UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
Mail Code 5401P
December 2014
OFFICE OF
SOLID WASTE AND EMERGENCY
RESPONSE
UST Program Facts
Data About The Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program
•	Size of the UST universe (as of September 2014)
There are approximately 571,000 active USTs (at approximately 205,000 sites) which are
regulated by the UST technical regulations
Since 1984, more than 1.8 million USTs have been properly closed
•	Compliance with the UST requirements (as of September 2014)
84.9 percent of active UST systems are in significant operational compliance with the
spill, overfill, and corrosion protection requirements for release prevention
79.6 percent of active UST systems are in significant operational compliance with the leak
detection requirements
72.5 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 2014)
521,271 releases have been confirmed
498,173 cleanups have been initiated
447,323 cleanups have been completed
73,948 cleanups have not yet been completed
•	Prevention program resources
In fiscal year 2014, Congress appropriated $25.6 million from the Leaking Underground
Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund and $1.5 million of State and Tribal Assistance Grants
(STAG) for states and tribes to prevent UST releases
•	Cleanup program resources
In fiscal year 2014, Congress appropriated $68.9 million from the LUST Trust Fund for
corrective action activities, $58.5 million of which is for states and tribes to assess and
clean up UST releases
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 on LUST cleanups
•	State program approval
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38 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
It was established 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
The LUST Trust Fund is financed by a 0.1 cent federal tax on each gallon of motor fuel
sold in the country
As of September 2014, the balance in the Fund was approximately $449 million
¦	In fiscal year 2012, $2.4 billion of the LUST Trust Fund was transferred to the
Department of Transportation's Highway Trust Fund
¦	In fiscal year 2014, $1 billion of the LUST Trust Fund was transferred to the
Department of Transportation's Highway Trust Fund
•	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 expanded eligible uses of the LUST Trust Fund and includes provisions
regarding operator training, delivery prohibition, secondary containment and financial
responsibility, and clean up 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
38 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
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 website at:
www.epa.gov/oust
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