U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Underground Storage Tanks
www.epa.gov/oust
FY2008 Annual Report On The Underground Storage Tank Program
For nearly a quarter of a century, EPA, states, tribes, and other partners have made significant progress in
preventing, detecting, and cleaning up leaks from underground storage tanks (USTs). In Fiscal Year (FY) 2008,
EPA's LIST program continued these efforts by increasing prevention activities, reducing the number of new
releases, and furthering the cleanup of existing releases. The program made good progress toward meeting its
established goals for the fiscal year and began to review existing tank regulations, with a goal of updating them to
ensure Energy Policy Act requirements apply to all tanks. EPA also developed new Web resources, such as our
state fuel delivery prohibition site and a biofuels compendium to provide assistance to states, tribes, and other tank
stakeholders.
This report provides a snapshot of program activities conducted in
FY 2008 (October 1, 2007 - September 30, 2008) and the advances made
in preventing releases, conducting cleanups, and enhancing
communication and information sharing efforts. The success and progress
of the program during the past year are due to the support and dedication
of EPA's partners to prevent groundwater contamination and further
protect human health and the environment from LIST releases.
Contents
Preventing Releases 2-3
Cleaning Up Releases 4-5
Enhancing Communication
And Information Sharing 6
Looking Ahead 7
L
FY 2008 UST Program Highlights
At the end of FY 2008, there were approximately 623,000
federally-regulated, active USTs at approximately 235,000 sites
across the country. Collectively, the UST program has
accomplished a great deal.
Prevention
V Two-thirds of active USTs are fully complying with requirements
to prevent and detect leaks.
V UST partners have increased inspection efforts in order to meet
the first three-year inspection mandate by 2010, which is
mandated in the Energy Policy Act.
V The number of new UST releases identified each year
continues to decline, with just over 7,300 new leaks found in
FY 2008 (meeting EPA's goal to reduce releases to fewer
than 10,000).
V EPA began regulation development to incorporate Energy
Policy Act requirements and review existing regulations.
Cleanup
V Since the inception of the program, UST partners have
completed more than 377,000 cleanups.
V Of the 479,000 leaks reported since the beginning of the
program, about 80 percent have been addressed, leaving a
backlog of almost 103,000 old leaks remaining to be cleaned
up.
V In FY 2008, UST partners cleaned up 12,768 sites, meeting 98
percent of EPA's annual goal to clean up 13,000 leaking UST
(LUST) sites.
V EPA developed a new plan of action to promote cleaning up
and reusing petroleum brownfields, of which there are
approximately 200,000,
V EPA continued our study to characterize the LUST cleanup
backlog and improve the pace of cleanups.
Underground storage tanks are located at gas
stations and other non-retail locations
FY 2008 GPRA*
National UST Program
Goals And Accomplishments
Goal Actual
Cleanups — Total
Cleanups — Indian Country
Significant Operational
Compliance Rate
New Reported Releases
13,000
30
68%
<10,000
12,768
40
66%
7,364
"Government Performance Results Act of 1993
Annually, the UST prevention and cleanup
programs receive about $100 million to prevent,
detect, and clean up leaks from federally-
regulated USTs. The vast majority of that
funding is provided directly to states and tribes
to implement their prevention and cleanup
programs.
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Advances In Preventing Releases
Since the beginning of the LIST program, preventing petroleum releases into the environment has been one of
the primary goals of the program. EPA and our partners have made major progress in reducing the number of new
releases, but thousands of new leaks are still discovered each year. The lack of proper operation and maintenance
of LIST systems is a main cause of these new releases. EPA is working with states, tribes, and other partners to
advance prevention efforts and quickly detect releases when they occur.
In recent years, these efforts have been enhanced by the release prevention requirements mandated in the
Energy Policy Act of 2005. To address these mandates, EPA produced several grant guidelines to help states carry
out the requirements. Some of the states already have requirements in place that meet the requirements, and other
states are working to implement the provisions in the upcoming years. EPA continues to work with states and tribes
to prevent LIST releases and meet the mandates initiated with the Energy Policy Act.
LIST Universe
End Of FY 2008
States
Indian Country
Active Tanks:
Closed Tanks:
Active Tanks:
Closed Tanks:
620,663
1,689,935
2,656
5,623
Reducing Confirmed Releases
In FY 2008, EPA, states, and tribes focused on
bringing LIST systems into compliance and keeping
them in compliance with release detection and
prevention requirements. One way the program
assesses the relative success of these prevention
efforts is to measure the number of confirmed
releases each year. EPA's goal for FY 2008 was to
reduce confirmed tank releases to fewer than
10,000.
