Fee Exemptions

Roughly 2/3 of states charge fees to facilities on filing of their annual Tier II reports. 22 of those states allow for exemptions to paying part or all of those filing fees. These exemptions could be based on variables such as the type of facility, activities conducted at the facility, or even the number of workers employed by the organization state-wide. In some cases, the exemption calls for a relief from all reporting fees (i.e., the facility does not pay a reporting fee) or from certain reportable products being factored into the filing fee (i.e., the facility pays a reduced fee).

The summary table below provides an overview of the states that levy fees and which ones provide exemptions at the report level and/or at the product level.

Additional detail is provided for each state further in the article.

Filing your report through Encamp and accurately answering the corresponding state-specific questions at either the report level or within your product library will allow you to take advantage of these exemptions.

NOTE: A fee exemption is not the same as a reporting exemption. In nearly every situation described in this article, the facility is still required to file a Tier II report.

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Federal, State, County, and Municipal facilities

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Facilities with NAICS code(s) beginning with 111, 112, 113, 114, 115

Source: Link

Exemption: Partial - filing fee reduced because product is exempt

Applicability: Motor vehicle fuels at gas stations

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Government and non-profit facilities

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Government facilities

Source: Link

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Owners/operators of retail petroleum facilities (i.e., gas stations, convenience stores, truck

stops) that store gasoline and diesel fuel entirely underground in tanks that hold less than 75,000

gallons of gasoline or 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel AND are in compliance with Underground Storage

Tank requirements AND do not have any other EPCRA covered substances in threshold amounts on

site.

Source: Link

Exemption: Partial - reduced fee: qualified facilities only pay $2.50 per employee (instead of $10)

Applicability: Facilities that are regulated under Florida Statutes Chapter 368 (gas transmission and distribution facilities), Chapter 527 (sale of liquefied petroleum gas), or Section 376.303 (aboveground and underground storage tanks) AND that do not have Extremely Hazardous Substances present greater than the Threshold Planning Quantity.

Source: Link

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Military facilities

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Federal, State, or Local Government Facilities

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Farms (does not include companies that manufacture or sell farm supplies)

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Marinas

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Facilities storing threshold quantities of petroleum fuels (gasoline, gasohol, aviation fuel, diesel #1 and #2) as long as the petroleum fuel storage tank is registered with KDHE’s Storage Tank Program AND the petroleum fuels have been reported on the special storage tank form provided by the department to comply with Section 312 Tier II reporting AND the facility owner/operator has paid the storage tank program annual fee

Source: Link

Exemption: Partial - filing fee reduced because products are exempt

Applicability: Sand, gravel, clay, salt, or brine are exempt from reporting fees

Source: Link

Exemption: Partial - flat filing fee

Applicability: Each owner/operator of an oil or gas well shall pay an annual fee of $25 regardless of the number of wells

Source: Link

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Federal, State, or Local Government Facilities

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Parish, State or Governmental Entities

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Facilities that only have LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) on hand and no other chemicals of a reportable threshold

Exemption: Partial - filing fee reduced because products are exempt

Applicability: Petroleum products with average daily amounts which total 75,000 pounds or less at retail marketers of petroleum products (i.e., gas station, marina, airport, fuel oil dealer, etc.)

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Owners and operators of commercial agricultural operations

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Government agencies, charitable organizations, farmers, gasoline retailers, and marinas

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Family farm operations and local government facilities are exempt from paying these fees (11 CSR 40-4.050). However a signed fee calculation worksheet is still required to be sent to the MERC. A family farm is “an unincorporated farming unit owned or leased by one or more persons residing on the farm or actively engaged in farming.” State government facilities are not exempt from paying fees.

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Administrative offices; however, in order to qualify for this exemption, all entities under the same FEIN (Federal Employer Identification Number) must also be engaged in Administrative Office activities only.

