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UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
Mail Code 5401 P
December 2008
OFFICE OF
SOLID WASTE AND EMERGENCY
RESPONSE
LIST Program Facts
Data About The Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program
• Size of the UST universe (as of September 2008)
There are approximately 623,000 active USTs (at approximately 235,000 sites) which are
regulated by the UST technical regulations
Since 1984, almost 1.7 million substandard USTs have been closed
• Substandard tanks properly closed by owners, pose little - if any - threat of leaks
which could contaminate groundwater and soil
• Compliance with the UST requirements (as of September 2008)
80 percent of active UST systems are in significant operational compliance with the spill,
overfill, and corrosion protection requirements for release prevention
75 percent of active UST systems are in significant operational compliance with the leak
detection requirements
66 percent of UST facilities are in significant operational compliance with both the release
prevention and leak detection requirements
• Corrective action at UST sites (as of September 2008)
479,817 releases have been confirmed
455,096 cleanups have been initiated
377,019 cleanups have been completed
102,798 cleanups have not yet been completed
• LUST Trust Fund is financed by a 0.1 cent federal tax on each gallon of motor fuel sold in the
country
Tax is in effect through September 30, 201 1 (originally authorized in 1986)
As of September 2008, the balance in the fund was approximately $3.2 billion; in fiscal
year 2007, the fund earned more than $127.4 million interest
Over the past several years, Congress has appropriated between $72 and $76 million per
year, of which EPA distributed approximately 85 percent to states and tribes
In FY 2008, Congress appropriated approximately $1 05.8 million to EPA for both LUST
cleanups and LUST prevention activities. Of this amount, more than $30.5 million was
distributed to states and tribes for LUST prevention work. EPA distributed approximately
85 percent of the remaining LUST funds to states and tribes for cleanup activities.
• Approximately 40 states have UST cleanup funds which pay for most UST cleanups and are
separate from the LUST Trust Fund; collectively states raise and spend more than $1 billion
annually
• State program approval
36 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have approved state programs
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Background And History Of The UST Program
• In 1984, Congress responded to the increasing threat to groundwater posed by leaking
underground storage tanks by adding Subtitle I to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA)
SWDA required EPA to develop a comprehensive regulatory program for USTs storing
petroleum or certain hazardous substances to protect the environment and human health
from UST releases
Federal UST regulations require preventive measures (such as spill, overfill, and
corrosion protection), release detection monitoring, corrective action, and demonstration
of financial resources to carry out corrective action
EPA's 1988 regulations set minimum standards for new tanks and required owners of
existing tanks to upgrade, replace, or close them
• In 1986, Congress amended Subtitle I of SWDA and created the Leaking Underground Storage
Tank (LUST) Trust Fund, used to:
Oversee cleanups by responsible parties
Enforce cleanups by recalcitrant parties
Pay for cleanups at sites where the owner or operator is unknown, unwilling, or unable to
respond, or which require emergency action
• In August 2005, Congress amended Subtitle I of SWDA and created the Underground Storage
Tank Compliance Act of 2005 (in Title XV, Subtitle B of the Energy Policy Act of 2005)
This legislation focuses on further preventing releases
In particular, it expands eligible uses of the LUST Trust Fund and includes provisions
regarding operator training, delivery prohibition, secondary containment and financial
responsibility, and cleanup of releases that contain oxygenated fuel additives
• Because of the large regulated universe of USTs at the inception of the program (over 2 million
tanks), EPA designed the UST program to be implemented by states
36 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have been approved to act in lieu
of the federal program and may have more stringent UST requirements
• The remaining states have agreements with EPA to be the primary implementing
agency
In fiscal year 2008, EPA supported state and tribal programs by:
• Providing resources from the LUST Trust Fund (approximately $64 million) for
state cooperative agreements and to tribes to increase the number of cleanups
completed
• Providing resources for state and tribal grants (approximately $33 million) for UST
prevention
• Providing technical assistance, training, and information exchange
• States have reported that UST releases are the most common source of groundwater
contamination and that petroleum is the most common contaminant
• For more information about the underground storage tank program, see EPA's Web site at:
http://www.epa.qov/oust
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