United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste And
Emergency Response
(5401G)
EPA 51O-F-00-004
October 2000
www.epa.gov
Underground Storage
Tanks And
Brownfields Sites
"Brownfields" is a nontechnical term applied to any idle or underutilized facility
or property that is actually or perceived to be environmentally contaminated.
Redevelopment of these sites is complicated by this actual or perceived
contamination. Reclaiming brownfields properties makes the land productive
again and helps to spur private and public sector investment in housing, job-
producing businesses, and open space that can help communities improve
their neighborhoods. Local leaders use this redevelopment as a way to
improve and sustain their economies by recycling land instead of developing
pristine land. But there can be substantial obstacles to cleaning up these sites,
such as regulatory barriers, lack of private investment, and contamination and
remediation issues.
"USTfields" applies to abandoned or underused industrial and commercial
properties where redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived
environmental contamination from federally-regulated underground storage
tanks (USTs). Of the estimated 450,000 brownfields sites in the U.S.,
approximately 100,000-200,000 contain abandoned underground storage tanks
or are impacted by petroleum leaks from them. However, petroleum
contamination is generally excluded from coverage under the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and is not,
therefore, covered under EPA's Brownfields program. EPA's Office of
Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) is undertaking an USTfields initiative to
address petroleum contamination from abandoned tanks generally excluded
from Brownfields redevelopment. The initiative is also intended to take
advantage of the many advances in the Brownfields work that could and
should be applied to the numerous (and often smaller and more rural)
USTfields sites.
EPA USTfields INITIATIVE
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The same problem-solving methods used for Brownfields - public and private
sector involvement, defining and overcoming barriers, creating incentives - are
also applicable to underground storage tank sites. Many of the Agency's
cleanup and redevelopment initiatives (Brownfields Assessment, Brownfields
Showcase, and Superfund and RCRA Redevelopment) are plagued by tank
releases. The USTfields initiative is intended to:
>• Take advantage of the expertise and infrastructure
already being employed in similar EPA cleanup and
redevelopment projects to maximize the utilization of
available resources.
*• Observe and learn from the challenges and accomplishments
of pilot projects, with a view to disseminating the "lessons
learned" to other states, tribes, territories, and local entities.
>• Clean up and return unused properties to productive uses.
, >• Demonstrate what can be accomplished in the cleanup and
redevelopment of sites impacted by underground storage
tanks when federal, state, tribal, local, and private entities
collaborate and combine their know-how and resources.
EPA believes the USTfields initiative will demonstrate how to better use limited
resources to assess and clean up petroleum-impacted sites to foster their
redevelopment.
EPA USTfields INITIATIVE
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EPA expects to implement 50 state/local or EPA/tribal USTfields pilots in two
phases. A set of 10 pilots will be selected and announced by EPA in Phase I
(followed later by an additional 40 pilots in Phase II). EPA's goal in Phase I is
to conduct a pilot in each of the 10 EPA regions. Each selected pilot will be
allotted up to $100,000 of LUST Trust Funds in Fiscal Year 2001 to be used
for two or more proposed sites. Each of the pilots or sites should fit within
these parameters:
To take maximum advantage of the expertise and
infrastructure already being developed in the Brownfields and
related EPA programs, the USTfields pilots should be a
"supplement" or "attachment" to an existing EPA cleanup
and redevelopment pilot, such as a Brownfields Assessment,
Superfund or RCRA Redevelopment, or Brownfields
Showcase Pilot. Of primary interest are situations where the
cleanup of petroleum from federally-regulated underground
storage tanks is a significant barrier (because of funding gaps
or other regulatory exclusion) to the progress of these pilots.
The USTfields pilots must involve corrective action with
respect to petroleum releases from underground storage
tanks and also should address the future reuse of sites,
including but not limited to ecological, economic, and
recreational uses. Funds will not be used for redevelopment
but will be used to assess and/or clean up sites, which will
ready them for redevelopment.
A strong preference will be given to sites where MTBE
may be a concern.
The pilot must be a collaborative effort involving the input,
close coordination, and agreement of all affected entities, be
they federal, state, tribal, local, or private.
EPA expects to fund 50 USTfields pilots. States and tribes
will be responsible for selecting specific USTfields sites and
for seeing that the uses of the funds meet all applicable
statutory and regulatory requirements for corrective actions
financed with LUST Trust Fund monies. EPA Regional
offices will work with the initial 10 pilots to develop work
plans for these projects. (The UST program's primary grant
making authorities are to states and tribes, not local entities.)
EPA USTfields INITIATIVE
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Region 2:
Region 3:
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The 10 initial pilots will begin in 2000; EPA expects the next 40 to be
competitively selected in 2001.
Steve McNeely, mcneely.steven@epa.gov, (703) 603-7164
Tim R. Smith, smith.timr@epa.gov, (703) 603-7158
Susan Hanamoto, hanamoto.susan@epa.gov, (617) 918-1219
Ben Singh, singh.ben@epa.gov, (212) 637-4237
Karen Bowen, bowen.karen@epa.gov, (215) 814-3382;
Jack Hwang, hwang.jack@epa.gov, (215) 814-3387
Dana Hayworth, hayworth.dana@epa.gov, (404) 562-9481
Arturo Cisneros, cisneros.arturo@epa.gov, (312) 886-7447
Christine Cherrett, cherrett.christine@epa.gov, (214) 665-7342
Janet Hallier, hallier.janet® epa.gov, (913) 551-7532
Joe Ann Taylor, taylor.joe@epa.gov, (303) 312-6152
Matt Small, small.matthew@epa.gov, (415) 744-2078;
April Katsura, katsura.april@epa.gov, (415) 744-2024
Wally Moon, moon.wally@epa.gov, (206) 553-6903
Region 4:
Region 5:
Region 6:
Region 7:
Region 8:
Region 9:
For further information on the USTfields Initiative, see www.epa.gov/oust/
EPA and the states have not yet negotiated the Cooperative Agreements to fund these pilots; therefore, activities are subject to change.
EPA USTfields INITIATIVE
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