SEFft United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Solid Waste And Emergency Response (5401G) EPA510-F-00-014 October 2000 www.epa.gov Underground Storage Tanks And Brownfields Sites UTAH/Salt Lake City EPA's USTfields Initiative will fund pilots in Brownfields communities to assess and clean up petroleum contamination from federally-regulated underground storage tanks (USTs) at idle or abandoned commercial properties. Petroleum contamination is generally excluded from coverage under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and is not, therefore, covered under EPA's Brownfields Program. In its USTfields Pilot Program, EPA's Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) has selected 10 state/local pilots in which the state will partner with a local area to assess and/or clean up two or more petroleum-impacted underground storage tank sites. Each pilot state will receive up to $100,000 of LUST Trust funds to be used to assess and clean up the local area sites. This will help to ready them for future reuse. BACKGROUND EPA selected the State of Utah as an USTfields Pilot. The state is targeting Salt Lake City, which has been successful as a Brownfields Assessment and Showcase Community; however, funding through the Brownfields program generally cannot be applied to petroleum-impacted sites. This has created a gap in the city's ability to address underground storage tanks in its neighborhoods. Economic forces have moved the sale of gasoline out of local neighborhoods and into more urban retail outlets. This trend has left many abandoned gas stations and their associated health and environmental risks located in or on the edge of low income neighborhoods. Overgrown weeds and graffiti cover abandoned gas stations that are often on highly visible corner lots and have a negative impact on surrounding neighborhoods. Local governments are interested in assessing and cleaning up such properties and returning them to productive use for the community. OBJECTIVES USTfields Pilot funds will allow the State of Utah to foster a partnership with the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City to clean up USTfields sites to thereby remove a barrier to economic redevelopment and community revitalization. The state will use funding to identify and prioritize potential USTfields sites and to characterize and clean up contamination, including MTBE contamination. Region 8 Salt Lake City, Utah Applicant Name: Utah Local Partner: City of Salt Lake City Date of Selection: October2000 Profile: The State of Utah plans to work with the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City to assess and clean up petroleum contamination at formergasoline stations. Contacts: EPA Region 8 Joe Ann Taylor (303) 312-6152 Utah Department of Environment Quality Dale Marx or Dale Urban (801) 536-4100 For further information, go to www.epa.gov/oust/ EPA USTfields INITIATIVE EPA and the state have not yet negotiated the Cooperative Agreement to fund this pilot; therefore, activities are subject to change. ------- |