Source: NJAC 7:1G-3.2

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Government agencies (local, tribal, state, and federal)

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Local, state, and federal government facilities

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Family farms

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Non-profit corporations

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Motor vehicle dealers as defined by G.S. 20-286 (11)

Exemption: Partial - filing fee reduced because products are exempt

Applicability: Fuel used for retail sale at commercial gas stations

Exemption: Partial - filing fee potentially reduced because products are exempt (Oregon only charges fees based on the most hazardous substance in the highest aggregate amount)

Applicability: Any of the following:

• Hazardous substance is derived from the refining of crude oil (e.g. gasoline, diesel motor fuel, crankcase motor oil, asphalt base, butane, ethane and propane)

• Hazardous substance is propane produced by a process other than the refining of crude oiland is for non-vehicular use

• Hazardous substance is reported voluntarily

• Hazardous substance is stored in a retail location accessible by the public

• Hazardous substance was not present on the site for more than 24 consecutive hours

• Hazardous substance is a solid waste as defined in ORS 459.005

• Hazardous substance is a hazardous waste as defined in ORS 466.005

• Hazardous substance is natural gas not stored in liquefied form and is for non-vehicular use

• Finished articles that are not used in a manufacturing process

• Hazardous substance is a gas intended for human/animal ingestion or inhalation, or added toa product that is ingested or inhaled (e.g. carbon dioxide used at a restaurant for carbonated soft drinks) when all of the following is true:

  • The gas is present at the site where human/animal ingestion occurs;

  • The gas is not being used in a manufacturing process;

  • The gas is not cryogenic; and

  • The gas is not being stored at the site in excess of 1,000 cubic feet.

• Hazardous substance is in an over-the-road motor vehicle (e.g. delivery truck not used for static storage)

• Hazardous substance is dry cell batteries, such as those used in flashlights, portable radios, cell phones, and pagers

• Hazardous substance is radioactive material encased in a capsule designed to prevent leakage or escape of the radioactive material (e.g. smoke detectors and lab equipment)

• Hazardous substance is used for agricultural operations and is present where the agricultural operations occur

Source: Link

Exemption: Partial - filing fee potentially reduced because products are exempt (Oregon only charges fees based on the most hazardous substance in the highest aggregate amount)

Applicability: Facility is a government agency AND any of the following:

• Hazardous substance is propane used for heating by public schools (where education occurs, not support buildings or district offices)

• Hazardous substance is breathing air for self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs)

• Hazardous substance is specifically required by a state or federal law or rule

• Hazardous substance is reasonably necessary to comply with a standard imposed by a state or federal law or rule

• Hazardous substance is a by-product of processes employed to meet a standard imposed by a state or federal law or rule.

Source: Link

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Family farm, service station, state, federal or local government owned building

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Publicly owned and operated water, waste water treatment or sewer treatment plant

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: State agencies, municipalities, non-profit corporations or other political subdivisions

Source: Link

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Facilities engaged in "farming" as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6001 (22)

Source: Link

Exemption: Entire Fee

Applicability: Facility owner/operator employs fewer than 10 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) employees in the state (fewer than 20,800 hrs. annually). The number of FTE employees is determined by totaling the number of ALL employee hours (including part-time) at ALL the owner/operator’s locations, in the State of Wisconsin (regardless of employee occupation) and dividing by 2,080.

Source: Section 323.60(7)(d), Wis. Stats.

Exemption: Partial - filing fee reduced because products are exempt

Applicability: Reportable amounts of sand or gravel

Source: Link

Exemption: Partial - filing fee reduced because products are exempt

Applicability: Reportable amounts of gasoline or diesel motor fuel, which are held for

resale by a Petroleum Marketing Facility

Source: Section 323.60(7)(dm), Wis. Stats.

Exemption: Partial - filing fee reduced because products are exempt

Applicability: Reportable amounts of calcium chloride, or sodium chloride, or calcium

magnesium acetate , when used as road deicing agents

Source: Link