C4A C OC A A A ted States November
Ol U~r"-Ot)~l UU ironmental Protection Agency 1985
shmgton DC 20460
Notification
Requirements
for Owners of
Underground
Storage Tanks
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There are from three to five million
underground storage tanks in the United States
that contain hazardous substances or petroleum
products. Thousands of tanks are presently
leaking, and many more are expected to leak
within the next 5 years.
In response to this problem, Congress passed
amendments to the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) in November 1984. This
new legislation—the Hazardous and Solid Waste
Amendments of 1984—contains a new RCRA
provision which creates a program to control
and prevent releases from underground storage
tanks (USTs).
To assist the states in locating and evaluating
underground storage tanks, Congress included
requirements for owners of such tanks to notify
designated state or local agencies.
Substances
Covered
The notification requirements apply to
underground storage tanks that contain
regulated substances. This includes all
petroleum products (including crude oil) and
all substances defined as hazardous under the
Superfund legislation, except substances already
regulated as hazardous wastes under Subtitle C
of RCRA. (Note: A list of covered substances
may be obtained from EPA offices or from the
list of CERCLA* hazardous substances that
appeared in the Federal Register on April 4,
1985 [50 FR 13456].)
Who Must
Notify
Owners must notify if their underground storage
tanks are used to store or dispense regulated
substances on or after November 8,1984. For
underground storage tanks taken out of use
between January 1, 1974, and November 8,1984,
any person who owned such a tank immediately
before the discontinuation of its use must notify
the designated state agency. (Note: Owners do
not have to notify if they already have provided
notice to EPA of their tanks pursuant to
CERCLA section 103(c) or if they know that their
tanks have been removed from the ground.)
To ensure that owners of underground storage
tanks are informed of their responsibility to
notify, Congress imposed certain obligations on
* Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act ol 1980
tank sellers and on peraons who deposit
regulated substances in tanks. From December 8,
1985 though June 8. 1987, anyone depositing
regulated substances in an underground
storage tank must inform the owners or
operators of such tanks of the notification
responsibility. Beginning 30 days after EPA
issues new-tank performance standards
(sometime in 1987) sellers of underground
storage tanks must inform tank purchasers of the
notification requirements.
Tanks
Covered
As defined in the new law, "underground
storage tank" includes any one or combination
of tanks that (1) are used to contain an
accumulation of "regulated substances," and (2)
whose volumes (including connected piping) are
ten percent or more beneath the ground.
Subtitle I exempts certain facilities. These
exemptions include farm and residential tanks of
less than 1,100 gallons storing motor fuel for
noncommercial purposes; on-site heating oil
storage tanks; septic tanks; pipelines regulated
under other authorities; surface impoundments,
pits, ponds, or lagoons; storm water or
wastewater collection systems; flow-through
process tanks; liquid traps or associated
gathering operations; and storage tanks in an
underground area (such as in a basement), but
above the surface of the floor.
When
To Notify
Owners of underground storage tanks in use
must notify by May 8, 1986, and provide
information about the age, size, type, location,
and use of each tank.
Owners who bring underground storage tanks
into use after May 8, 1986, must notify within
30 days of bringing the tanks into use and
include information on the age, size, type,
location, and use of such tanks.
Owners of underground storage tanks taken out
of operation after January 1, 1974, but still in
the ground, must notify by May 8, 1986. Owners
of these tanks are also required to provide, to
the extent known, information on the date the
tank was taken out of operation; the age of the
tank on the date taken out of operation; the size,
type, and location of the tank; and the type and
quantity of substances left stored in such tank
on the date taken out of operation.
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Who
To Notify
The notification forms must be sent to the
designated state agency that has jurisdiction
over the area in which the underground storage
tank is located. In the Federal Register oi
November 8, 1985, EPA published notification
forms along with the names of state agencies
designated to receive them. Some states have
chosen to require additional information and are
using separate state forms or addenda to the
EPA form. Owners of underground storage tanks
may call EPA Regional Offices to obtain the
name of the appropriate agency in each state to
contact for forms and information.
The
Penalties
As a means of enforcing the notification
requirements, a penalty not to exceed $10,000
can be assessed for each tank for which
notification is not given or for which false
information is submitted.
EPA Regional UST Offices
EPA Region 1
JFK Federal Building
Boston MA 02203
(617)2236883
Connecticut Massachusetts
Maine New Hampshire
Rhode island Vermont
EPA Region 2
26 Federal Plaza
New York NY 10007
(212) 264-0504
New Jersev New York
Puerto Rico Virgin Islands
Field Component
Caribbean Field Office
PO Box 792
San Juan PR 00902
(8091 725-7825
EPA Region 3
6th and walnut Streets
Pniladelpma, PA 19106
(215) 597-0908
Delaware Maryland
Pennsylvania Virginia.
West Virginia D'Stnct of Columbia
EPA Region 4
345 Courtiand Street NE
Atlanta. GA 30365
(404) 881-3016
Alabama Florida Georgia,
Kentucky Mississippi
North Carolina South
Carolina, Tennessee
EPA Region 5
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago IL 60604
(312) 8867435
Illinois, Inoiana
Michigan Minnesota
Ohio Wisconsin
EPA Region 6
1201 Elm Street
Dallas TX 75270
(2141 767-2645
Arkansas Louisiana
New Mexico Oklahoma
Texas
EPA Region 7
~*nc Minnesota Avenue
^•*^ /".»,. V A CE1A1
726 Minnesota Avenue
5 City, KA66101
?^fi-9«c;9
Kansas uiy, N/-
(913) 236-2852
Iowa, Kansas, Missour,
Nebraska
EPA Region 8
1860 Ltncoln Street
Denver, CO 80295
(303)293-1162
Colorada Montana
North Dakota South
Dakota Utah Wyoming
EPA Region 9
215 Preemont Street
San Francisco CA 94105
(415) 974-8119
Arizona California Hawaii,
Nevada, American Samoa Guam
Trust Territories of me Pac^c
EPA Region 10
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle WA 98101
(206) 442-2782
Alaska 'daho Oregon,
Washington
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