319.114.  Evidence of financial responsibility required to cover certain damages — rules to be established by department. — 1.  The department shall establish rules requiring the owner or operator to maintain evidence of financial responsibility in an amount and form sufficient for taking corrective action and compensating third parties for bodily injury and property damage caused by sudden and nonsudden accidental releases arising from the operation of an underground storage tank.

  2.  The form of the evidence of financial responsibility required by this section may be by any one, or any combination, of the following methods:  cash trust fund, guarantee, insurance, surety or performance bond, letter of credit, qualification as a self-insurer, or any other method satisfactory to the department.  In adopting requirements under this section, the department may specify policy or other contractual terms, conditions, or defenses which are necessary or are unacceptable in establishing the evidence of financial responsibility.

  3.  The amount of financial responsibility required shall not exceed the amount required for compliance with Section 9003 of Subtitle I of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-580), as amended.

  4.  The total liability of a guarantor shall be limited to the aggregate amount which the guarantor has provided as evidence of financial responsibility to the owner or operator under this section.  Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit any other state or federal statutory, contractual, or common law liability of a guarantor to its owner or operator, including, but not limited to, the liability of such guarantor for bad faith either in negotiating or in failing to negotiate the settlement of any claim.  Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to diminish the liability of any person under Section 107 or 111 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-510), as amended, or other applicable law.

  5.  Except in cases of fraud or misrepresentation on the application for coverage, no owner or operator shall be denied benefits by the petroleum storage tank insurance fund or other provider of financial responsibility required by this section solely because the owner or operator's claim arises from a release of a regulated petroleum substance deemed incompatible with the underground storage tank system.