In an unexpected move, Governor Walker used his line item veto authority of the state budget to retire the Petroleum Environmental Cleanup Fund Award (PECFA) by July 20, 2015. PECFA is a long-running state program that provides reimbursement of eligible expenses to owners and operators of facilities that clean up petroleum contamination from underground and aboveground storage tanks.

The program was previously set to expire by July 20, 2020, but the Governor’s veto changes the expiration date to July 20, 2015, giving storage tank owners one week to apply for state assistance. The Governor’s veto message explained that the expiration date was accelerated because “the primary purpose [of PECFA] has been completed.” 

Storage tank owners who had planned on applying to the PECFA by the prior 2020 deadline will now face a decision to apply to the program by July 20, 2015 or proceed at a later date without the additional funding provided by PECFA.