2019 Compliance Advisories about the 2015 Underground Storage Tank Regulation

EPA developed these compliance advisories to alert UST facility owners and operators about requirements in the 2015 UST regulation. 

March 2019 Compliance Advisory

Background and Focus Area 

EPA regulates underground storage tanks to protect human health and the environment from petroleum releases. Compliance concerns include those related to the timeliness of required sump testing, spill prevention equipment testing, and overfill inspections. The purpose of this compliance advisory is to remind facilities of these regulatory requirements.

This compliance advisory is for facilities that are required to comply with EPA’s underground storage tank regulation. It highlights some major UST owner and operator responsibilities and potential compliance concerns as EPA implements the 2015 UST regulation. The UST regulation requires owners and operators to properly operate and maintain their USTs. EPA, states, and territories regularly conduct compliance inspections to identify potential compliance violations and releases. Facilities that are not complying with the UST regulation are required to address their non-compliance issues.

The focus of this compliance advisory is on UST owners and operators in states without state program approval (SPA) and in Indian Country. For more information about the status of states with and without SPA, see EPA’s website www.epa.gov/ust/state-underground-storage-tank-ust-programs#which. Note that owners and operators in states both with and without SPA must meet their state UST regulatory requirements.

What Requirements Does This Advisory Highlight?

This advisory alerts owners and operators to the testing and inspection requirements in 40 CFR Part 280.35.

280.35 – Periodic testing spill prevention equipment and containment sumps used for interstitial monitoring of piping and periodic inspection of overfill prevention equipment. UST owners and operators must test their spill prevention equipment every three years to ensure it works as intended and is able to hold liquid. In addition, UST owners and operators who use interstitial monitoring must test their containment sumps every three years to ensure the release detection is working and will contain product that escapes their USTs. Finally, this requirement includes inspecting overfill equipment every three years to ensure it is working as intended. Owners and operators were required to complete the first tests and inspections under this requirement by October 13, 2018.

To learn more about the requirements of the 2015 UST regulation, see EPA’s website www.epa.gov/ust/revising-underground-storage-tank-regulation-revisions-existing-requirements-andnew.

What Are The Compliance Concerns?

As EPA is implementing the 2015 UST regulation, we observed the following compliance concerns at some UST facilities:

• Failure to complete required sump testing on time. 
• Failure to complete required spill prevention equipment testing on time. 
• Failure to complete required overfill inspection on time.

June 2019 Compliance Advisory 

Background and Area of Focus

EPA regulates underground storage tanks to protect human health and the environment from petroleum releases. Because of EPA’s recent approval of sales of E15 gasoline year-round, more people might choose to offer E15 at gas stations and other fueling facilities. If you are now, or thinking of in the future, storing E15 in a federally regulated underground storage tank, you must prove that your equipment is compatible. These requirements apply if you are storing any regulated substances that contain more than 10 percent ethanol or more than 20 percent biodiesel.

This compliance advisory is for facilities that are required to comply with EPA’s underground storage tank regulation. EPA, states, territories, the District of Columbia (states, territories, and the District of Columbia are hereafter referred to as states), and tribes regularly conduct compliance inspections to identify potential compliance violations and releases. Facilities that are not complying with the UST regulation are required to address their non-compliance issues.

What Requirements Does This Advisory Highlight?

This advisory alerts owners and operators to the compatibility requirements in 40 CFR 280.32— Compatibility.

Section 280.32 states that UST owners and operators must use an UST system made of or lined with materials that are compatible with the substance stored in the UST system. Additionally, owners or operators who store regulated substances that contain more than 20 percent biodiesel or more than 10 percent ethanol, such as 15 percent ethanol or E15, must notify their implementing agency 30 days before storing the fuel. Owners and operators must also keep records demonstrating that their UST system is compatible with the substance stored. Ensuring compatibility of UST systems with these fuels—knowing the materials that make up the UST system will maintain their respective chemical and physical properties when in contact with the substance stored—is essential. Storing a fuel that is not compatible with the UST system may jeopardize the integrity of the UST system and cause a release to the environment.

Demonstrating compatibility of an UST system means identifying what equipment is installed as
part of your UST system. You must show that a component is approved by either the
manufacturer of the component or by a nationally-recognized independent testing laboratory,
such as Underwriters Laboratory (UL), for use with the fuel to be stored. See details about
these requirements in 40 CFR 280.32. Please note that compatibility extends beyond the fuel
tank. Owners and operators must demonstrate compatibility for the components below to
store substances containing more than 10 percent ethanol or more than 20 percent biodiesel.

• Tank
• Piping carrying product from the tank
• Piping containment sumps entered by the piping
• Pumping equipment, including the submersible pump or suction pump, depending on the type of system
• Release detection equipment, including automatic tank gauging probes, sump
  sensors, and line leak detectors
• Spill equipment, such as spill buckets, for the tank
• Overfill equipment, including ball float valves or flapper valves

The federal UST regulation does not require owners and operators to demonstrate the compatibility of dispensers or associated aboveground equipment. However, compatibility requirements for these components may exist in other local regulations, such as the fire code. Owners and operators should check for these requirements with their implementing agency.

To learn more about compatibility compliance requirements:

• 2015 UST regulation 
• Plain language booklet about compatibility www.epa.gov/ust/ust-system-compatibilitybiofuels
• Questions and answers about compatibility and pipe dope and sealants
• Emerging fuels and USTs www.epa.gov/ust/emerging-fuels-and-underground-storagetanks-usts

What Are The Compliance Concerns?

Compliance concerns include those related to the compatible storage of ethanol-biofuel blends containing more than 10 percent ethanol in UST systems.

Disclaimer 

This compliance advisory addresses select provisions of EPA regulatory requirements using plain language. Nothing in this compliance advisory is meant to replace or revise any EPA regulatory provisions or any other part of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Federal Register, or the Solid Waste Disposal Act. For more information on enforcement, see EPA’s website www.epa.gov/enforcement.