There's been a steady reduction in underground
storage tank confirmed releases, from almost
67,000 in FY 1990 to 7,364 in FY 2008.
Working To Increase
LIST Facility Compliance
One of the key elements in preventing releases is to
increase a facility's operational compliance with LIST
regulations. Significant operational compliance (SOC)
means that a facility has the necessary equipment
required by current LIST regulations to prevent and
detect releases and performs the necessary LIST
system operation and maintenance. In FY 2008:
V The national SOC rate was 66 percent; although
below our target, it is a three percent increase over
last year's rate.
V The SOC rate in Indian country was 57 percent,
an 11 percent increase over last year's rate.
In FY 2008, EPA provided $1.5 million for the
LIST prevention program in Indian country;
EPA also provided $29 million to states for
LIST prevention activities.
Inspecting under the dispenser
Preventing Releases In Indian Country
Tribes and EPA worked to improve LIST compliance
in Indian country in FY2008 by enhancing inspection
efforts, developing additional compliance-focused
assistance agreements with tribes, and providing
training to tribal environmental professionals and facility
owners and operators.
In addition, the second annual national Tribal/EPA
meeting, held in October 2008, helped identify tribal
issues, build collaboration, and work toward continued
partnerships and improvements in the LIST program in
Indian country.
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Steady Progress Implementing Energy Policy Act Provisions
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandated numerous changes that focus on reducing underground storage tank
releases and significantly affect federal and state underground storage tank programs. Over the past few years, EPA
and states have made significant progress toward meeting the Act's requirements. For example, all states except one
have grant agreements in place to implement Energy Policy Act provisions. More than 30 states have delivery
prohibition and secondary containment programs up and running, with the remaining states finalizing regulations to
implement these requirements.
The Energy Policy Act also included on-site inspection requirements. EPA and states have long recognized the
importance of inspections in preventing releases, and inspecting USTs has always been a priority in the tanks
program. But the inspection requirements of the Energy Policy Act brought greater program oversight to this effort by
mandating that all USTs not inspected since 1998 be inspected by August 8, 2007. EPA and all states successfully
completed this requirement.
Additionally, the Energy Policy Act requires that tanks are to be inspected every three years after the initial
requirement — and EPA, states, and tribes are now working to meet the next inspection requirement. There are about
235,000 active facilities that need to
be inspected for this three-year
cycle, and in FY 2008
approximately 100,000 facilities
were inspected. With the first three-
year cycle ending in August 2010,
the majority of states are on track to
meet this requirement, and EPA is
working with remaining states to
identify collaborative ways to meet
the deadline.
EPA will continue to work with
states to ensure continued progress
implementing all Energy Policy Act
requirements. Additionally,
because more frequent inspections
result in increased compliance
rates, we will continue to focus on
enhancing LIST inspection efforts.
Effect of Inspection Frequency on Compliance Rate
P"
~
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Advances In Cleaning Up Releases
Over the past quarter century, the LIST program has made great progress in cleaning up leaking underground
storage tanks. EPA works with states and tribes to clean up LUST sites, promote innovative approaches to streamline
the remediation process, and address the hurdles in reducing the backlog of cleanups.
In FY 2008, EPA and its state and tribal partners continued to make progress in cleaning up petroleum leaks by
initiating 8,156 cleanups and completing 12,768 cleanups, of which 40 cleanups were completed in Indian country. The
cleanup backlog, which is the difference between the cumulative number of confirmed releases and cleanups completed,
also continued to decline from 167,480 sites a decade ago to 102,798 sites as reported at the end of FY 2008.
LUST National Backlog:
FY 1998 Thru End-of-Year FY 2008
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1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Years
Cleaning up a release at an underground
storage tank site
Continuing Cleanup Progress
In Indian Country
EPA has primary responsibility for implementing the
LUST program in Indian country and actively works
with tribes to identify, assess, and clean up UST
releases. In FY 2008, EPA exceeded its annual goal
by completing 40 cleanups in Indian country. Over the
past seven years, the LUST cleanup backlog in Indian
country has declined by 25 percent. This success is
due partly to focused efforts by EPA and tribes to
complete the remaining cleanups necessary at older
sites and to the increased use of the Indian country
cleanup contracts. For nearly a decade, these
contracts have been supported by the LUST Trust
Fund and maintained by EPA for cleanup activities in
Indian country.
