Secondary Containment to stop Ground Water Contamination
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USTs (Underground storage tanks) are used to store petroleum and other products are regulated to prevent release of contamination of groundwater.
Groundwater is the source of drinking water for close to 50% of the U.S. population (approximately 147 million people). One of the greatest threats to the nation’s groundwater is leaking underground storage tanks.
Underground storage tanks are found in every community and are as close as your nearest gas station. Large underground storage tanks store enormous quantities of petroleum and other toxic substances at businesses, factories, gas stations, schools, and marinas. These tanks can leak and release contaminants into the soil and groundwater. In surveys of state water programs, 35 states have identified underground storage tanks as the top threat to groundwater (U.S. EPA, National Water Quality Inventory: 2000 Report).
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What Is The History Of The Federal Underground Storage Tank Program?
Until the mid-1980s most underground storage tanks (USTs) were made of bare steel, which is likely to corrode over time and allow UST contents to leak into the environment. The greatest potential hazard from a leaking UST is that its contents (petroleum or other hazardous substances) can seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly half of all Americans.
To address a nationwide problem of leaking USTs, Congress passed a series of laws to protect human health and the environment.
| 1984: |
Subtitle I was added to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) through the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments
- Created a federal program to regulate USTs containing petroleum and hazardous chemicals to limit corrosion and structural defects and thus minimize future tank leaks
- Directed EPA to set operating requirements and technical standards for tank design and installation, leak detection, spill and overfill control, corrective action, and tank closure
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| 1986: |
Subtitle I was amended through the Superfund Amendments Reauthorization Act
- Authorized EPA to respond to petroleum spills and leaks
- Directed EPA to establish financial responsibility requirements for UST owners and operators to cover the cost of taking corrective actions and to compensate third parties for injury and property damage caused by leaking tanks
- Created a Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund
The Fund is used to oversee cleanups by responsible parties, enforce cleanups by recalcitrant parties, and pay for cleanups at sites where the owner or operator is unknown, unwilling, or unable to respond, or where emergency action is required
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| 2005: |
Energy Policy Act of 2005 amended Subtitle I of the Solid Waste Disposal Act
- Added new leak detection and enforcement provisions to the program
- Required that all regulated USTs be inspected every three years
- Expanded the use of the LUST Trust Fund
- Required EPA to develop grant guidelines regarding operator training, inspections, delivery prohibition, secondary containment, financial responsibility, public record, and state compliance reports on government USTs
- Required EPA to develop a strategy and publish a report regarding USTs in Indian Country
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A complete version of the law that governs underground storage tanks (USTs) is available in the U.S. Code, Title 42, Chapter 82, Subchapter IX
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