Fact Sheet: California's Abandoned Underground
Storage Tank (UST) Initiative
AUGUST 2014
Since November 2012, the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) have been working with local regulatory agencies to address the backlog of abandoned or improperly
closed underground storage tanks (USTs).
Achieving Compliance
The State Water Board obtained
compliance at 44% of 339 Abandoned
UST Sites through regulatory actions,
research, and data cleanup. These sites
had tanks storing fuel or other potentially
hazardous products and had not completed
tank closure and cleanup requirements.
To assist with addressing the backlog of
Abandoned UST Sites, the State Water
Board and U.S. EPA have developed
enforcement and guidance tools. The State
Water Board issued 183 Notices of Non-
Compliance and followed up with
Notices of Violation at 95 sites.
Property owners removed 84 USTs from
36 sites. Property owners of over 40 sites
have claimed financial hardship. The State
Water Board is assisting these owners with
accessing funding programs, including the
Orphan Site Cleanup Fund (OSCF) and
Replacing, Removing, or Upgrading
Storage Tank (RUST) Loan and Grant
Programs. U.S. EPA is assisting some
sites through their Brownfields Program.
Promoting Neighborhood Revitalization
Environmental justice priority areas have
been identified in Fresno, Los Angeles,
and San Bernardino Counties, using
CalEnviroScreen data from California's
Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment (OEHHA). Abandoned gas
station properties can be advantageous
resources for community revitalization in
these neighborhoods that are impacted by
environmental and health hazards.
Due to the high cleanup costs, many of
these sites in California have remained
vacant or underutilized for decades. U.S.
EPA and the State Water Board are
working with local agencies, property
owners, and community development
partners to assess and cleanup these sites,
making them available for resale and
reuse, bringing businesses and jobs back
into these underserved areas.
149 Abandoned UST Sites have
achieved compliance, including the
removal of 84 USTs.
190 Out of Compliance Sites - Status
of Tank Contents
¦ Sites with Product in USTS
• 40
I Sites with Unknown
Product in USTs - 96
I Sites without Product in
USTs- 42
i Sites with UST Presence
Unconfirmed- 6
I Managed under Leaking
Tank Case - 6
3% 3%
22% 21%
51%
1
i r
Abandoned UST Initiative Goals:
1.	Achieve compliance at all Abandoned
UST Sites.
2.	Determine whether abandoned USTs
still contain product, and remove any
product present.
Abandoned UST Sites - Compliance Status
|SITES with PRODUCT or UNKNOWN PRODUCT STATUS (initially 222 sites)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
% OUT OF COMPLIANCE (initially 323 sites)*
325





















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300
275
250
225
200
175
150
125
100
75
50
25
0
Nov-13
Dec-13
Jan-14
Feb-14
Mar-14
Apr-14
May-14 Jun-14
Jul-14
Aug-14
*The initial Abandoned UST site inventory in April 2013 was 323 sites. As of November 2013, Out of Compliance sites had already fallen to 305 sites. Sixteen addi-
tional sites were reported by UPAs in 2013/2014 for a total of 339 sites—UPAs report additional sites as inspectors discover evidence of USTs, or after tank owners
allow permits to lapse without seeking closure. The 16 "new" Out of Compliance sites reported make up 4.7% of the total site inventory tracked (339 sites).
Prepared bj Sullivan International Group, Inc., a U.S. EPA contractor working on behalf of the State Water Board.

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