Background
Proposed Action
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
Washington, DC 20460
(OS-420 WF)
EPA 510-F-93-016
August 1993
Office of Underground Storage Tanks
Environmental
Fact Sheet
1998 Financial Responsibility
Compliance Deadline For
Underground Stprage Tank Owners
That Meet Certain Federal Criteria:
Proposed Rule
Subtitle I of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) re-
quires owners and operators of underground storage tanks (USTs) to show
through insurance coverage or other acceptable financial mechanisms that
they can pay for cleanups and third-party damages resulting from any leaks
that may occur.
EPA issued final regulations on October 26, 1988 that phased in the finan-
cial responsibility requirements for USTs. The phase-in approach was
designed to provide owners and operators adequate time to obtain assur-
ance mechanisms by setting different compliance dates for four compliance
groups. As of January 1989, Group 1, consisting of petroleum marketers
owning 1,000 or more USTs and non-marketers with more than $20 million
in tangible net worth, was required to comply with the financial responsi-
bility requirements. In October 1989, Group 2, consisting of petroleum
marketers owning between 100 to 999 USTs, was required to show finan-
cial responsibility. By April 26, 1991, Group 3, consisting of petroleum
marketers owning between 13 and 99 USTs, was required to comply.
Group 4, consisting of marketers with 1 to 12 USTs at more than one
facility or fewer than 100 USTs at a single facility and non-marketers with
net worth of less than $20 million, is expected to comply by December 31,
1993. On February 18, 1993, EPA promulgated four additional assurance
mechanisms for local government entities (58 FR 9026) to use to comply
with the financial responsibility requirements. The compliance date for
local governments is, therefore, February 18, 1994.
On August 10, 1993 EPA proposed a 1998 financial responsibility compli-
ance deadline for certain tank owners that meet federally determined
criteria.
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Discussion
Rationale For
This Proposal
Contact
Today, the Agency is publishing a proposed rule that would allow certain
members of Group 4 (i.e., petroleum marketers, local governments, and
Indian Tribes) to become pan of a new compliance group subject to the
new financial responsibility compliance date (December 31, 1998) if they
meet certain federally determined criteria. The criteria proposed include:
Compliance with all applicable technical requirements to date
(e.g., leak detection),
• Operation of the tanks in rural areas,
• "Hardship" for petroleum marketers, and
• "Essential services" for local governments.
In this proposed rule, the Agency is asking for comment on whether or not
any extension is necessary and whether a shorter extension of the compli-
ance deadline is more appropriate. (The 1998 compliance date corresponds
with the final compliance date for tank upgrading or replacement.) In
addition, EPA is soliciting comments and data on the final criteria to use
in determining who should be included in the compliance group and how
long the extension should be. Comments are due to EPA 45 days after
publication in the Federal Register.
EPA is concerned about the ability of UST owners and operators to com-
ply with the financial responsibility requirements and the possible impact
that these requirements may have on petroleum supplies in rural areas.
The Agency is issuing this proposal to solicit comments that will help
gauge the need for extending the financial responsibility compliance date
for certain owners and operators. The Agency also notes that the technical
requirements for USTs (e.g., leak detection, tank upgrading, and corrective
action) remain in effect.
For additional information, contact EPA's RCRA/Superfund Hotline,
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. EST. The national toll-
free number is 800 424-9346; for the hearing impaired, the number is
TOD 800 553-7672.
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