Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (USTs): Prevention and Cleanup Page: 4 of 11
This report is part of the collection entitled: Congressional Research Service Reports and was provided to UNT Digital Library by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (USTs): Prevention and Cleanup
Background
In the 1980s, EPA determined that many of the roughly 2.2 million underground storage tanks
(USTs) in the United States, most of them storing petroleum products, were leaking. Many other
tanks were nearing the end of their useful life expectancy and were expected to leak in the near
future. Approximately 50% of the U.S. population relies on ground water for their drinking water,
and states were reporting that leaking underground tanks were the leading source of groundwater
contamination.
In 1984, Congress responded to this public health and environmental threat and established a leak
prevention, detection, and cleanup program for USTs containing chemicals or petroleum by
establishing an underground storage tank regulatory program in Subtitle I of the Solid Waste
Disposal Act,' also known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Subtitle I
directed EPA to establish operating requirements and technical standards for tank design and
installation, leak detection, spill and overfill control, corrective action, and tank closure. The
universe of regulated tanks was extremely large and diverse, and included many small businesses.
Consequently, EPA phased in the tank regulations over a 10-year period (1988 through 1998).
Strict standards for new tanks took effect in 1988, and all tanks were required to comply with leak
detection regulations by late 1993. All tanks installed before 1988 had to be upgraded (with spill,
overfill, and corrosion protection), replaced, or closed by December 22, 1998.
In 1986, Congress established a response program for leaking petroleum USTs through the
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA; P.L. 99-499), which amended RCRA
Subtitle I. The amendments authorized EPA and states to respond to petroleum spills and leaks.
SARA also amended the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to create the Leaking Underground
Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund to help EPA and states cover the costs of responding to leaking
USTs in cases where UST owners or operators do not clean up a site. EPA and the states have
used the annual LUST Trust Fund appropriation mainly to oversee and enforce corrective actions
performed by responsible parties. The law also authorized the use of funds to conduct corrective
actions where no responsible party has been identified, where a responsible party fails to comply
with a cleanup order, in the event of an emergency, and to take cost recovery actions against
parties. EPA and states have been successful in getting responsible parties to perform most
cleanups. In these cases, the cleanup costs typically have been paid for by a state fund (discussed
below), the responsible party, and/or private insurance.
State Funds
The 1986 law further directed EPA to establish financial responsibility requirements to ensure that
UST owners and operators are able to cover the costs of taking corrective action and
compensating third parties for injuries and property damage caused by leaking tanks. As
mandated, EPA issued regulations requiring most tank owners and operators selling petroleum
products to demonstrate a minimum financial responsibility of $1 million. Alternatively, owners
and operators could rely on state assurance funds to demonstrate financial responsibility, saving
them the cost of purchasing private insurance. Most states established financial assurance funds.
Unlike the federal LUST Trust Fund, state funds often are used to reimburse financially solvent
1 Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42 U.S.C. 6991-6991i.Congressional Research Service
1
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This report can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Report.
Tiemann, Mary. Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (USTs): Prevention and Cleanup, report, May 18, 2010; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc817857/m1/4/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.