Uncle Sam offers states more money to fund federal tank mandates

摘要

Congress is giving state agencies an additional $7 million to pay for underground tank inspection and enforcement programs that it mandated four years ago. The move may help ease the squeeze on state budgets that lead some states to threaten tank fee increases in a bid to pay for the new rules.rnThe new funding is contained in an omnibus appropriations bill just signed by President Barack Obama and should carry the states through to Sept. 30. The approximately $115 million set aside for the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) program represents an increase of nearly 60% since marketers started lobbying for additional funding.