Underground Storage Tanks

In January 2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act ("Brownfields Law") was signed into law. This law expanded the original EPA Brownfields program by including relatively low-risk petroleum sites as eligible sites for Brownfields assessment and cleanup grant funding. By law, EPA must make available 25 percent of the total Brownfields grant funds each year for the assessment and/or cleanup of relatively low-risk petroleum-contaminated sites. In 2005, EPA awarded approximately $22 million in Brownfields grants to assess and clean-up petroleum-contaminated sites. Recipients include abandoned sites such as gas station, industrial and retail properties that contain, or are perceived to contain, contamination from petroleum. For more information on the Brownfields program, visit the Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment website.

For petroleum-contaminated sites to be eligible for Brownfields grant funds, the EPA or the state must determine:

• that the sites are of "relatively low-risk" compared with other "petroleum-only" sites in the state; and
• the sites have no viable responsible party; and
• the funding will be used by a party that is not potentially liable for the petroleum contamination to assess, investigate, or clean up the site.

In addition, petroleum-contaminated sites must not be subject to a corrective action order under the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) §9003(h).

A number of entities, including states and local governments, are eligible to apply for Brownfields grants. Please see the links below for more information.

• Petroleum Brownfields Grant Recipients. The links below will take you to annual lists of Brownfield grant recipients.
• 2006 Recipients
• 2006 Grant Recipients list in PDF format (PDF) (6 pp, 30K, About PDF)
• 2005 Recipients
• 2004 Recipients
• 2003 Recipients

For more information on Petroleum Brownfields, contact Steven McNeely (703-603-7164).

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