Additionally, in FY 2008 EPA provided LUST funds
directly to the Navajo Nation and the Nez Perce Tribe
to conduct cleanups. This direct funding furthered their
capability to develop and manage their cleanup
programs and reduce the number of remaining
cleanups in Indian country.
In FY 2008, EPA provided $2.6 million for
LUST cleanups in Indian country; EPA also
provided $61.2 million to states for
LUST cleanups.
LUST Cleanup Backlog in Indian Country
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
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Backlog Study Update
Historically, we've made great progress in cleaning up LUST sites.
But the rate of progress has slowed and the number of cleanups
completed each year has declined — from a high of 20,834 in FY 2000
to 12,768 in FY2008. To learn more about this, EPA in 2006 began
collecting and analyzing data associated with the cleanup backlog to
more accurately characterize the cleanup backlog; help us better
understand the reasons for the decline; and develop strategies for
slowing, if not reversing, the trend.
In phase 1 of the backlog study, EPA discovered that two-thirds of
the national cleanup backlog is located in ten states. In 2008, EPA
began phase 2 of the study, working with those ten states plus four
additional states to ensure representation from each EPA region.
EPA has worked closely with the 14
participant states, gained better under-
standings of how each individual program
functions, and identified available state data.
Participating states have provided a great deal
of support and information. EPA is organizing
the data to analyze both state cleanup program
attributes and site attributes. EPA plans to use
the phase 2 results to better understand
challenges to the cleanup program nationally,
focus future efforts, and identify national and
state-specific strategies for completing
cleanups.
States Participating
In The Backlog Study
California
Florida
Illinois
Michigan
Montana
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Texas
Washington
Update On Hurricane
Funding To Impacted States
In 2006, Congress appropriated
approximately $15 million for
hurricane-related leaking LIST
expenses in states impacted by
hurricanes Katrina and Rita. EPA
provided grant funds to Alabama,
Louisiana, and Mississippi to assess
and remediate petroleum releases
from hurricane-impacted LIST facilities.
So far, these three states have done a
great deal to address issues resulting
from the hurricanes.
V Of the 280 sites impacted,
assessments have been performed
at about 98 percent — or 274 — of
the sites
V 236 releases were confirmed
V 142 cleanups have been
completed
In 2009, states will continue to
monitor and assess sites, develop
corrective action plans, and continue
cleaning up the remaining release
sites.
Revitalizing Abandoned Gas Stations
There are more than 450,000 brownfields across the U.S., of
which about 200,000 are estimated to be impacted by petroleum.
Many of these sites are old abandoned gas stations that blight the
environmental and economic health of surrounding neighborhoods.
EPA awards grants to local areas, states, tribes, and organizations to
assess and clean up these petroleum brownfields.
In FY 2008, EPA issued a new Petroleum Brownfields Action
Plan, available atwww.epa.gov/oust/rags/petrobfactionplan.pdf,
which promotes cleaning up and reusing petroleum brownfields. In
the plan, EPA identifies four strategic initiatives, with specific actions
and activities to achieve the Agency's goal. The plan demonstrates
EPA's commitment to cleaning up petroleum-contaminated
brownfields sites and fostering their reuse.
Abandoned gas stations are scattered along highways and in
neighborhoods
Also in 2008, EPA through its Brownfields grant program continued to support petroleum brownfields efforts by
providing approximately $22.2 million in grants to 99 local communities to clean up and assess petroleum
brownfields sites. Part of those grant dollars were revolving loans to enable states, local communities, and tribes to
make low interest payments to carry out cleanup activities at brownfields properties. The list of the communities
receiving these grants is grouped by EPA Region and is available at www.epa.gov/oust/rags/pbgrants.htm .
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Enhancina Communication And Information Sharin
Through communication and information sharing, EPA and its partners have made great improvements in the LIST
program. To enhance these collaborative efforts, EPA actively reviews and revises LIST program communication
methods to ensure the Agency is effectively sharing vital program information.
In FY 2008, EPA's LIST program expanded its current Web areas to include new information and an up-to-date
LIST Indian country program directory. In addition, EPA and its partners held the 20th National Tanks Conference in
Atlanta, GA in March 2008. The conference provided the LIST community a wealth of learning and networking
opportunities that will help us better work tog ether to protect human health and the environment from LIST releases.
New Resources On OUST's Web Site
State Delivery Prohibition Web Area
www.epa.gov/oust/dp/index.htm
This Web area helps petroleum and hazardous
substance delivery companies determine the
applicable requirements in each state and territory.
The area provides links to applicable state and
territory laws, regulations, and policies related to
delivery prohibition.
