Underground Storage Tanks

Except in a few instances, federal regulations prior to 1984 did not address underground storage tanks (UST) systems. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 regulated only tanks containing hazardous wastes, not tanks storing petroleum or hazardous products. The Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 required owners of large underground tanks (greater than 42,000 gallons) to take certain measures to prevent corrosion and to test tanks periodically. These requirements, however, applied only to those tanks that were potentially direct sources of pollution into navigable waters. Because releases from USTs generally contaminated only groundwater, and usually affect surface water only indirectly, the CWA could not be used as a general basis for regulating most USTs.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, commonly known as Superfund, authorized EPA to respond whenever a hazardous substance is released into the environment. Superfund, however, cannot be used to respond to releases from UST systems because petroleum is specifically excluded from the list of hazardous substances defined under CERCLA.

In 1984, Congress prepared amendments to RCRA that would address the problems of leaking UST systems. In October 1984, Congress passed a final version of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) to RCRA. In November 1984, President Reagan signed the amendments into law. Title IV of the Amendments added Subtitle I (sections 9001 through 9010) which specifically provided for regulation of UST systems.

Subtitle I includes requirements for tank notification, interim prohibition, new tank standards, reporting and recordkeeping requirements for existing tanks, corrective action, financial responsibility, compliance monitoring and enforcement, and approval of State programs. The law also requires EPA to develop a comprehensive program for the regulation of UST systems "as may be necessary to protect human health and the environment."

The Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) was created in 1985 as part of EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) to carry out the Congressional mandate to develop and implement a new regulatory program for UST systems. OUST has two divisions: The Policy and Standards Division and the Implementation Division. OUST is charged with developing regulations for UST systems in the areas of technical standards for tanks, financial responsibility, and state program approval.

In 1986, Congress passed the Superfund Amendments Reauthorization Act (SARA) which amended Subtitle I to provide Federal funds for corrective actions on petroleum releases from UST systems. This amendment established the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund, commonly known as the LUST Trust Fund. On September 23, 1988, EPA published the final technical regulations for tanks. On October 26, 1988, EPA published the financial responsibility regulations, indicating the minimum levels of insurance UST owners and operators need to ensure that they can take corrective action in reponse to any leaks that occur from their UST systems and compensate anyone who is harmed by a release. Corrective action includes assessing the release and the extent of damage or danger to human health and the environment, determining what action is needed to repair any damage and remove contaminants, and taking the necessary remedial action (e.g., free product recovery, bioventing).

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