(a) For purposes of this subsection, each compartment of a commercial underground storage tank that is designed to independently contain a petroleum product is a separate petroleum commercial underground storage tank. The owner or operator of a commercial petroleum underground storage tank shall pay to the Secretary for deposit into the Commercial Fund an annual operating fee of four-hundred twenty dollars ($420.00) for each petroleum commercial underground storage tank.

(b) The annual operating fee shall be determined on a calendar year basis. For petroleum commercial underground storage tanks in use on 1 January and remaining in use on or after 1 December of that year, the annual operating fee due for that year shall be as specified in subsection (a) of this section. For a petroleum commercial underground storage tank that is first placed in service in any year, the annual operating fee due for that year shall be determined by multiplying one-twelfth (1/12) of the amount specified in subsection (a) of this section by the number of months remaining in the calendar year. For a petroleum commercial underground storage tank that is permanently removed from service in any year, the annual operating fee due for that year shall be determined by multiplying one-twelfth (1/12) of the amount specified in subsection (a) of this section by the number of months in the calendar year preceding the permanent removal from use. In calculating the pro rata annual operating fee for a tank that is first placed in use or permanently removed during a calendar year under the preceding two sentences, a partial month shall count as a month, except that where a tank is permanently removed and replaced by another tank, the total of the annual operating fee for the tank that is removed and the replacement tank shall not exceed the annual operating fee for the replacement tank. Except as provided in this subsection, the annual operating fee shall be due and payable on the first day of the month in accordance with a staggered schedule established by the Department. The Department shall implement a staggered schedule to the end that the total amount of fees to be collected by the Department is approximately the same each quarter. A person who owns or operates more than one petroleum commercial underground storage tank may request that the fee for all tanks be due at the same time. A person may request that the total of all fees be paid in four equal payments to be due on the first day of each calendar quarter.

(c) Beginning no later than sixty days before the first due date of the annual operating fee imposed by this section, any person who deposits a petroleum product in a commercial underground storage tank that would be subject to the annual operating fee shall, at least once in each calendar year during which such deposit of a petroleum product is made, notify the owner or operator of the duty to pay the annual operating fee. The requirement to notify pursuant to this subsection does not constitute a duty owed by the person depositing a petroleum product in a commercial underground storage tank to the owner or operator and the person depositing a petroleum product in an underground storage tank shall not incur any liability to the owner or operator for failure to give notice of the duty to pay the operating fee.

(d) Repealed by Session Laws 1991, c. 538, s. 3.1.

(e) An owner or operator of a commercial underground storage tank who fails to pay an annual operating fee due under this section within 30 days of the date that the fee is due shall pay, in addition to the fee, a late penalty of five dollars ($5.00) per day per commercial underground storage tank, up to a maximum equal to the annual operating fee due. The Department may waive a late penalty in whole or in part if:

(1) The late penalty was incurred because of the late payment or nonpayment of an annual operating fee by a previous owner or operator.

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(2) The late penalty was incurred because of a billing error for which the Department is responsible.

(3) Where the late penalty was incurred because the annual operating fee was not paid by the owner or operator due to inadvertence or accident.

(4) Where payment of the late penalty will prevent the owner or operator from complying with any substantive law, rule, or regulation applicable to underground storage tanks and intended to prevent or mitigate discharges or releases or to facilitate the early detection of discharges or releases.

(f) A person who becomes the owner or operator of a commercial petroleum underground storage tank may pay, under protest, unpaid annual operating fees that were the obligation of a previous owner or operator for the purpose of obtaining an operating permit for the underground storage tanks. An owner or operator who pays unpaid operating fees that were due from a previous owner or operator may request reimbursement of those fees as provided in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-215.94B(h). In collecting unpaid annual operating fees, the Department shall diligently seek to collect unpaid annual operating fees from the person who was the owner or operator of the commercial petroleum underground storage tank at the time the fee first became due notwithstanding the fact that those fees were paid under protest as provided in this subsection. (1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1035, s. 1; 1989, c. 652, ss. 5, 16; 1991, c. 538, ss. 3.1, 4, 5; 1993, c. 400, s. 15; c. 402, s. 2; 1995, c. 377, s. 6; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 648, s. 2; 2008-195, s. 1; 2008-198, s. 7(b); 2011-394, s. 11.3(c).)