Biofuels Compendium Web Area
www.epa.gov/oust/altfuels/bfcompend.htm
This Web-based compendium provides LIST
stakeholders with information regarding storing
ethanol and biodiesel fuels. Because of the
increased production and use of biofuels, LIST
stakeholders need to be aware of the technical and
policy issues related to storing alternative fuels.
LIST Indian Country Program Directory
www.epa.gov/oust/pubs/usinctrdir.htm
This directory, available on EPA's Web site,
provides at-a-glance contact information for tribal and
EPA LIST program contacts and is a helpful tool to
improve communication and information sharing
between tribes and EPA on LIST issues.
To keep the public informed, EPA posts
mid- and end-of-year activity reports that provide
information on compliance, releases, and
cleanups across the country. The FY 2008
end-of-year activity report is available at:
www.epa.gov/oust/cat/camarchv.htm .
Developing A National Tribal Grant
In FY2008, EPA began developing a new national
assistance agreement that will
provide tribal governments and
LIST facilities in Indian country
with compliance assistance,
training, and collaborative
opportunities to support LIST
release prevention. This new
five-year agreement, which will
be awarded in 2009, will support efforts to improve LIST
facility compliance throughout Indian country.
Celebrating 25 Years Of Tank Progress
November 2009 marks 25 years since the
underground storage tank program was established.
EPA is commemorating this milestone by issuing a
25th anniversary booklet, which is available on EPA's
Web site at www.epa.gov/oust/pubs/25annrpt.htm .
Installing a new underground storage tank at a facility
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Lookina Ahead
FY 2008 was a year of advancement and achievement. LIST partners made good progress toward meeting our
goals and made significant progress in advancing prevention and cleanup efforts, while also expanding communication
and information sharing.
Challenges remain, though, as there is still much work to be done to prevent releases and to clean up contaminated
sites. In 2009 and upcoming years, EPA will focus on the traditional goals of the program — preventing and cleaning up
releases — and will also:
V Continue to work with states to meet the mandates and deadlines of the Energy Policy Act of 2005;
V Work with tribes to continue implementing the tribal strategy;
V Ensure that each LIST facility in the country is inspected once every three years;
V Explore better ways to identify compliance and cleanup challenges and to pinpoint solutions;
V Develop strategies to help revitalize communities and clean up abandoned gas station sites;
V Ensure adequate funding is available for cleanups;
V Address technical and regulatory issues involved with alternative fuels; and
V Continue the process to update our regulations.
EPA looks forward to increasing collaboration and working with state, tribal, and other LIST partners to achieve further
progress in the tanks program in order to better protect human health and the environment from petroleum releases.
Developing Regulations
EPA is revising the 1988 federal underground
storage tank regulations to require that the 2005
Energy Policy Act provisions apply to USTs in
Indian country and in states that do not have
state program approval. The Agency is also
considering revisions to the existing require-
ments, as appropriate.
EPA is working closely with states, tribes,
industry, and other stakeholders regarding our
rulemaking plans and efforts. We plan to issue
a proposed rule in spring 2010, followed by a
final regulation that will carry the underground
tank program into the future.
$200 Million Recovery Act Money For
Cleaning Up Tank Leaks
See www.epa.gov/oust/eparecovery
for information about the
LUST funds appropriated in the
American Reinvestment and
Recovery Act of 2009
www.recovery.gov
Most of the fuel supply in the U.S. contains
ethanol
Addressing Alternative Fuels
Alternative fuels continue to pervade the nation's fuel
supply. As more distributors blend biofuels into their product
to meet state and national mandates, many USTs throughout
the country currently store some level of ethanol or biodiesel.
While tank equipment manufacturers strongly recommend
specific equipment for the use of high-level blends of biofuels
(such as E-85), less is documented about the integrity and
compatibility of older systems with mid- or high-level biofuel
blends.
To address this data gap, EPA's tank program is working
with the Agency's Office of Research and Development
(ORD) to identify unknowns and develop a plan for laboratory
and field testing of LIST components. This testing will assess
the compatibility of older LIST system components with a
range of biofuel blends, as well as the functionality of various
leak detection systems to be used with these fuels.
Additionally, ORD is continuing its work to evaluate the
transport and degradation of biofuels in the subsurface and
the investigation of tools, models, and technologies used in
remediation.
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EPA-510-R-09-001, March 2009
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
Office of Underground Storage Tanks
For further information please contact:
U.S. EPA/OUST
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Mail Code: 5401P
Washington, DC 20460
Phone: 703-603-9900
Fax: 703-603-0175
www.epa.gov/oust
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