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U.S. EPA/STATES COMPLETE UNDERGROUND FUEL TANK ENFORCEMENT DRIVE

Release Date: 7/18/1997
Contact Information: Dave Schmidt, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1578

     (San Francisco)--The U.S. EPA today announced the results of a nationwide state-EPA enforcement initiative aimed at identifying and correcting violations of state and U.S. EPA regulations requiring the use of approved leak detection methods at underground storage tank (UST) facilities.  U.S. EPA and state agency staff inspected 660 tank facilities in California, 100 in Arizona, 59 in Hawaii, and eight on Native American tribal lands along the lower Colorado River.  Violations of leak detection regulations were found at 324 UST facilities in California, 77 facilities in Arizona, and 46 in Hawaii.  These facilities include fuel retailers as well as agencies and businesses that operate underground tanks to supply their vehicle fleets.

     "Compliance with leak detection requirements is our first line of defense against groundwater contamination," said Felicia Marcus, U.S. EPA regional administrator.  "Tank owners have an obligation not only to detect leaks, but to prevent them by upgrading tanks.  The deadline for upgrades is just 17 months away."

     There are about one million federally-regulated USTs in use in the United States.  Over the past nine years, more than 320,000 UST leaks have been confirmed.  U.S. EPA estimates that about 60 percent of these releases have affected groundwater, the source of drinking water for half of all Americans.  States have reported that USTs are the most common source of groundwater contamination and that petroleum is the most common contaminant.

     During May 1997, states and U.S.EPA inspected 10,050 facilities, including gas stations and truck and bus refueling fleet refueling facilities.  States inspected 9,311 facilities, and EPA inspected 739.  A total of 3,192 facilities were found in violation of release detection requirements.  Most of the facilities inspected are privately owned, but some are owned by federal, state,or local government agencies.  In most cases, the owners were not immediately penalized but are expected to take action to install or perform release detection and keep records in accordance with state and federal requirements.  In approximately 400 cases, however, states and U.S. EPA proposed or collected fines ranging from $50 to $300,000.  The largest fines were assessed where owners had a history of noncompliance or where violations posed significant threats to health and the environment.

     The national total of fines proposed or collected by states and U.S. EPA was slightly more than $1 million.  During the May inspections, inspectors also reminded owners and operators of USTs installed before December 1988 that they have less than two years remaining in which to comply with requirements for spill, overfill, and corrosion protection.  These requirements, designed to prevent future leaks, will take effect in December 1998, except in a few states where they are already in effect. (USTs installed after December 1988 had to meet these requirements when they were installed).  The inspections in California, Arizona, and Hawaii found that about half the UST facilities in these three states have not yet upgraded their tanks to meet the December 1998 deadline.

     Owners and operators of the older USTs will need to replace or upgrade their tanks to meet these requirements, or close them properly.  U.S. EPA recently announced that the Agency will not extend the December 1998 deadline.  The 1998 requirements are a key element in the ongoing state-U.S. EPA effort to prevent groundwater contamination.  A state-by-state breakdown of the number of facilities inspected, violations found, actions taken, and fines proposed or collected is available from the U.S. EPA regional office.  Also available is a list of state UST program contacts.

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