WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Once again, the Senate is considering raiding the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund to shore up the Highway Trust Fund, with the transferred monies earmarked for the surface transportation bill. On Friday, NACS sent a strongly worded letter to each senator urging them to keep the LUST funds intact. A previous letter from NACS had been sent to Senate Finance Committee members.

Last week, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) put forth an amendment to S. 1813, the bill to reauthorize the surface transportation programs. The amendment would transfer $3 billion out of the LUST Trust Fund into the Highway Trust Fund to be used as an offset for the surface transportation bill. In addition, the amendment would divert a third of all future LUST revenues to the Highway Trust Fund.

In the letter, NACS reminded the senators that LUST monies assist "states in remediating releases from [underground storage tanks] when a responsible party cannot be found. In the years since its inception, the Fund has amassed more than $3 billion, yet congressional appropriators for the past several years continue to underfund this vital environmental program."

NACS urged the senators to "reject any proposal that diverts resources from the Leaking Underground Storage Tanks program for non-tank related purposes and to support increased funding of this program to clean up contaminated sites, put people back to work and help this economy grow."