:

            (1) Four members appointed by the president of the Louisiana Oil Marketers and Convenience Store Association.

            (2) One member appointed by the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.

            (3) Two members appointed by the secretary who represent the response action contractor community.

            C. The board shall meet at least four times each year and each member, or his designee, shall have one vote concerning any matter coming before the board. The board shall elect its own chairman. The secretary shall provide notice of regularly held board meetings thirty days prior to the meeting. The board may meet at any other time upon twenty-four hour notice from the secretary, his designee, or any two of the board's members.

            D.(1) Each member of the board, except the secretary or his designee, shall be appointed for a three-year term except as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection.

            (2) Two members shall serve an initial term of one year, two shall serve an initial term of two years, and three shall serve an initial term of three years as determined by lot at the first meeting of the advisory board after January 1, 2005.

            E. When a vacancy on the board occurs prior to the expiration of a term, the successor shall be appointed for the remainder of the unexpired term.

            F. No member of the board shall be appointed for more than two consecutive terms.

            Acts 1988, No. 767, §2, eff. July 15, 1988; Acts 1995, No. 336, §1, eff. June 16, 1995; Acts 2001, No. 550, §1; Acts 2004, No. 692, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2005; Acts 2016, No. 521, §1; Acts 2018, No. 150, §1; Acts 2021, No. 114, §18, eff. July 1, 2022; Acts 2022, No. 277, §1.